Review: For the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" poses no difficulties

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

The St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

Share on Google+:

The reverent and magisterial performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis by David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on Saturday, November 18th, reminded me of what a challenging piece was when it was first performed back in 1824--and still is today.

For singers, it's something of a marathon. Running around 75 minutes or more, it's the longest concert piece Beethoven wrote and the chorus sings for nearly all of it. The four soloists often do little more than add emphasis. Add in the fact that Beethoven was not especially adept at writing for the human voice and you have a work that can be a tough nut for vocalists to crack.

It's a challenge for listeners as well. The musical structure is large and ungainly, with a tendency to ramble. In his book Nineteenth-Century Romanticism in Music, British musicologist Rey M. Longyear went so far as to dub the Missa Solemnis as "one of the greatest failures in the history of music." "Despite its sublime moments," he wrote, "especially in the outer movements (Kyrie and Agnus Dei), the work is uneven, even patchy, and the overlong conclusions of the Gloria and Credo simply stupefy rather than edify."

I wouldn't go that far, but I must admit that this is a piece that sometimes conjures up a bewildering variety of sonic environments. This is music that looks back to the counterpoint of the Baroque but also forward to the massive sound blocks of Bruckner. It's ancient and modern, reverent and raucous.

So, yeah, the Missa Solemnis is a real workout for both the performers and the audiences. It is, therefore, a real tribute to Mr. Robertson and the SLSO that they did such a fine job with it when I heard it Saturday night.

The Kyrie was every bit as sublime as Mr. Longyear says it is, beginning with a deliberate tempo and building to an imposing climax that prepared us for the power of the Gloria that followed. The big fugue on "in Gloria Dei Patris. Amen." may, indeed, be longer than necessary, but the chorus certainly sang it with authority and clarity.

The central Credo that followed is the very heart of the piece and benefitted from heartfelt performances by the soloists: soprano Joélle Harvey and bass-baritone Shenyang (both so remarkable in the San Francisco Symphony's Missa Solemnis in 2015), mezzo Kelley O'Connor, and tenor Stuart Skelton. All four have operatic experience, a fact very much apparent in the way they invested the "Crucifixus etiam" section with real anguish. They're strong singers--perhaps a bit too strong in Mr. Skelton's case, as his Wagnerian heldentenor sometimes overwhelmed his fellow soloists. The chorus once again sang heroically here, especially in the massive double fugue that concludes the movement.

The Sanctus featured soaring vocals from Ms. Harvey and Ms. Skelton on "pleni sunt coeli" and the entire quartet blended nicely with Concertmaster David Halen in what Sir Donald Francis Tovey (quoted in Christopher H. Gibbs's program notes) called an "aria-concerto of violin, voices, and orchestra." This is another one of those sublime moments, and Mr. Halen has never sounded better.

David Halen

The concluding Agnus Dei is probably the most obvious example of Beethoven's colliding sound worlds, including the juxtaposition of sharply contrasting textures like the noisy "battle music" that pops up in the middle of the calls for peace and an idiosyncratically low key finale. Once again, Mr. Robertson and his forces made it work, bringing this difficult but important masterpiece to a satisfying conclusion.

The SLSO's performances of the Missa Solemnis on Saturday and Sunday, November 18th and 19th marked the last time David Robertson will conduct the chorus before his tenure as Music Director ends in the spring of 2018. It was, I expect, a moving experience for the members of the chorus and, in fact, Chorus Master Amy Kaiser did seem to be holding back tears as she took her much-deserved bows Saturday night.

Next at Powell Hall: Jun Märkl conducts the orchestra with soloists Karen Gomyo, violin, and Catalina Cuervo, soprano, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, November 24 - 26. The concert consists of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, Chausson's Poéme, Falla's El amor brujo Ballet Suite, and Ravel's Bolero. The performances take place at Powell Hall in Grand Center. .

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of April 6, 2015

Share on Google+:

Eliot Unitarian Chapel presents a Friends of Music concert on Sunday, April 12, at 3 PM. The program features music for violin, clarinet, bassoon, cello, and piano by Max Reger, Francis Poulenc, and Dimitri Shostakovich. Eliot Unitarian Chapel is at 100 South Argonne in Kirkwood. For more information: fomcstl.org.

The St. Louis Brass Band

The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts presents the St. Louis Brass Band on Sunday, April 12, at 5 p.m. The concert takes place in the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the college campus in Lebanon, IL. For more information: thehett.com.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Concert Five: Kodaly and Vaughan Williams on Sunday, April 12, at 3 p.m. The concert takes place at St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church, 744 South 3rd Street, downtown. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with violinist Rebecca Boyer Hall and cellist Bjorn Ranheim in a program of Classical Favorites on Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m. "Hear the orchestra explore themes of music and drama with selections from Grieg's Peer Gynt and Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, famously featured in Disney's Fantasia! Don't miss the special opportunity to hear the STL Symphony live at Lindenwood!" The concerts take place at in the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood University campus in St. Charles. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Beth Guterman Chu

Hannu Lintu conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with violinist Jonathan Chu and violist Beth Guterman Chu on Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m., April 10 and 11. The program features Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, K. 364 and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Sheldon Classics: Central and South America on Wednesday, April 8, at 8 PM. “Symphony concertmaster David Halen and guitarist Kirk Hanser lead the way in a colorful program from Central and South America. Featured will be music by Mexican composers Carlos Chavez and Silvestre Revueltas, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, Argentinian composer Albert Ginastera and tangos by Astor Piazzolla.” The Sheldon is at 3648 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: thesheldon.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents Kristi Benedick, flute and Diana Umali, piano on Friday, April 10, at 8 p.m. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Romantic classics get supercharged with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin with violinist David Halen
What: Music of Bruch, Berlioz, and Cindy McTee
When: October 17 and 19, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis

Share on Google+

This weekend brought electrifying performances of a pair of 19th century classics: Max Bruch's "Violin Concerto No. 1" and Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique." Rounding out the concerts was a bit of old Bach wine in new bottles by Cindy McTee, whose "Double Play" was such a delightful discovery last January.

Composed about three decades apart (the Berlioz premiered in 1830, the Bruch in 1868), the two big Romantic works have little in common aside from the fact that their respective composers were around the same age (30) at their premiers.

The Bruch concerto is a warm, heartfelt, and utterly irresistible work that marries virtuoso flash with genuine emotion. The Adagio second movement, in particular, is a piece of almost heartbreaking beauty. The Berlioz, on the other hand, is a hair-raising study in dramatic excess. I dearly love both works, but the Bruch is far and away the more moving. It's rather like the difference between an action movie and a romantic drama.

David Halen
stlsymphony.org

The solo role in Bruch's romance requires a performer who has both solid technique and emotional depth—which is exactly what it got in this weekend's soloist, SLSO Concertmaster David Halen. He has, as I noted when he did the Mendelssohn concerto back in February of 2012, a mix of technical facility and intense concentration that pulled me in immediately and kept me there throughout the work. He attacked the dramatic entrances in the first movement with tremendous vigor, sang the lyrical second, and simply danced through the joyous Allegro energico finale. He got great support from Mr. Slatkin and the orchestra as well. The standing ovation at the end was immediate and completely justified.

"If Hector Berlioz had been born in 20th-century America instead of 19th-century France," writes Reneé Spencer Saller in her program notes, "he would have wound up in prison or a mental institution." He might also have ended up as the object of a sexual harassment suit, given his dogged pursuit of Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. It was his obsession with her that inspired the creation of the "Symphonie" and eventually led to their disastrous marriage—but that's another story.

The music, unlike the romantic obsession that inspired it, was a great success, although it was fiercely controversial. Parisians had just gotten used to the idea of Beethoven when along came this wildly dramatic bit of excess scored for a massive orchestra and accompanied by a lurid narrative about a young musician who dreams about his ideal woman (first movement), pursues her at a ball (second), and then flees to the country to escape his longing (third). Overdosing on opium, he dreams he is being beheaded for her murder (fourth movement) and then literally goes to Hell, where he encounters his love for the last time, now transformed into a demon and presiding over a witches' Sabbath.

To tell this wild tale, Berlioz used an orchestra that was not only large but also included instruments rarely heard in concerts, from the little E-flat clarinet to the coarse-sounding ophicleide (now usually replaced by the tuba) and tuned iron bells. He also asks the players to employ uncommon techniques, such as having the strings play col legno (with the wood of their bows instead of the strings) in the finale.

All that means that the "Symphonie Fantastique" is a real test of an orchestra's mettle, and the SLSO musicians were more than up to the challenge. There are many great solo passages throughout the work. Cally Banham, for example, was wonderfully plaintive in the famous English horn solo in the bucolic "Scène aux Champs" third movement, as was oboist Barbara Orland with the offstage echo part (played from the house right balcony). The bassoon section was wonderfully menacing in the fourth movement "Marche au suplice" and Diana Haskell's E-flat clarinet was delightfully grotesque in the fifth movement transformation of the "idée fixe" theme which represents the narrator's beloved. Flautists Mark Sparks and Ann Choomack (doubling on piccolo) also did fine work in the second movement waltz, along with harpists Allegra Lilly and Megan Stout.

Celeste Golden Boyer
stlsymphony.org

Well, I could go on, but you get the idea. Up on the podium, Mr. Slatkin, conducting without a score (and, during the third movement, without a baton), brought it all together with a wonderfully sympathetic and dynamic reading that did full justice to Berlioz's high drama without ever descending into exaggeration. His decision to place key "effects" instruments (such as the fifth movement bells) offstage worked very well, I thought, and added a very appropriate theatricality to the proceedings. The final pages were both alarming and thrilling—just as Berlioz would have wished.

The concerts opened with "Einstein's Dream," a 2004 work by Cindy McTee (Mr. Slatkin's wife), apparently a late substitution for the originally scheduled opener, Slatkin's own "Endgames" (which will have its world premiere with the Detroit Symphony in November). "Albert Einstein," writes the composer on her web site, "gave much thought to issues of space and time, and he dreamt of finding a theory of everything, or a broad, mathematical structure that would fully explain and link together all known phenomena. My piece celebrates this dream."

That celebration takes the form of a set of variations for strings, percussion, and recorded sound on the Bach chorale prelude "Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott" ("We all believe in one God"), "transposed," as Ms. McTee notes, "to the key of 'e' for Einstein." The theme is initially stated by the strings in the first section ("Warps and Curves in the Fabric of Space and Time") and then subjected to increasingly complex transformations in each of the following six sections.

In "Music of the Spheres," for example, the theme is played by the high strings over a pedal point in the cellos and basses while in the "Celestial Bells" live tubular bells are accompanied by recorded bell-like sounds and Ligeti-ish clusters in the strings. The leaping violin solo in "Pondering the Behavior of Light" (expertly played by Celeste Golden Boyer) is a homage to Einstein's own violin playing. In the final section, "Wondering at the Secrets," notes of the theme are slowed down and overlapped in a technique the composer calls "time-stretching." "What most intrigued me about musical time-stretching," she writes, "was its ability to shift the listener’s attention toward the inner components of the sound – the harmonics and the overlapping resonant regions – as if inviting a kind of meditation to wonder at the secrets."

If all of this sounds, to quote Mr. Slatkin's introductory remarks, like "one of those kind of pieces," rest assured that it wasn't. It was fascinating, ingenious, and even a bit mischievous at times. Like McTee's "Double Play," "Einstein's Dream" clearly shows a lively and playful intellect at work. I'm not sure it leaves much room for interpretation by the conductor, though, as the live musicians are required to stay in synch with the recorded tracks.

Next at Powell Hall: John Storgårds conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Heidi Harris in Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto" Sibelius's "Symphony No. 1," and Paufnik's "Landscapes" Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at 8 p.m. The Saturday concert will be broadcast on St. Louis Public Radio. Steven Jarvi conducts the orchestra in "Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo," a special Family Concert featuring Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals" on Sunday, October 26, at 3 p.m. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit the web site.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 13, 2014

Share on Google+:

Leonard Slatkin conducts the Detroit Symphony
leonardslatkin.com / Donald Dietz

The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis presents St. Louis, America, featuring on Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14, at 7:30 PM. "Chamber Music Society of St. Louis opens our 2014-15 Season with a concert, to be performed twice, saluting St. Louis and our City’s 250th birthday. As a part of the American Arts Experience – St. Louis, we will showcase music written in honor of America. Recognized as a top interpreter of American music, and having deep-rooted St. Louis ties, Leonard Slatkin, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate, is the perfect choice as our Guest Artist for this program. Leonard will share the stage with CMSSL musicians in performances of Variations On Yankee Doodle by Henri Vieuxtemps, works by Aaron Copland, Scott Joplin, and our CMSSL version of Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter, and the always delightful Variations on America by Charles Ives." The concert takes place at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington. For more information: chambermusicstl.org.

Conductor laureate Leonard Slatkin conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soloist David Halen, violin, in Bruch's "Violin Concerto No. 1," Berlioz's "Symphonie Fastastique," and Slatkin's own composition "Endgames" Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., October 17 and 19. "Leonard Slatkin makes his annual return to Powell Hall to conduct Berlioz’s epic and autobiographical Symphonie fantastique which tells the story of an artist's self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. David Halen celebrates his 20th season as concertmaster performing Bruch’s warm-hearted Violin Concerto with the former Music Director who appointed him to his post with the STL Symphony." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Lang at the
international Chopin Year 2010

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soloists Lang Lang, piano, and Mark Sparks, flute, in Bach's "Orchestra Suite No. 2" and Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" Saturday, October 18, at 8:30 p.m. The concert is part of the annual Red Velvet Ball formal fundraising event. "We are thrilled to welcome internationally-acclaimed piano sensation, Lang Lang, to Powell Hall for this annual fundraising concert benefiting the STL Symphony. Declared by The New York Times as "the hottest artist on the classical music planet," Lang Lang will perform Tchaikovsky’s triumphant Piano Concerto No. 1 with David Robertson and the STL Symphony." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Symphony’s Crescendo Circle presents Sips and Symphonies on Thursday, October 16, at 7:30 PM. "What is Sips and Symphonies? It is a great way to learn about music in a fun, casual environment. On the third Thursday of each month, we get together at Tavern of Fine Arts to listen to and discuss a piece of music being performed at an upcoming concert at Powell Hall. We will have a different guest moderator each month who will help lead an informal conversation about the music." A special cocktail is created for each event to accompany the music. This month, there will be a lively and informal discussion/presentation of Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" and Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1." The event takes place at The Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents a classical open stage night on Monday, October 13, from 7:30 – 9 PM. "Come by yourself or bring your quartet. Sight read through a Beethoven quartet or use this as an opportunity to put the finishing touches on that Hindemith Viola Sonata you have been working on. All ages and skill levels are welcome. We have a 6' grand piano and an accompanist." The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Kirk Hanser

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents Kirk Hanser and Friends on Friday, October 17, at 6 PM. "Guitarist Kirk Hanser will be joined by several musical friends for an early evening's performance featuring the guitar! Music of American composers including Andy York, Michael Chapdelaine, Michael Hedges and many others." The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Third Baptist Church presents an organ concert by Craig Datz, Organist at Missouri United Methodist Church, Columbia, Missouri, on Friday, October 17, at 12:30 PM as part of its free Friday Pipes series. "Join us on Fridays at Third Baptist Church for Friday Pipes, the free organ recital series celebrating the restoration of the church's 72-rank Kilgen/Möller pipe organ. Each week a different performer will be presenting a program of classical, church, and theatre organ music in the beautiful sanctuary of Third Baptist. This season's performers come from across the USA, and even from around the world. Free parking is available in the church lots on Washington Avenue." Third Baptist Church is at 620 N Grand. For more information: www.third-baptist.org

The Washington University Symphony presents a free concert featuring bassoonist Andrew Gott on Monday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. The program will include Beethoven’s Overture to Fidelio and Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites, ending with the popular "In the Hall of the Mountain King". The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City, MO. For more information: music.wustl.edu

Absolutely free

[Update: due to inclement weather, this concert has been cancelled. Bummer.]

David Robertson

When most businesses hand out free samples, you don't get that much. Enough shampoo for one lather and rinse. A couple of pieces of candy. It's free, after all, so you shouldn't expect much. Not so with the St. Louis Symphony.

Tomorrow night (Tuesday, September 9) David Robertson and the SLSO are giving us a free sample of their 135th season, and it's a heaping helping. Starting at 7 p.m. over on Art Hill in Forest Park, you can enjoy the sparkling overture to Leonard Bernstein's 1956 operetta "Candide," the boisterous "Hoedown" from Aaron Copland's "Rodeo" ballet, the finale from Bruch's "Violin Concerto No. 1" (with concertmaster David Halen as soloist), a suite from Klaus Badelt's score for "Pirates of the Caribbean," and Rimski-Korsakov's colorful tribute to the sounds of Spain, "Capriccio Espagnol" (which also has some flashy fiddling).

David Halen

There are even some popular patriotic tunes. The concert opens with an arrangement of "The Star Spangled Banner" by long-time New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Walter Damrosch (he led the world premieres of Gershwin's "Concerto in F" and "An American in Paris"). It closes with an arrangement of "America the Beautiful" prepared by Philip Rothman for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America as an encore for their 2014 tour, followed by Sousa's venerable "Stars and Stripes Forever" (complete with a fireworks display).

Not bad for a free sample, eh?

But wait, there's more! What the folks at the symphony refer to as 'some of St. Louis' finest food trucks" will be selling comestibles, and both soft drink and "adult beverages" will be for sale as well (cash only). There will also be a Prize Wheel that you can spin to win symphony tickets.

The essentials: The St. Louis Symphony orchestra, conducted by David Robertson and featuring violin soloist David Halen, presents a free season preview concert on Tuesday, September 9th, beginning at 7 p.m. on Art Hill in Forest Park. Bring a blanket, a picnic and your closest friends and enjoy.

For more information on the full symphony season (which starts this Friday), check out their web site.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of February 24, 2014

Share on Google+:

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a brass quintet concert featuring symphony members on Monday, February 24, at 6 PM as part of the Symphony in Your College program. The concert takes place at 1 Hairpin Drive at on the Southern Illinois University campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a Pulitzer Series concert on Wednesday, February 26, at 7:30 PM. David Robertson will conduct members of the orchestra in a program of music by Steve Reich. The performance takes place at the Pulitzer Center for the Arts, 3716 Washington. For more information: stlsymphony.org

Benedetto Lupo

Juanjo Mena conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with piano soloist Benedetto Lupo in a program of music by Ginastera, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar. Performances take place on Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 28 – March 2, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. "Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena makes his STL Symphony debut leading Elgar 's Enigma Variations. Created by the composer as a musical puzzle, this work will astonish and delight with its unforgettable melodies including the famously noble 'Nimrod.' The centuries-old theme from Rachmaninoff 's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini comes to life as pianist Benedetto Lupo showcases an outstanding technical display against a gorgeous orchestral backdrop." For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents St. Louis Symphony Concertmaster David Halen and folk singers Dave Para and Cathy Barton in a program of music of the Civil War era on Wednesday, February 26, at 8 PM. "Two cherished Missouri folk singers, Dave Para and Cathy Barton, join David Halen for music from the Civil War era. The folk duo are multi-instrumentalists and helped found the Missouri Folk Festival over 20 years ago. Halen and members of the Symphony perform classical music from the era and also 'Ashokan Farewell,' written for the PBS Civil War series." The Sheldon is at 3648 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: thesheldon.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra presents a Next Generation Chamber Music Concert on Tuesday, February 25, at 7 PM. The performance takes place at the Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Snow Trio

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Snow Trio on Friday, February 28, at 8:00 PM. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Christine Johnson and pianist Jon Garrett on Saturday, March 1, at 2 and 8 PM. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Friends again

James Gaffigan

Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by James Gaffigan
What: Music of Mendelssohn and Brahms
When: February 7-9, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall

Share on Google+:

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra guest conductor (and fellow Rice University alum) James Gaffigan gave us a highly dramatic and immensely satisfying Mendelssohn "Symphony No. 3 in A minor," op. 56 ("Scottish"), Friday morning, along with an equally impassioned Brahms "Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra (Double Concerto)," op. 102. Symphony Concertmaster David Halen and Principal Cello Daniel Lee were the soloists in the Brahms, demonstrating that you don't have to fly in stars to get stellar performances.

"The lovable side of Brahms' nature," write Wallace Brockway and Herbert Weinstock in their chatty "Men of Music," "is nowhere better illustrated than in the circumstances surrounding the composition...of the "Double Concerto." Brahms wrote it in 1887 in an attempt to mend fences with his friend and musical collaborator Joseph Joachim, from whom he had been estranged for six years after Brahms was caught in the crossfire of Joachim's messy divorce.

The attempt was apparently successful. Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann (who had commissioned the work) gave the first performance with Brahms on the podium. Indeed, listening to the intimate relationship between the violin and cello in this music, it's impossible not to picture the kind of close friendship Brahms wanted to rekindle. As Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes, "the cello and violin are equal partners, paradoxically both solo, yet conjoined... The violin finishes the cello's sentences; the cello chuckles at the violin's jokes. They are having an intimate conversation, really listening to each other, supporting, and forgiving each other."

Daniel Lee and David Halen

In giving the solo roles in the concerto to colleagues who have worked together for years, I think the symphony has given us a performance with an extra degree of depth and resonance. Mr. Halen and Mr. Lee were clearly very much in synch with each other throughout the concerto, taking on the role of old friends Brahms has written for them.

For me, the whole collaboration was neatly captured in a moment during the Vivace non troppo finale when, after the statement of the first theme of the rondo, Mr. Halen and Mr. Lee looked at each other and shared a smile as if to say, "that was fun, wasn't it?" That attitude comes across to an audience, which is probably one reason why they got a smattering of spontaneous applause after the first movement and a well-earned standing ovation at the end.

This is difficult material to perform, by the way. That's partly because, as Brahms wrote to Clara Schumann, he was "writing for instruments whose character and sound one can only incidentally imagine" and partly because the soloists have to work so closely, often trading licks like traditional fiddlers. Mr. Halen and Mr. Lee played together like a single instrument, weaving a seamless garment of sound. Nicely done, gentlemen.

Mendelssohn got the idea for his "Symphony No. 3 in A minor", op. 56, ("Scottish") back in 1829 during a walking tour of the British aisles. Scotland in general and Edinburgh in particular made a strong impression on him. Although most of the symphony wasn't written until 1842, Mendelssohn got the idea for the slow introduction to the first movement when he visited the ruined Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. "In the evening twilight," he wrote, "we went today to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved... Everything round is broken and mouldering and the bright sky shines in. I believe I today found in that old chapel the beginning of my 'Scottish' Symphony."

Holyrood Chapel

The actual "Scottishness" of the rest of the symphony has been a subject of some debate among critics over the years, but everyone seems to agree that this dramatic and engaging work is one of Mendelssohn's best. It was also, despite the number assigned to it, his last; he died five years after its 1842 premiere.

James Gaffigan gave it the full Romantic treatment, beginning with a forceful declaration of that "Holyrood" introduction followed by a statement of the main theme that brought out the clarinet melody more prominently than usual—a nice touch. That set the tone for the rest of this highly charged performance, which emphasized strong tempo and dynamic contrasts and left many individual moments lingering in my memory.

The clarinet theme of the second movement, for example, sounded especially perky in the hands of Scott Andrews, as did the oboe reply from Phil Ross. The horns, led by Associate Principal Thomas Jöstlein, also impressed me with their balance of power and precision in the rapid passages here. In fact, the winds and brasses sounded excellent all the way through, which is no small accomplishment for a morning concert. Warm-ups must have started fairly early.

The third movement Adagio was powerfully majestic and the A major restatement of the "Holyrood" theme at the end sounded notably jubilant, bringing everything to a highly satisfying conclusion.

The concert opened with an equally fine reading of Mendelssohn's "Die schöne Melusine (The Fair Melusina) Overture," op. 32 from 1833, inspired by a medieval French fairy tale about a water sprite's unhappy love affair with a human prince. The piece is a bit discursive in places but offers opportunities for the winds to show off. And so they did, with the limpid melody that represents the heroine first stated by the clarinets and played quite effectively Friday morning by Associate Principal Diana Haskell and Tina Ward and later picked up beautifully by the flutes (Ann Choomack and Associate Principal Andrea Caplan). This strikes me as somewhat minor league Mendelssohn, but Mr. Gaffigan and the symphony musicians certainly made a fine case for it.

For what it's worth, I couldn't help noticing that Mr. Gaffigan, like many of the symphony's guest conductors, had a very physically demonstrative style on the podium, often favoring big gestures and generally characterized by what seems to be a real joy in music making so large that it can barely be contained. As an audience member, I've always found that approach appealing.

Next on the schedule: Lift Every Voice: A Black History Month Celebration with Kevin McBeth conducting the orchestra and IN UNISON chorus Friday, February 14, at 7:30 PM. Then Steven Jarvi conducts the orchestra for a live performance of Max Steiner's score for Casablanca, accompanying a showing of the classic film. There will be a drink special, popcorn, another movie-themed goodies, all of which you can take into the hall with you. The opening credits roll at 7 PM on Saturday and 2 PM on Sunday, February 15 and 16, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Music of love and friendship

James Gaffigan

This weekend (February 7-9) marks the return to the Powell Hall stage of Lucerne Symphony Chief Conductor (and fellow Rice University alum) James Gaffigan for a program of music by Mendelssohn and Brahms that puts two of the symphony's own in the spotlight.

The concerts open with "Die schöne Melusine (The Fair Melusina) Overture," op. 32 from 1833.  It's not, as you might think from the title, the overture to an opera or play but rather a stand-alone concert work based on an extra-musical subject.  It's the sort of thing Liszt would later call a "symphonic poem." That wouldn't happen for another decade, though, so back then such pieces were simply called "concert overtures."  Mendelssohn's far more well-known "The Hebrides" op. 26 (a.k.a. "Fingal's Cave") is a classic example.

The story of "The Fair Melusina" comes from the realm of the supernatural.  "The eponymous heroine," writes Paul Schiavo in his program notes, "derives from a medieval French tale about a water nymph, or mermaid, who can pass as a human being. She falls in love with a human prince and agrees to marry him on the condition that he leave her alone one day every week, when she secretly reverts to her half-fish form. When her husband discovers her true identity, their happiness ends and Melusina is exiled to an aquatic fairy realm." 

This is not unfamiliar territory for classical composers; a similar story drives Dvořák’s 1901 opera "Rusalka" (the Metropolitan Opera live HD broadcast of which is, coincidentally, showing at the Art Museum on Saturday afternoon).  As Robert Schumann noted, though, Mendelssohn doesn't attempt literal storytelling her so much as he “portrays only the characters of the man and the woman, of the proud, knightly Lusignan and the enticing, yielding Melusina."  You hear the latter in clarinet arpeggios and the former in a more heroic theme for the strings.  Nice stuff, and not heard as often as "Hebrides"; the last symphony performance was in 2008.

The ruins of Holyrood Abbey's nave in August 2011

The other Mendelssohn piece on the program—the "Symphony No. 3 in A minor", op. 56, “Scottish”—is much more well known and is frequently heard in concert halls and on the radio.   Although most of it wasn't written until 1842, Mendelssohn got the idea for the slow introduction to the first movement when he visited the ruined Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh on 1829 walking tour of Scotland.  “In the evening twilight," he wrote, "we went today to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved…Everything round is broken and mouldering and the bright sky shines in. I believe I today found in that old chapel the beginning of my ‘Scottish’ Symphony.” 

That opening theme aside, though, the "Scottish" nature of the symphony is a subject of some debate among critics and program annotators.  Some, like the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Eric Bromberger, feel that "no one is sure what that nickname means. This music tells no tale, paints no picture, nor does it quote Scottish tunes."  British composer and conductor Julius Harrison, on the other hand, thought the symphony "illustrates the near-scenic aspect of Mendelssohn's romantic art" and felt that the jaunty clarinet theme of the Vivace non troppo second movement has "a touch of 'Charlie is My Darling' about it's dotted quavers—something Mendelssohn may have remembered and set down."

I fall more into the late Mr. Harrison's camp, but wherever you come down on the "Scottishness" of this music there's no getting around its unflagging appeal and elegant construction.  To hear this music is to love it.

Love played a part in the composition of the second work on this weekend's program, the "Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra (Double Concerto)", op. 102.  "The lovable side of Brahms' nature," write Wallace Brockway and Herbert Weinstock in their chatty "Men of Music," "is nowhere better illustrated than in the circumstances surrounding the composition" of this piece.  Brahms wrote in in 1887 in an attempt to mend fences with his friend and musical collaborator Joseph Joachim.  Brahms had taken (or appeared to take, anyway) the side of Joachim's wife in an ugly divorce suit six years earlier and Joachim refused to forgive him despite repeated attempts at reconciliation.

A commission for a concerto from Robert Hausmann, the cellist Joachim's string quartet, finally gave Brahms the opening he needed.  Brahms approached Joachim for advice on the concerto and, as it evolved from a cello concerto to an unusual concerto for violin and cello (harking back to the old Baroque concerto grosso), the old musical partnership between the two men was rekindled.  "This concerto is a work of reconciliation," noted Clara Schumann in her journal. "Joachim and Brahms have spoken to each other again for the first time in years."

Daniel Lee and David Halen

It's a remarkable piece due in part—as Mr. Schiavo notes—to "its insistence that the cello and violin are equal partners, paradoxically both solo, yet conjoined. Like all great pairings, the union engenders something entirely new—in this case a crazy hybrid super-stringed instrument that can plummet as low as a cello and soar as high as a violin in one delirious run."  It opens with a dramatic declaration for the cello, followed by a more lyrical theme on the violin.  The cello quickly joins in and soon they're off on a rapturous duet that will continue, in various forms, for the next 33 minutes or so.  "They are having an intimate conversation,' writes Mr. Schiavo, "really listening to each other, supporting, and forgiving each other. Together they make a better person."  It really is a labor of love, and that comes through is every measure.

That said, Brahms himself was somewhat dismissive of the concerto and lacked confidence in his writing for the solo instruments.  "It is quite a different matter," he wrote to Clara Schumann, "writing for instruments whose character and sound one can only incidentally imagine than for an instrument which one knows totally—as I do the piano." 

And he wasn't alone in his misgivings.  As Peter Gutmann writes at Classical Notes, Edward Hanslick (normally a fan) dismissed it as “a product of a great constructive mind rather than an irresistible inspiration of creative imagination and invention.”  Brockway and Weinstock go ever further: "It is of appalling difficulty both for soloists and audience: playing it may give the pleasure of obstacles overcome, but there is no such reward for most listeners."

Listening to the Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman recording with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony now, I find it impossible to agree with that assessment.  The give and take between the soloists that Mr. Schiavo describes is irresistible to my ears. 

Brockway and Weinstock are right about the technical challenges, though.  Fortunately this weekend's performances will feature concertmaster David Halen and principal cellist Daniel Lee in the solo roles, so technique isn't likely to be an issue.  And there will be the additional appeal of watching these two colleagues work together.

The Essentials: James Gaffigan conducts the St. Louis Symphony with soloists David Halen (violin) and Daniel Lee (cello) in the Brahms "Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra (Double Concerto)", op. 102, along with Mendelssohn's "Die schöne Melusine (The Fair Melusina) Overture," op. 32 and "Symphony No. 3 in A minor", op. 56.  Performances are Friday at 10:30 AM (a Krispy Kreme coffee concert with free doughnuts), Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM, February 7-9, at Powell Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.  For more information: stlsymphony.org.  The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio at 90.7 FM, HD 1, and streaming from the station web site.  But, of course, it’s best heard live.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Saturday, March 23

Share on Google+

Christopher Rouse

Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson with Mark Sparks (flute) and David Halen (violin)
What: Music of Copland, Bernstein, and Christopher Rouse
Where: Powell Symphony Hall
When: Tonight at 8 and Sunday at 3
Why: "This all-American program features two of America’s greatest composers, Bernstein and Copland, painting musical portraits of Americana. Concertmaster David Halen steps forward performing Bernstein’s passionate Serenade and Principal Flute Mark Sparks performs Christopher Rouse’s lyrical Flute Concerto. Copland’s rowdy Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo bring this concert to a riveting finale." It's always nice to see a couple of our local players in the star soloist roles.  The program consists of a suite of the music Aaron Copland composed for a failed experimental play Quiet City, a new flute concerto by Christopher Rouse (whose Symphony No. 3 was a big hit of the 2011 season), Leonard Bernstein's Serenade, and the popular Four Dance Episodes from Copland's ballet Rodeo. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The old guard, young at heart

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

Who: Violinist David Halen and The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
What: Music of Weber, Mendelssohn, and Schubert
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: February 3 and 4, 2012

Big-name international soloists and new works are all well and good, but there’s still something immensely satisfying about seeing a member of the local band step to the front and deliver a fine, polished performance of a familiar standard. That’s what concertmaster David Halen did Friday night with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, one of three comfy Romantic favorites conducted with love by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, still going strong at age 88.

It’s likely that just about every violinist on the planet has taken a crack at the Mendelssohn at one time or another. Audiences never seem to tire of it, though, and fiddlers never fail to find something new (or at least personal) in their interpretations. Mr. Halen certainly made it his own Friday night with a mix of technical facility and intense concentration that pulled me in immediately and kept me there right through the flash of the finale. Mr. Skrowaczewski was with him all the way. There was less visual communication between the two than I might have expected, but communicate they did nevertheless.

If the Mendelssohn concerto was the big solo event on the program, the Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major was the major orchestral event. Originally completed in 1826 and then substantially revised two years later just before the composer’s untimely death at age 31, the 9th—usually referred to as “The Great” to distinguish it from the earlier and less expansive symphony in the same key—was never performed in its final version during Schubert’s lifetime. The premiere didn’t take place until eleven years later—under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn, in fact—and even then it was widely viewed as too long and too difficult to play.

They had a point about the length. Clocking in at around 50 minutes if you take all the repeats, the 9th would have seemed gargantuan at the time, dwarfed only by Beethoven’s 9th. Still, it’s hard to hear this now and not be completely captivated by the endless flow of irresistible melodies and rhythmic drive that runs throughout. It’s one of my favorite Romantic symphonies and never fails to delight me.

Mr. Skrowaczewski’s approach to the 9th struck me as very much in the mid 20th century Germanic tradition: somewhat slow tempi and a big, modern orchestral sound. It’s the sort of thing I grew up hearing. In recent years I’ve been somewhat seduced by the “original instrument” approach to music of this period exemplified by conductors like Roger Norrington or John Eliot Gardner, but this weekend’s performance reminded me of the virtues of that older approach. This was a Schubert 9th that built in power from beginning to end, starting with a hush and ending with a bang. It was all there: the magisterial first movement, the mysterious second, the boisterous third, and that magnificent piece of musical architecture, the final Allegro vivace.

The orchestra was in top form, with fine work by every section and a lovely, burnished sound overall.

The program opened with the overture to Carl Maria von Weber’s 1826 opera Oberon. It’s a lively and tune-filled curtain raiser that opens with haunting horn solo and gallops along to a lively finish. I found Mr. Skrowaczewski’s reading a bit on the stodgy side but could hardly quibble with the quality of the playing.

Next at Powell Hall: Four concerts featuring Hubbard Street Dance Chicago February 17-19. For more information you may call 314-534-1700, visit stlsymphony.org, like the Saint Louis Symphony Facebook page, or follow @slso on Twitter.