The Merry Lives of Yinzer

Yinzer - that's me, even though I don't often use that expression, yet my life was merry indeed at such a wonderful concert -- one with many references to Pittsburgh. I was able to make it to Heinz Hall an hour early to hear most of the concert prelude with Resident Conductor Lawrence Loh and PSO Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley. This was a nice introduction to Mr. Bendix-Belgley and the interview process he had to endure to become PSO concertmaster, and Mr. Loh did an excellent job of introducing the music.


More merry was I to listen to an excellent rendition of Beethoven's Piano Concerto number 1, elegantly played by Leif Ove Andsnes, piano.


All of Beethoven's piano concertos are a joy. In the notes I see that "Both scores (1 & 2) appeared in 1801, the delay apparently caused by Beethoven’s desire to keep them from his rivals and reserve them for his personal use." I wonder, if Beethoven were to write music today, with places like youtube out there on the internet, if he would reserve his music for his personal use, or publish it online. If online, I expect he would have better luck than I, having published a nature video myself called 'American toad singing Western Pennsylvania' in the spring of 2008, only to have a so-called disputed copyright claim on my toad video by another company about a month ago. I disputed that claim, but youtube won't do anything about it. I recorded the video myself in a pool full of toads some years ago. How in the world can a big music company make a claim on it I have no idea, there is no music, just a toad singing. But this happens a lot where companies lay claim to content that does not belong to them. Beethoven would perhaps roll over in his grave if he saw the state of the music industry today. Note: I would like to also state that the pictures I post here are mine, made by me, as are the words :)

One of my favorite pieces was played this past weekend: Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor (1846-1849) by Otto Nicolai -- I've quoted the line below from the PSO notes on their web page, I liked the reference, and must listen to Die Meistersinger again to hear the melody:

"The complementary melody is not heard again in the opera, though Richard Wagner so admired it that he borrowed it for an episode in Act III of Die Meistersinger. "

Another beautiful piece - Zigeunerweisen, by Pablo De Sarasate, was surprising in the ability of soloist Noah Bendix-Balgley to control the depth and breadth of the solo part. Manfred Honeck joked before the piece that they picked something not too hard, with not too many notes. His sarcasm was amusing, because this piece was extremely difficult with lots of notes.

At the end came a few Strauss selections with lots of fun - first Manfred Honeck indicates that there is an expression (paraphrasing) "in Germany it is said they work 350 days and are on holiday 15, but in Austria they work 15 days and are on holiday 350." This was the introduction to 'Auf Ferienreisen' (Holiday Trips) by Josef Strauss, where Mr. Bendix-Balgley strolls out in vacation garb, situates a beach chair, opens a few beers, gives a few to the orchestra including the Maestro, and generally garners many laughs. Josef Strauss' 'Feuerfest Polka' comes next, with a real anvil, and the percussionist (help me with his name, he was great!) places a terrible towel on the beach chair, dons a pair of sunglasses, and does his percussion on the anvil while drinking beer. What a great time!

Unflinching precision and beauty

Unflinching precision and beauty - the evening last night was replete with precise notes, falling one after another without interruption, yet arrayed with timbre, expressiveness and energy. Gabriela Montero was at her best with the Prokofiev Concerto Number 3, and she performed two wonderful improvisations, one on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', the other based on the 'Here We Go Steelers' tune. She asked the audience for someone to sing a song. One lady sang Twinkle Twinkle melody -- it turns out I know her personally, and talked to her at intermission, so that rules out any possibility of a 'plant' in the audience ;)

Ms. Montero begins with the simple melody for 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', then changes the key and introduces other forms of development. Next chords and other threads begin to appear -- counterpoint breezes through adroitly with cascading lines, and Presto: it now sounds like a full flung Bach composition, yet the Twinkle Twinkle continues to materialize. The spontaneous nature of her improvisation is impressive to say the least, and goes to show her amazing talent - not only as a performer but as a composer of classical music. The second improv was more in the style of Liszt, with a fluid meandering of fingers intertwined with a teaming cadence quite lively and exuberant.



The Prokofiev concerto was new to me. It began with a very fast tempo - which to me was almost feverish, and very enjoyable. After the first movement I heard someone say - amazing! The second movement was filled with lush strokes and the final movement exhibited grand gestures from both the piano and the orchestra.

Earlier in the day I listened to a podcast interview hosted by Jim Cunningham of WQED where she talks about her new composition, a piano concerto which makes a personal political statement about Venezuela. On facebook she indicates that she is working on a recording of the composition which she premiered recently in Germany called 'ExPatria'. This is an excerpt from her facebook page:

"ExPatria"

As an expatriate Venezuelan, it may be of little surprise that I should wish to express, in music, a longing for the beautiful country of my birth.

However, my debut as a composer reaches beyond private nostalgia to a very public cry. ExPatria is a portrayal of a country barely recognizable from that of my youth. It is my emotional response to the loss of Venezuela herself to lawlessness, corruption, chaos and rates of murder among the highest in the world.

After intermission I was awestruck by the beauty of the Brahms Symphony number 2 expertly played by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Guest conductor Christoph König majestically conducted the orchestra with an express set of gestures succinct in their effect with the players, and entertaining for the audience as well.

Gabriela Montero in Pittsburgh

Gabriela Montero in Pittsburgh signing autographs - after Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 she performed two wonderful improvisations, one on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', and the other based on the 'Here We Go Steelers' tune.

A Guide to the Orchestra - with a pop quiz

According to guest conductor Leonard Slatkin, "Tonight is Show Off Night." He was referring to showcasing the talent of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and two of their players as soloists. Randolph Kelly began with the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra by Walter Piston. This was not one of my favorites compositions perhaps because it's very brooding, yet it provided a great showcase for the solo viola. Kelly's style was direct and straight forward, the volume worked well against the orchestra. I liked the second movement, yet at times it seemed like two unrelated compositions were attempting to weave their way amongst themselves. The third movement I liked best, more a classical style with pizzicato on the orchestra strings, bold brass, drums, woodwinds, the while orchestra as backdrop to the whirling viola. Kelly's best was during the small solo part in the midst of this movement - his command of the viola accented the performance.

After intermission Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida was the soloist with the PSO in the L'Horloge de flore [The Flower Clock], a beautiful amalgamation of 7 movements representing a different flower at various times of the day - a marvelous way to programatically represent music. DeAlmeida's oboe sounded enticing with an abundance of pure tones and perfect transitions between notes. The composition was simple yet elegant, each hour and flower providing a different melody and mood. Here are a few thoughts I had for each:

• slowly, blooming, pizzicato, tempo
• scherzo, sprightly, spread forth, bickering, beautiful
• awake, swaying softly, subtle, breezy, silhouette, shine
• jumble, tapping, spinning, dance, skipping
• warmth, floating, reaching, endeavor, asking
• prancing, curiosity, sneaking, ruffle
• racing, pause, derive, hurry, jovial

At the conclusion, DeAlmeida bowed to much applause - then she indicated to her fellow woodwind players to stand, but they would not, deferring all the applause to her alone. When Slatkin came back out he asked them to rise, and this time they did. I heard one person exclaim: "It takes a conductor to get the orchestra to stand up - now we know why they make the big bucks "

The final showcase was the use of young speakers, between the ages of 10 and 12 to introduce each of the sections and instruments during the performance of Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a theme of Purcell). This was the highlight of the evening, and was a lot of fun too with the use of the young people seated amongst the orchestra players. A few of their introductions include:

• Sabine - Woodwinds
• Anna - Brass
• Abby - Strings
• Elana - Percussion
• Harry - instrument variation
• Giovanna - Oboes
• Weston - Clarinets, Bassoon, Violins
• Lance - Violas, Cellos
• Cassandra - Bass, Harp
• Adam - French Horns
• Alex - Trumpets, Trombone, Tubas
• Sophia - Percussion, Timpani
• Kendall - Bass Drum, Tamborine, Triangle
• Riley - Xylaphone, Castinets, Gong, Whip

Then they all play together in a final Fugue where each instrument enters one at a time.

Slatkin joked: "As you leave there will be pieces of paper for the pop quiz"

Echos of plenitude

Poems to fit the evening of classical music with Leonard Slatkin and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, written while listening.

Double Play (2010) by Cindy McTee

Disruptions peak curiosity
cognizant of theme
somnolent seniority
seem
flourishing minuscule
temperamental
building volume & orchestration
stereophonic fidelity
strings bring back to
contemplating stardust
sprinkled over temporal plane
planetary exuberance
thrust upon a solitary grain
somber horizon wrestling to be undone
drops of rainwater ebullient won
syncopated rhythm increases tempo
jazzy sawdust timber driving
leaping unbridled embellishment
duck before sudden impact sinews
weaving agile tributary ambling
drama heights dimensions
down through clouds of speculation
misty particles drop dissolve
savage soul unleashed wild impetuous
untamed dissonance striving ever forward
manifest particles curling off elliptically
free!

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus" (1939)

gentle fields thy wait awake
and though thou do not share mutual outlook
I observe thy beauty in a vacuum
not affecting nor disturbing gentle radiance
relay and imbue said pastoral scene
it belongs to all of us who observe
significance, it is not necessary
sweeping gusts of vibrant strings
spew forth multiple threads of intertwining vines
solo violin echos on reflections below
passing streams of conscientiousness
building joining connected thoughts
back and forth hymnal harmony hyperbolic henceforth
rejuvenating souls no longer lost
linger three lines in trio reverberating theme
echos of plenitude
joining breeze to slice journey's end.

Echos of plenitude

poems to fit the evening of classical music with Leonard Slatkin and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, written while listening.

Double Play (2010) by Cindy McTee

Disruptions Peak Curiosity
cognizant of theme
somnolent seniority
seem
flourishing minuscule
temperamental
building volume & orchestration
stereophonic fidelity
strings bring back to
contemplating stardust
sprinkled over temporal plane
planetary exuberance
thrust upon a solitary grain
somber horizon wrestling to be undone
drops of rainwater ebullient won
syncopated rhythm increases tempo
jazzy sawdust timber driving
leaping unbridled embellishment
duck before sudden impact sinews
weaving agile tributary ambling
drama heights dimensions
down through clouds of speculation
misty particles drop dissolve
savage soul unleashed wild impetuous
untamed dissonance striving ever forward
manifest particles curling off elliptically
free!

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus" (1939)

gentle fields thy wait awake
and though thou do not share mutual outlook
I observe thy beauty in a vacuum
not affecting nor disturbing gentle radiance
relay and imbue said pastoral scene
it belongs to all of us who observe
significance, it is not necessary
sweeping gusts of vibrant strings
spew forth multiple threads of intertwining vines
solo violin echos on reflections below
passing streams of conscientiousness
building joining connected thoughts
back and forth hymnal harmony hyperbolic henceforth
rejuvenating souls no longer lost
linger three lines in trio reverberating theme
echos of plenitude
joining breeze to slice journey's end.

Leapfrogging Genius

A few weeks ago I blogged that Beethoven represented a singularity in as much as the composers before and since were merely prelude and postscript. Yet I'm doing a huge injustice to many other great composers. By leapfrogging Haydn and Mozart, both with a wealth of not just pleasant, but uniquely genius compositions in their own right, I've forgotten two of the best in the classical form. Tonight I was able to hear them both.

Before the concert in the lobby I recognized a musician that I thought I saw playing the violin several weeks before. I introduced myself, and found out that I was wasn't imagining, she was a 'sub' and had played during the Gala. How is it that we as humans can often recognize faces, or to transcribe the metaphor, music? Remembering the name is not quite as easy as remembering the selection I'm listening to, or to the face of a person I know I've seen before - she said her name is Rachel if I remember correctly - I hope she's able to sub again soon. I was told I was the first to recognize her in public.

In the concert hall, Leonard Slatkin enters, bows, and immediately begins the Haydn Symphony 67. Haydn's music is joyful, playful, tuneful, creative, dramatic, melodic, subtle and forceful without overpowering. In the first movement the double bass adds harmony. The second movement pushes deep timbers with the strings, and then we're treated to a two part counterpoint with the strings, left and right, then backdrop with the woodwinds. The bass and cello join in to complement a phrase. A slow ending exhibits a bit of murmur and mirth -- the entire string section is directed to play col legno dell'arco (tapping the strings with the back of the bow). The effect is quite creative - I enjoyed the sound it produced.

The 3rd movement embeds a zingy interlude where the principle string player left and right of the conductor play enchanting melody back and forth and together. Conductor Slatkin, in a move hardly seen in a classical concert, exits the podium, turns, and tips both violin soloists with a bill while they are playing, to great laughter and applause from the audience. The final movement again has the 1st violin solo and the 2nd violin accompany, but it's a trio, the 1st cello joins in.

The next selection by American composer Alan Hovhaness, his Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain," was the new piece for me this evening. Having never heard this before, I came with great anticipation and an open mind. Leonard Slatkin, who often conducts American music, introduced the music by indicating some of the elements, including a form of dissonance not usual for the harp, double bass and celesta (The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer and more subtle timbre). From the start this music did not disappoint. It began with a gentle yet profound kind of resonance, probably due to the celesta, with bass playing pizzicati. From there the movement developed into a grand uplifting experience with surreal sounds seemingly always rising. The harmonies would buoyantly build a line, and just before that line would let up, the dissonant sounds we were told to listen for would chime in, adding the kind of rhythmic effect we might encounter in any walk with nature. The second movement began with a faster flowing pace. Soon it was rapid, racing with various sections, as if a multitude of leaves had just fallen from a tree, and were curried by the wind, then abating, curling with repetitions to and fro. The gale intensifies with the horns enraging and then the movement comes to an abrupt halt. The 3rd brought a slow struggle, much more dramatic with tension building. A final adagio could represent the final ascent to the top of the mysterious mountain - somewhat reminiscent of the 1st with the strings then woodwinds following with voices recanting the vivid view along the way, looking out and ever upwards, and now as we ascend the entire orchestra joins to embellish a grand finale as we have arrived at the peak - "the meeting place between the mundane and the spiritual worlds."

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All week I've been looking forward to listen to James Galway play Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 this weekend at Heinz Hall. But what was a surprise to me was that he also performs with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Bizet's Carmen Fantasy.

After intermission Sir James Galway enters the stage, bows humbly, and with the direction of Leonard Slatkin, conductor, begins. He's wearing a marvelous jacket of gold and black with red handkerchief and tie with a beige vest - he looks great. How can I adequately describe his playing? What I especially like is the trilling/lilting quality of the tones from his flute especially with the low notes, when held for a time. It's entertaining to watch him with finger movements darting up and down the scale with racing notes, then back to the sublime low frequencies as the orchestra accents. I've heard this concerto by Mozart many times, but here live with solos by Galway, it's like never before. Tte slow movement now absorbs special ebullient quality like I've never realized before. The 3rd is instantly recognizable - a spirited and sprightly razzle dazzle to conclude.

Next up: Bizet Carmen Fantasy with solo flute. Now this is the Pièce de résistance. What an interesting beginning - and on this journey we've probably encountered before, we hear a beautiful rendition with James Galway and the PSO.

Finally we are treated to three encore pieces which might be expected, and Galway calls them 3 Lollipops (after Thomas_Beecham).

• Brian Boru's March - a beautiful tune!
• Danny Boy
• Badinerie by Johann Sebastian Bach (Galway said "Johann Sebastian..." and the audience answered "Bach", then he said "Who?", again "Bach", then he said "You're definitely not at a football match" meaning the audience wasn't loud or enthusiastic enough)

Then we were treated to one more encore - the Bach Badinerie one more time, only really fast - in fact, Slatkin exclaimed "See who can play this Bach piece faster!" - applause!

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Flute Academy Flute Chorus - pre-concert music in the lobby.

From the depths of deeply vibrant strings to an arduously congruous ascent toward the light

From the depths of deeply vibrant strings to an arduously congruous ascent toward the light, the three pieces of music presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Conductor Xian Zhang and solo violinist Xiang Yu were a surprising and breathtaking journey to say the least.

The PSO program began Friday evening with Steven Stucky, entering stage right, to discuss 'Radical Light' a 17 minute composition. In his words (paraphrasing): "I'm responsible for what's about to happen to you. The genre of this composition would be called a tone poem - it sounds hopelessly old fashioned, but that's the best way to describe it. It's a journey, not a symphony or something else, it has a kind of emotional journey, climax or feeling of rise and fall, not technical, theoretical or about skill, but the feelings - the string sound, a sparkly sphere, a marvelous slow movement, and finally reaching for the light. By the time we get to the end of the journey we will have reached as far as we can for the light."

The journey begin with the strings, in a high pitched form of dissonance that seemed harsh or discordant, and I couldn't discern the form of harmony. The sound was incomplete until the woodwinds joined to try to resolve the situation. I heard horns, then succeeding woodwinds juxtaposed in somewhat improper chord progression, one following another so that, each voice in turn sounded right, but their progressions seemed incongruous. Even so, the whole of the orchestration of these elements developed in an interesting, yet deceptive cadence. I also observed the xylophone and horns, and at one point a bell rang, then again the strings and next the orchestra making a sound as if an alien spacecraft were darting back and forth across the atmosphere. Then slow deep strings followed again by the high discordant strings, as if to drown out an increasing melodic tune like a marvel - it was a melodic ascension of 4 notes, then 5, reaching for the ultimate height.

Next we were treated to a marvelous performance of Prokofiev's violin concerto with soloist Xiang Yu. The timber of Mr Yu's violin was amazing - this I could hear from the outset, in fact, throughout the first movement I was struck by the use of the two lower strings of the violin in this concerto. Many concertos by other famous composers seem to stick to the higher frequencies of the upper two strings, but Prokofiev surprised me with his use of the deeper and richer notes that I often long for. I also observed some interesting changes in tempo and accented rhythm throughout. The slow movement was my favorite, seemingly in 3/4 time with flutes pushing a melody as the violin builds. At one point I couldn't help but envision a death-star intruding on a butterfly. The final movement was a bouncing scraping fast metronome, with flourishes and flair, like a syncopated rain dance.

The encore was the best part of all coming from Mr. Yu, I believe it was Bach or based on a theme by Bach, but it was exquisite! Here we heard the lush deep tones of this marvelous violin, with amazing ability on display in a simple yet elegant solo.

After intermission came the truly magnificent Symphony No. 4 by Schumann with an orchestration by Mahler. Here the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra truly shines. Conductor Zhang was really good with this composition, she had no score before her, but knew every cadence, every part, every placement of accent and highlight, and she adroitly directed the orchestra with succinct movements of hands, showing clarity to the sections or individual voices. The third movement was loud and vivacious, melodic with plenty of orchestration. Three pounding notes interspersed by a softer intermezzo, with contrast between the two like the difference between a brusque baritone and a sweet soprano singing operatic counterpoint. The final movement brought a fitting conclusion to this wonderful symphony.

A singularity of brilliance!

Unconventional in his brilliance - shining like a singularity - an individual prone to capriciousness - developing outstanding works of classical music - unorthodox in his quest for the perfect composition - the exact sequence and progression of notes - this would be Beethoven. In any other person his nonconformity might seem eccentric, but in Beethoven the method of development, his chosen seclusion when writing, his individuality, produced more masterpieces then any other. The human spirit,
free from foible, is expressed in classical music better through Beethoven's compositions than in any other.
The culmination of this singularity, the exact pinpoint in time which marks the one composition that shines the brightest - that in my opinion is Beethoven's third symphony - called Sinfonia eroica [Heroic Symphony] (from Italian).

This link contains the Classical Notes description of the Eroica, a wealth of information, containing even a list of the best performances.

What about this evening's performance with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra? Well let's just reiterate the slogan they've adopted - Hear why the world cheers - it is because they continually produce the best performances of the greatest compositions. Tonight was a tour de force, one exceptional achievement by the orchestra and conductor Manfred Honeck, seemingly unequaled by any before or unlikely to be equaled again - a singularity of brilliance.

Before the Eroica we were treated to two other composition by Beethoven before intermission. First was the Consecration of the House overture. Interestingly, in the lobby was a TV monitor playing a film from 1971 of William Steinberg rehearsing with the PSO for the opening of Heinz Hall, and they were playing the same overture. So I had an opportunity to listen to that version, then minutes later to the 2011 PSO play it again. My thoughts were that they had similarities and differences. The Steinberg version seemed more striking on each note, as if to accentuate more heavily. the Honeck version seemed to flow more naturally without the accentuation. Now which is better, well that's hard to say, but this simple comparison was a great exercise, but not exactly scientific.

Next we were treated to the Beethoven Triple Concerto, performed by the PSO and the "Eroica Trio" with Erika Nickrenz - piano, Susie Park - violin and Sara Sant'Ambrogio - Cello. Having heard this fantastic composition for the first time tonight, I have to say I've been missing a gem that I'd really like to hear again. The balance between the trio and the orchestra was just right and the exquisite sounds by these three soloists was a unique experience. Each player had such a delicate touch, with pleasing sounds that interplay with excellent combination

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After intermission came the Eroica. The Human Spirit was smiling - first 3 then 5 notes and I had goosebumps that continued throughout the first movement. The Kettledrum brought 4 beats that continued to reverberate through my soul. Pounding then flowing, soft then loud, fast then slow, alternating then simultaneous, surreal then palpable, building then descending, accenting then natural, and often coming to an eventual crescendo without actually ending, the first movement was presented as an inconceivable exercise in classical development with jaw dropping effect.

The second movement starts in the depths of melancholy, accented by an oboe, and carries forward with full strings. The drum beats a soft foreboding metronome, as cellos segway to the strings. Then a shuffle of the rhythm - a new aspect soon appears, as if an apparition sent to dispel the trance of the sad tenor. With the woodwinds comes a masterful mix-up, eventually sidling into another countenance by the bass. The drums beat more loudly - suddenly the melody becomes supplanted by a surprisingly optimistic demeanor flexing its new found vigor, with bold brass and drums. But are we done with the ancient lament - not yet - its back and soft - holding then transitioning into a march. But the tempo is uplifting and with feld drum beats the optimism is back. The whole world of concentration is focused on a distant light coming nearer, and at the same time melancholy returns, but it is broken. Bass and Brass sustain the new temperament. Now co-joined, the old and new tones mix to maximize the joyous developing flavor - human spirit cannot be defeated when we've got the proper outlook. The music pauses, takes a breath, regroups, plans, makes ready and ambles into the next movement with a charge.

The third movement seems like a musical joke, but after a bit it becomes more triumphant than anything else. It marches right along until we get the the 4th movement. Four notes and we finally see that point of creation. God created the universe out of the 6 subatomic types of quark, and yet Beethoven created the 4th movement of his 3rd symphony out of 4 notes. Those 4 notes are the elementary constituents out of which he combined variations and themes to develop the whole movement.

Pictures at an Exhibition and Heinz Hall's 40th

This year the PSO is celebrating Heinz Hall's 40th anniversary - it was renovated in 1971. Some of the photos of the construction, the building plans and the program and tickets of the inaugural concert are on display in the lobby, along with a painting of Modest Mussorgsky, who in the year 1874 wrote 'Pictures at an Exhibition', a suite in ten movements composed for piano. However, what we hear performed by the orchestra is a beautifully orchestrated version composed by Maurice Ravel in the 1920's.

Listening to the music, I hear for the first time the sounds and music which must have been conjured in the imagination of Mussorgsky by the paintings. I had not seen the paintings until after the concert, but based on the titles of each movement, I was finally familiar with the programmatic content intended. I've heard this piece countless times without thinking about the programmatic content - and perhaps that's good because I could hear and interpret for myself what the music means to me. This evening what occurred to me is that every other movement seems to alternate between something hauntingly beautiful, as with one movement that effectively uses the Saxophone, Bassoon and Oboe to blend an eerie effect, with other rather upbeat and snappy movements like the 'Ballet of the Chicks in their Shells' and 'Baba-Yaga - The Hut on Fowl's Legs'. The conclusions came in the form of The Great Gate of Kiev, by far the longest and most impressive conglomeration of brass and bravado led by conductor Manfred Honeck and the PSO to bring the audience to an eventual standing ovation.

The surviving works by Hartmann that can be shown with any certainty to have been used by Mussorgsky in assembling his suite, along with their titles,^[2] are as follows:

No. 5 Sketch of theatre costumes for the ballet Trilby No. 6a Jew in a fur cap. Sandomierz No. 6b Sandomierz Jew

No. 8 Paris catacombs (with the figures of V. A. Hartmann, V. A. Kenel, and a guide, holding a lantern) No. 9 The hut of Baba-Yaga on hen's legs–clock in the Russian Style No. 10 Project for a city gate in Kiev–main façade

Dreamwaltzes and understanding music

Over the summer I read through a very interesting book in an attempt to improve my understanding of music. I will try to use these techniques for the upcoming season of the Pittsburgh Symphony. For instance, with Pictures at an Exhibition, the ideas below helped with understanding of the work, and increased my appreciation of it as well - which is an understatement because I've always appreciated this work.

Likewise, Dreamwaltzes, American composer Steven Stucky’s fantasia on Viennese composers Schubert, Brahms and Mahler, is much better understood when concentrating on some of these aspects. When listening 'Dreamwaltzes' I was able to perceive some of the following: Form - there was form, but a much more complex form than the classical type I'm used to - it seemed somewhat abstract, and ranging over various forms. Rhythm - certainly there existed an overall rhythm which was one of the more interesting parts of the piece. Melody - The melody existed in different forms throughout, some were more abstract, as with the sliding scales of the strings and other instruments, the musicians would bring the pitch down through several octaves by sliding their fingers along the string. This generated an eerie effect somewhat reminiscent of perhaps the music heard in Hitchcock or other films, but I don't want to generalize the effect - it must be heard to be understood. Other times the melody would be more classical as with Schubert, a slight interlude in that form then back again to the thinly veiled high frequency strings which would accompany much of the dramatic woodwinds and brass.

Perhaps others would be interested in these techniques when attending a concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra...

"The Understanding of Music", 5th ed., 1985 Wadsworth, Inc.
Charles R. Hoffer

Attitude in Listening
Ask "What is the composer trying to achieve in this portion of the music?" and similar questions. In this way, listeners gain a much better understanding of the work and will probably increase their appreciation of it as well.

Improving Listening Skill

1. Give undivided attention to the musical sounds.
2. Concentrate attention first on the main themes of the work.
3. Remember the main themes of the work.
4. Notice what happens to the themes and musical ideas as the music goes along.
(extract motives - change rhythm, bob in and out, unifying ideas, two themes vie with each other)
5. Apply knowledge to what is heard. (what form, theme presented, developed, presented again)
6. After the main themes are grasped, become more aware of the subtler and smaller features of the music.
(slightly changing pattern of chords, brief interruption of a rhythmic pattern, new combo. of instruments, insertion of a fragment of a melody)
7. Notice personal reactions to what happens in the music (note the response to what is heard, as they change, does a second appearance of a melody seem more emphatic?, a third time, is there a duration or pitch change to a note or notes, accented? - Can the reaction be accurately be put into words? , is there a sense of energy? calm? ?)
8. Don't conjure up visions or fantasize when listening to music, unless it is work specifically composed for that purpose (program music).
(distracts from the qualities of the music itself).
9. Practice learning to listen to music more effectively.
(themes, solos, form - listening for main features - then subtle musical qualities; repeated hearings of a work )

Musique du monde

Music of the world.

O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't! - Miranda - The Tempest - Shakespeare

'Tis new to thee, and to me was full of delight -- it wasn't just the creatures, but the music!

Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony (No. 4) first movement commenced this evening of delightful music - light and airy and laced with festive Cadenza, his music always brims with optimism and joy. The fourth movement, which we did not hear, has much more drama and tension, but the opening movement, which the PSO played to perfection, opened with a flourish, producing drama only to the extent that the strings and woodwind and brass and timpani all vie for attention in transitional positioning, exhibiting a hybrid harmony where the entire orchestra combined into one sublime exposition. As pleased as I was to listen and appreciate the approximately 10 minutes of glorious music, I only wished it could have been the entire symphony - but I shouldn't complain because up next was Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.

Before the concert I watched a youtube video posted on the PSO facebook page with Anne-Sophie Mutter discussing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. In the interview she said:

"What I like about the violin concerto the most is the fact that it has this Midnight Summer's Dream spirit in it, it has the young man's appasionata/character which is so much a part of every piece of Mendelssohn - a kind of very youthful -- stormy, but yet very gentle and very pure in essence - which comes through in the music"

She paused before using the word 'stormy' -- I wondered if she was searching for the perfect adjective to describe Mendelssohn's music, or perhaps she could have been trying to translate 'tempestuous'...? I looked it up, and I can't find a perfect word to translate 'tempest' in the German language.

I often think of Mendelssohn's work in this way - tempestuous and sometimes impetuous. As I would say that I have a tempestuous love affair with this form music, the music itself, as in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" it is seemingly always new, as if I've lived my entire life without it on an island, and have opened my eyes and ears to discover the Beauty of Classical Music for the first time, each and every time, and now perhaps I fully see what the composer must see - to perceive that pure essence and sometimes impetuous youthful character which underlies the music.

Anne-Sophie Mutter played the violin much like the way she described it in the interview. Her phrasing of the music seemed to stretch the bounds of what the soloist would be expected to embrace. The soft passages were very soft, almost so soft as not to be able to hear except in a hall like Heinz Hall with the impressive acoustics. The louder, lively and fast passages (Allegro) she exhibited with the passion and fury that embellished the fervor I came to expect, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra provided the perfect dramatic backdrop to it all.

Later in the evening Mutter returned to play Pablo DeSarasate's Fantasy on Bizet's Carmen for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 25. Now this was even more of a flight of fantasy, full of accent and delight - a performance that figuratively brought the house down with a standing ovation.

The other performances this evening included Georges Bizet's Suite from Carmen with the fantastic Les Toréadors which is instantly recognizable to just about anyone. The evening's last performance was Ravel's Bolero. To hear Bolero in person is probably 10 times more enjoyable than to listen to the music in any other pre-recorded venue. It starts out so low, yet you can certainly still hear it, then gradually works its way up to a grand and loud finish, is amazing. The dynamics of the performance came out really well.

Anne-Sophie Mutter discusses Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

PSO 2011 Euro Tour - Mahler Sym 5 in Berlin

I just finished listening to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra perform live in Berlin - an enjoyable performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5.

Symphonie Nr. 5 von Gustav Mahler - Live aus der Berliner Philharmonie

Under the leadership of music director Manfred Honeck, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs on 11 September 2011 at Musikfest Berlin. Live stream of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 by the orchestra is dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

Manfred Honeck says in a statement:
"The 10th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 is of great global importance. For the people of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, they have a very special place: one of the four planes crashed in a field near Pittsburgh after passengers on board intervened. These brave men gave their lives for the lives of others. To you and all the victims of September 11, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra dedicates this global stream of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 from the Berlin Philharmonic. "

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