The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
David Bernard, conductor
Drew Petersen, piano
All Saints Church, New York, NY
December 6, 2009

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

In a program called “Cinematic Genius”, the conductor David Bernard explored concert pieces that were later incorporated into film. Johann Strauss’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” seems far-fetched for a film about outer space, but Stanley Kubrick pulled off wonders with it in “2001, A Space Odyssey”  when he used dreamier Strauss moments to represent timelessness in space. Bernard left excerpts of the film run on screen during a complete performance of the Strauss, and it didn’t always mesh in mood–exciting dance music as a backdrop for a person walking down a spaceship corridor, for example–but you’ve got to give Bernard credit for a charming, well-prepared performance of this concert staple. I also applaud him for choosing a stylistically well- balanced program, one that presented music from three different centuries.

Drew Petersen, who performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K.466, is a 16-year-old student at the Manhattan school of Music Pre-College division. He has considerable technique—his notes were in place, the cadenza playing was imaginative, and he has done a lot of wonderful charitable work for communities who need young artists like him. Unfortunately, he had to perform on a small Kawai piano, and there was little resonance and warmth of sound. Regarding a cinematic decision, I didn’t understand the need to roll the entire closing credits of the film “Amadeus” to the concerto’s slow movement. It’s a lovely choice for the movie, but here it was a distraction.

The performance of Shostakovich’s challenging Fifth Symphony was very impressive.

Bernard has chosen players wisely; the orchestra seems to have affection for each other, and their enthusiasm for the music was undeniable. The mysterious third movement of the Fifth was incorporated into a scene of the Harrison Ford film “Patriot Games,” and it was interesting to see when it was used. Unless Mr. Bernard chooses music that was written specifically for film, I do think that excerpts of concert works used in film should be heard with the movie only before performing the work as a whole. This way, you educate the audience about a film director or film composer’s approach to a classic score and also preserve the intention of the composer. In any case, David Bernard and the orchestra should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished; I look forward to hearing them again.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Aglaia Koras, piano

Aglaia Koras, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 5, 2009

Pianist Aglaia Koras suffered through a car accident on her way to her concert on November 5th, so it wouldn’t be fair to go into detail about technicality, memory or specifics of her program. It must be said, however, that her sold-out, full-house crowd was happy to hear her, and I felt that she gave some of the most thoughtful, touching playing of Beethoven and Chopin I have heard her play. She was the come-back kid, and she should be proud to have had the courage to put on a program that many others would have canceled.  

This is her fifth consecutive season sponsored by Mid-America Productions. On March 1st, 2010, Ms. Koras will perform an All-Chopin 200th Birthday Tribute recital at Weill Recital Hall.

Ms. Koras loves Chopin, and it shows; she received a top prize in the International Chopin Young Pianists Competition, and in recent seasons, she was invited to perform an All-Chopin recital in Mexico City.  

Ms. Koras has been a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, but she has also performed in a special program for the United States Ambassadors in Washington, DC; in recitals at the Kennedy Center; in programs in Spain, Greece, and Brazil; on the Smithsonian website; and in concerts sponsored by the Curtis Alumni and Leschetizky Associations.

As a prize-winner, she also won the International American Music Scholarship Association Piano Competition; the International Concert Artists Guild Competition’s “Fine Artistry and Musical Excellence Award”; and first prize at the National Young Musicians Foundation and Koszciusko Foundation Competitions, among others.

Resilience and courage were the words of the day, and her show-must-go-on-mentality was very much appreciated by all in attendance. Her tradition of Chopin also goes on at Weill Hall on March 1st, and I look forward to it.  

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

La Follia Barocca

La Follia Barocca
St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York, NY
November 4, 2009

Without a doubt, La Follia Barocca is one of the finest Baroque ensembles to ever play in New York. Boundless energy, first-rate precision and an authentic sound are just some of the trademarks of this conductorless orchestra. The leader, Enrico Cassaza, plays with a virtuoso technique and was marvelous in Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in E Minor “Il Favorito”, playing all the difficult high notes with assured brilliance. The ensemble shows that it is capable of handling the treacherous virtuosity of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, for example, yet they are also clearly able to play with subtlety of vibrato, bow speed and dynamics. And they were always together.

The cello soloist, Marcello Scandelli, performed Fiorenza’s Cello Concerto in D Major with the kind of passion typical of the Romantic Era, plus a rich tone, big vibrato and heavy use of portamento. He also brought intensity to the dynamics. His playing of the cadenza even included more common modernistic touches such as over-the-bridge playing (sul ponticello), which produced a slightly rough sound. Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor: Variations on La Follia was played with elegance and intensity. The ensemble playing was highly coordinated.  

The orchestra stood throughout the program, looking—as well as sounding—like soloists. The acoustics of St. Bartholomew’s Church are perfect for a group of strings: it can produce a full-bodied sound with warm resonance, yet clarity for harmony and rhythm. And with its look of European antiquity, the space has the perfect atmosphere for the Baroque.

La Follia Barocca was created by a group of talented musicians from Milan with extensive experience in the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. And the series Midtown Concerts is a community outreach program of ARTEK (The Art of The Early Keyboard, Inc.). Free concerts are given each Wednesday at 1:15 by professional early music ensembles and distinguished soloists. I very much hope La Follia Barocca returns to this series and to New York in general. This is the quintessential early-music orchestra: authenticity plus electricity.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Ensemble du Monde

Ensemble du Monde
Marlon Daniel, conductor
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY
August 13, 2009

On August 13th at Merkin Hall, conductor Marlon Daniel and his “Ensemble du Monde” performed Beethoven’s third, fourth and fifth piano concerti. I heard through the grapevine that all five concerti were originally planned. That would have provided more contrast because the first two concertos (especially the second in B-flat) are lighter than the final three, which—when heard together—tend to overdose us with Beethoven’s middle-period drama and heftiness of orchestration. In other words, if you’re going to do several Beethoven Piano Concertos, do the second, first (in correct composing order) and third on one program, and the fourth and fifth on another.

The fine pianist in the third concerto, Richard Dowling, played very well. He occasionally tossed off a bland phrase or two, but that may be my own predisposition to preferring dramatic “Sturm und Drang” performances of this C Minor composition. In the fourth concerto, Kimball Gallagher played with a pleasant tone throughout (although I thought the opening solo phrase was too loud). Sometimes, she needed more invention of shading and dynamics in this work’s tender more tender passages. It was enjoyable nonetheless.

The pianist in the “Emperor” Concerto, Beatrice Long, has a bravura temperament and technique suitable for this large-scale, heroic work, and she displayed musical excellence by bringing out nuances and important harmonic changes in the score. Her phrasing showed admirable shape and contrast; when, for example, a scale passage ascended, there was a slight crescendo to show the direction of the musical line, and vice versa with descending phrases. I wish she had taken the Adagio un poco mosso movement slower; Adagio un poco mosso, after all, means slow with a little forward movement. It should not sound like a Beethoven Andante, which translates to a walking, moderate pace.

Conductor Marlon Daniel has talent and great energy. He does need to watch his concentration; in the Largo of the third concerto, he gave a cue two bars too soon (luckily, the orchestra didn’t come in), and there were some shaky entrances and small lapses of ensemble. I recommend that he keep the volume of the trumpets and timpani down at Merkin Hall, as there was consistent blaring in the concerti’s outer movements.  Still, Daniel and his orchestra have potential, and I would like to hear them again.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY