The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
All Saints Church, New York, NY
May 2, 2010 

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

The program was perfect: it had a central idea, which was music from or inspired by France. But even though the works were nicely tied together, they were also satisfyingly well-contrasted from one another. Bizet’s Symphony in C was composed by a Frenchman, who at 17 years of age was hardly a man or hardly French; his music, after all, was greatly inspired by the classical structures of Beethoven’s fourth, Schumann’s second and Mendelssohn’s third symphonies. Yet expansive French melody and chromaticism shine through, and this work is worthy of frequent performances. The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony played it marvelously well; David Bernard’s tempo choices were safe and fittingly musical at the same time—the last movement Allegro vivace, for example, wasn’t hurried or flashed for effect, but played so details could be heard. Only occasionally were trumpet and timpani eighth notes late or behind after a tied note. And only a few oboe and flute unison E’s were slightly off in the Adagio. In general, this was indeed a polished performance. 

Debussy’s Nocturnes are associated with French Impressionism, yet they were an inspirational source for Stravinsky’s rhythmical Sacre du Printemps. The dreamy mood in Nuages (clouds) was captured exquisitely, and the orchestra was in sync with all of Fete’s syncopations and fly-by-night articulations. The stopped horns and trumpets were solidly in tune—though trumpet ensemble was a bit off in the March. The Premiere Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Orchestra was written later and shows a different, even less predictable side to Debussy—one with constantly shifting harmonies and irregular phrases and rhythms. It was given a sweetly seductive, technically masterful performance by the always excellent Jon Manasse. 

Gershwin’s An American in Paris made a great impression all around: ensemble playing was in control—except in one syncopated brass section toward the end—balances were kept in check, intonation was excellent, tone quality beautiful, and the solo trumpet and trombone playing was very solid and evocative. Bernard added some nice touches, like a longer-than-usual bassoon grace note at the beginning of one of the slower parts. The swing section—featuring trumpet solos, trills and numerous syncopations was too slow for my taste, but every other tempo sounded completely natural. Bernard, who conducted the entire program from memory, should be very proud of what he has accomplished with this difficult program; the orchestra was confident and musical, technically impressive and extremely well-prepared.

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

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
David Bernard, conductor

 

Sirena Huang, violin

 

All Saints Church, New York, NY

 

February 7, 2010

 

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

 

Sirena Huang was the featured soloist, and despite her fifteen years of age, she played Saint-Saens’ Third Violin Concerto like a seasoned pro. Not only did Sirena confidently “nail” the difficult notes in the stratosphere of her instrument and play with a beautifully resonant sound, she winningly captured the essence of this brilliant French score. The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s talented Music Director, David Bernard, held things together very well, but he needs more rehearsal time to work on the pitch of the winds, as chords in the second movement were significantly out of tune. This was also true of the chords in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—before the recapitulation. Still, there were many things to admire in this performance of the Fifth. For one, there was excellent precision of ensemble in the notoriously tricky first movement, with all its off-beat entrances. One also felt and heard the players’ emotional commitment throughout the symphony. I also really liked Bernard’s emphasis of the first movement’s famous four-note motive when it appears in the horns two or four times slower than normal (as augmentation). 

I did find it very unusual that on the third fermata of the first movement opening, in which the first violins sustain a high G, some violinists—on two different occasions—also held the B-natural, which, traditionally, is only a part of the chord’s roll. Tempo-wise, the last movement Allegro was faster than usual—it was refreshing to hear, although the strings sometimes struggled with the pace. The third movement Scherzo, on the other hand, sounded slower than usual; Beethoven’s Allegro indication (not to mention his metronome marking), was ignored in this performance—but many agree that Beethoven hastily added some of his metronome markings in order to accommodate his publisher. Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin”, which was placed on the second half before the Beethoven, was played with unabashed exuberance—as it should be. Food for thought: as it is so extremely short, I wonder how it would have fit on the first half, immediately prior to the Overture to “Die Fledermaus”, which opened the program. The Strauss—like the Wagner—was performed with an immensely appealing flair. 

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

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