SAME-DAY REVIEW: L.A. Philharmonic — notes from a movie theater

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

______________________

 

Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Janine Jansen, violin

Mendelssohn: Hebrides
Overture;
Violin Concerto; Symphony
No. 3 (Scottish)

Sunday, October 9, 2011 Alhambra Renaissance 14 Movie
Theater

Next telecast:
Feb. 18, 2 p.m. (PST) from Caracas, Venezuela: Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) with Dudamel
conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simn Bolivr Symphony Orchestra of
Venezuela, plus soloists and choruses

Information: www.laphil.com

______________________

 

Today was the first installment in the Los Angeles
Philharmonic’s “LA Phil LIVE” second year of telecasts to 450+ movie theaters
in the U.S. and Canada (and possibly overseas; one of the intermission
questions came from Madrid). Here are my thoughts on the telecast:

 

The crowd in my
theater was considerably smaller than last year’s final two telecasts
(I
didn’t see the first one), which might be the result of (a) the lack of pizzazz
for an all-Mendelssohn program; (b) the fact that the telecast was bucking the
NFL and baseball playoffs, which — as professional golf can attest — is a
losing proposition; (c) and it was a beautifully day outside with temperatures
in the mid-80s. Or, it may say something about Philharmonic ticket sales; this
week brought in my snail mail box a fancy four-color brochure on the “Mahler
Project” next January, which would seem to indicate that ticket sales for that
major endeavor are somewhat lackluster.

 

No, Gustavo (who
was serving both as host and conductor) didn’t interview himself
(LINK). He introduced the first half of the program with the sort of
brief comments that he gave last year without someone asking him useless
questions. There was also some nice rehearsal footage with Dudamel and
violinist Janine Jansen preparing the Violin Concerto. In between the overture
and concerto, there was no commentary, only a Dudamel quip prior to going back
onstage.

At intermission, LAPO President Deborah President handled
the interview questions quite well and, presumably, at far less cost than
importing a “name” host. Jansen also got a chance to tell the telecast viewers
the name of her encore (Bach’s Sarabande
from the Partita No. 2) and explain why she chose it (she liked the piece’s
calm feeling after the concerto’s intensity).

 

After intermission, Dudamel gave a nice summary of how he
views the Scottish Symphony and there
was some excellent rehearsal footage with much laughter and good interaction
between orchestra members and the maestro. These sorts of snippets are the
major benefit to seeing the concert in the movie theaters as opposed to the
concert hall, particularly for anyone who has played in an orchestra or sung in
a choir. Dudamel’s asking for a horizontal line from his musicians, as opposed
to just a series of notes (he used the example of a giant funeral processing
moving forward slowly carrying a coffin) was priceless.

 

On the other hand,
the telecast also spotlighted some of the issues of theaters vs. being in the
concert hall.
There were two technical glitches, neither of which,
fortunately, was catastrophic. In fact, the one in the concerto was somewhat
humorous. Jansen had made the point in the preconcert clip about how important
silences are in the concerto and that’s when the video feed froze. Just when we
thought it was an extra-long pause, the sound kicked back in and the video feed
switched to a different camera a second later. The glitch in the symphony also
wasn’t major — probably the satellite hiccupped — but that doesn’t happen when
you’re in the concert hall.

 

* The issue of sound
was clearly delineated — perhaps too clearly.
Unlike hearing the
performances in the concert hall when sounds can blend together gloriously, the
sound in the movie theater continues to be in your face. It’s the difference
between seeing an oil painting in a museum from several feet away as opposed to
close-up: different looks, different feels about a masterpiece. From my
perspective, the difference was more noticeable in the concerto as opposed the
other two pieces.

 

The camera work
seemed much smoother than in last year’s telecasts,
although there are
undoubtedly some who don’t like the frequent switching between instruments. I
thought the shots of Dudamel were more carefully thought out (several from
farther back than extreme close-up range). The one really bad shot was the
opening beat of the symphony’s fourth movement, which was way too close to
Dudamel to get the full effect of his flamboyant gesture.

 

I got to the
theater about 30 minutes ahead of the concert.
There was a series of
questions/answers on the screen that people found interesting; several said, “I
didn’t know that” to several of the answers. One question was, “Why is Disney
Hall’s seating considered a ‘vineyard’ shape?” The answer was that European
vineyards are built on hills and terraces, similar to the seating configuration
in the hall. One of the questions related to the violin that Jansen played
(it’s a 1727 Strad nicknamed “Barrere”). Someone in the theater wondered why it
was named “Barrere.” The answer wasn’t on the screen and it isn’t clear except
that two people of that name have owned it.

 

There were also about five minutes of ads from Fathom
Events, which is a Phil partner in the telecasts, and a three-minute
infomercial from the League of American Orchestras urging people to attend
their local orchestras’ concerts (Borda made a similar plea during the
telecast). Unfortunately the timing of the next concert (Feb. 18) isn’t
particularly conducive to our local orchestras. The Pasadena Symphony and La
Mirada Symphony both have concerts scheduled that evening (the PSO actually has
an afternoon concert scheduled at the same time) and the Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra’s next concert beyond that date isn’t until March 24-25.

NOTE: My review from Friday’s concert heard in Walt Disney
Concert Hall is HERE.

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email

SAME-DAY REVIEW: Janine Jansen, Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

______________________

 

Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Janine Jansen, violin

Mendelssohn: Hebrides
Overture;
Violin Concerto; Symphony
No. 3 (Scottish)

Friday, October 7, 2011 Walt Disney Concert Hall

Next performances: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m.

NOTE: Sunday’s concert will be telecast live to movie
theaters as part of the orchestra’s “LA Phil LIVE” series (LINK)

Concert information: www.laphil.com

______________________

 

It’s been quite a week for Gustavo Dudamel … and it’s not
over, yet. Earlier in the week, the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced a new chapter
in the commitment to its “El Sistema”-like project entitled “Taking a Stand”
(LINK), and although Dudamel’s role in the new venture (if any) wasn’t
spelled out, it’s hard to imagine that he won’t be pulling an oar in this
long-term project that is being produced in conjunction with Bard College and
the Longy School of Music. On Sunday, Dudamel will be both hosting and
conducting the first of three “LA Phil LIVE” telecasts to movie theaters
(LINK).

In the midst of all of that (and presuming he’s getting some
sleep with a six-month-old probably teething baby in the house), Dudamel is
leading the Phil in four concerts this week, of which today was the second and
the telecast will be the fourth. Ah, the vigor of youth!

 

This week’s program is all-Mendelssohn — not the flash and
grandeur of the upcoming “Mahler Project” in early 2012, not the glitz of the
U.S. premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s Rituales
Amerindios
that he conducted last week. Instead, it was just the sort of mainstream
music that constitutes a significant amount of any season’s programs and one
that can act as a balm for those not enamored with composers such as Mahler,
Adams or Benzecry.

 

If you want profundity, buy Beethoven. If
heart-on-the-sleeve pathos is your desire, try Tchaikovsky. If you crave
grandiosity, make it Mahler. But for pure unadulterated beauty, my choice would
be Mendelssohn … particularly if the centerpiece of the program is the Violin
Concerto played as wondrously as was the case by Janine Jansen this morning. I
can’t count how many times I’ve heard this work played in concert but none more
beautifully than the 33-year-old Dutch violinist and the Phil today.

 

Jansen’s tone, playing on a 1727 Stradivarius known as “Barrere,”
was amazingly pure even on the highest notes (of which there are plenty in this
concerto), but it was much more than that. I’ve heard violinists (some quite
well known) “phone in” performances of this ultra-familiar work but Jansen
would have none of that. Her musical taste was impeccable and she challenged
Disney Hall’s legendary acoustics (and the audience’s ability to remain quiet)
with measures of the softest playing possible; there was a moment in the third
movement when Jansen’s notes were seemingly suspended in an absolutely still
hall — not just no coughing; it seemed like everyone was holding their
collective breath. I wonder if Sunday’s telecast will be able to capture any of
that; it will be a true test of that medium.

 

Dudamel and the orchestra were in tune with Jansen
throughout; the balance (as heard from a seat near the back of the hall) was near
perfect. Dudamel (who conducted the entire program without a score) was as
quiet on the podium as I can remember seeing him. The tempos in the first
movement were as gentle as Jansen’s playing, while the final two movements
edged ever-so-slightly faster, providing just the right amount of propulsion.

 

After sustained applause, Jansen came onstage to play Bach’s
Sarabande, from Partita No. 2 in D
Minor. The house lights were lowered leaving an orange glow on the wooden organ
pipes, perfectly complementing the orange and black gown Jansen was wearing.
The total effect — visual and musical — was stunning.

 

If you had any thoughts of ignoring an all-Mendelssohn
program, banish them and attend one of the last two concerts, if for no other
reason than to hear Jansen and the Phil, in the hall if possible or, if not, in
a theater near you.

 

Not that the rest of the program was chopped liver, by any
stretch of the imagination. Luxuriant tempos were the order of the day in both
pieces, which were inspired by Mendelssohn’s trip to Scotland in 1829. The Hebrides Overture (aka Fingal’s Cave) featured sublime
performances from the woodwind and brass sections. The storm scenes, here and
in the Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) that
followed intermission, were properly atmospheric.

 

Luxuriant tempos were also front-and-center for the much of
the Scottish Symphony. Dudamel took
all four movements without pause, Clarinetist Lorin Levee played the “Scottish
snap” jig with verve in the scherzo (which Dudamel took at a jaunty clip), the
strings made the most of their moments to shine in the Adagio, and the finale finished in a majestic blaze of glory.

_______________________

 

Hemidemisemiquavers:

After a week of music by Berlioz, Adams and Benzecry that
featured several dozen percussion instruments, today’s stage seemed almost bare,
with only a lonely timpanist, Joseph Periera, holding forth as the percussion
section. Unlike last week when the violins were seated together stage left,
today they were back to the “normal” configuration, divided left and right,
with the violas (who had been on the far right last week) inside of the second
violins.

The Phil has a long history with these three pieces. The
concerto was first performed Jan. 2, 1920, the overture on Feb. 27 of that same
year, and the Scottish Symphony on
Dec. 29, 1922.

Alan Chapman was the erudite host for the “Upbeat Live”
preconcert lecture (owing to the heavy attendance, the lecture on Friday
morning is in the main auditorium, rather than BP Hall). He noted that this year
marked the 28th year of these preconcert talks, lauded the Phil for
being the first orchestra to have these sorts of lectures or conversations
before every concert, and finished with a funny Mendelssohn joke that I won’t
share so as not to spoil it for those attending tomorrow or Sunday. I’ll try to
remember to double back Sunday evening and post the joke at that time.

Earlier this week Dudamel was named Artist of the Year through a public vote conducted by Britain’s Gramophone Magazine (LINK). Last August
the magazine published a cover story on Dudamel.

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email