Review: Steven Jarvi puts his own stamp on a festive holiday concert with the St. Louis Symphony

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

SLSO Resident Conductor
Steven Jarvi

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Although it's usually a heavily attended event, freezing drizzle and the resulting treacherous streets put a major dent in the turnout for the Mercy Holiday Celebration at the St. Louis Symphony Friday night (December 16, 2016). And that's a shame, since conductor Steven Jarvi really put his stamp on the evening, with an intelligent selection of music that included more than a few works I'd never heard before.

For a pops concert that usually sticks to the tried and true, that was a delightful and welcome surprise. Morton Gould's arrangement of "Jingle Bells'" for example, was ingenious and whimsical, with icy harmonics from the violins, a plaintive oboe, muted horns, and a quiet finale that gave the whole thing a kind of pointillist delicacy. The orchestration of "Carol to the King" by Mormon Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg featured lively "fife and drum" interchanges among the flutes, trumpets, and snare drums. And the "Refried Farandole" by composer/performer/producer Sam Hyken brought the concert to an appropriately rousing conclusion. This virtuoso expansion of the "Farandole" (from Bizet's incidental music for L'Arlesienne, which includes the traditional Provençal carol "The March of the three Kings") was completely new to me and it was tremendous fun, especially when performed with such precision.

Kevin McBeth

Perhaps the most beautiful selection of the evening, though, came from Kevin McBeth's Holiday Festival Chorus, composed of singers from area high schools. For an a cappella performance of the "Ave Maria" by twentieth-century German composer Franz Xaver Biebl, the choir was split in half, with singers and soloists both on stage and upstairs in the dress circle. Heard from our seats on the orchestra floor, this gave the music a wonderful antiphonal quality that called to mind the works of Gabrielli and the other Venetian Renaissance polychoral composers. Mr. Jarvi conducted with a look of real joy that was, I'm sure, shared by many of us in the audience.

The chorus also distinguished itself in more traditional selections like "The First Nowell" and, most notably, in the decidedly non-traditional "South African Gloria" by William Bradley Roberts, Professor of Church Music at Virginia Theological Seminary. With its syncopated percussion and lively foot stomping from the chorus, this was music guaranteed to bring a smile to the face and joy to the heart. It also sounded tricky to perform, so kudos to Mr. McBeth and his singers for doing so well by it.

That's not to say that the usual trappings of this annual holiday event weren't in place. The concert opened with a swinging, brassy arrangement of "Winter Wonderland." St. Nick (played with engaging jollity by Whit Reichert) showed up for his usual visit and arranged for a child from the audience to "conduct" the orchestra in Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride." And there was a guest appearance by a singer from the world of Broadway and TV: Nicole Parker.

Nicole Parker

Ms. Parker is probably best known for her work on MADtv, but she also has extensive musical theatre credits, including the plum role of Elphaba in the first North American tour of Wicked. She had some great moments, including a charming "White Christmas" with the orchestra and chorus and a funny "My Favorite Things" with impersonations of Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews (eerily accurate), Diane Keaton, and Celine Dion (complete with an absurdly ornamented vocal line). Her "Defying Gravity" might not have had much to do with the holidays, but it certainly soared. So, icy streets not withstanding, it was an evening as festive as the holiday decorations in the Powell Hall lobby and as cozy as a red Christmas sweater.

Seasonal concerts continue at Powell Hall with the Bach Society Christmas Candlelight Concert on Thursday, December 22nd, and Disney in Concert on the 29th and 30th. The orchestra will round out the year with the annual New Year's Eve gala on the 31st. Visit the SLSO web site for details.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of May 16, 2016

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The Luminary Arts Center presents trumpeter Rhys Chatham with the Vernacular String Trio on Sunday, May 22, at 8 p.m. "Join us on May 22nd for a special solo show with legendary composer, guitarist and trumpet player Rhys Chatham.He was the founder of the music program at The Kitchen in downtown Manhattan in 1971 and was its music director between 1971-73 and 1977-80. Rhys Chatham altered the DNA of rock and created a new type of urban music by fusing the overtone-drenched minimalism of John Cale and Tony Conrad with the relentless, elemental fury of the Ramones the textural intricacies of the avant-garde colliding with the visceral punch of electric guitar-slinging punk rock." The performance takes place at the Luminary Center for the Arts, 2701 Cherokee Street. For more information: theluminaryarts.com.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Ariadne on Naxos: Backstage Drama, Onstage Comedy - When Art Mimics Life on Monday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. The guest speaker will Ken Page, Broadway actor and The Majodomo in Ariadne on Naxos. It's part of their Spotlight on Opera, a series of four insightful dialogues exploring the ideas in each season's opera, and it takes place at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road. For more information: experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Vocalist James Delisco

Brent Havens conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with vocalist James Delisco in Music of Michael Jackson on Friday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. "From his early start in the music industry with the Jackson 5 to his successful solo career, the “King of Pop” reigns at Powell Hall! Celebrating the one and only Michael Jackson, the STL Symphony is joined on stage with a full rock band performing hits including “Thriller,” “Beat It,” “Man in the Mirror” and many more. Relive the biggest hits from Jackson's celebrated career and incredible influence!" Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with pianist Jim Brickman on on Sunday, May 22 at 3 p.m. "Since the release of his debut album in 1994, Jim Brickman's romantic piano sound has made him the best-selling solo piano artist of our time and one of contemporary music's most popular stars. Hear Brickman's signature style in concert with the STL Symphony performing chart-topping hits from his multi-platinum recordings." Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Concert Review: Getting the Christmas spirit back with Steven Jarvi and the St. Louis Symphony, December 18-20, 2015

Whitney Claire Kaufman and friend at Powell

What with El Niño, global warming, and the relentless drumbeat of hate and fear from the rightward end of the political spectrum, it hasn't felt much like Christmas lately for me. But walking into a bright, wreath-bedecked Powell Hall Friday night for the first of the St. Louis Symphony's Macy's Holiday Celebration concerts changed all that. I'm starting to feel like a right jolly old elf.

If you've been to any of these concerts, you know what to expect: yuletide classics, a guest performer, and a visit from St. Nick himself. Santa's visit was a bit shorter than usual, but otherwise this musical evening was as comfortable and familiar as a favorite Christmas sweater.

Speaking of being comfortable, when Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi took over these concerts back in 2013 it seemed to me that, while his work at the podium was impeccable, he seemed a bit less at ease with the MC role. Two years later, he looks and sounds entirely relaxed up there, chatting with guest performer Whitney Claire Kaufman and cracking jokes about his "Star Wars" obsession.

It was nice to see Ms. Kaufman back on the stage this year. When she first appeared here in 2013, I noted that her singing showed the kind of emotional investment in the lyrics that made the pop standards she sang sound fresh. She did that again this year, with lovely renditions of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and "White Christmas."

Her considerable theatrical talents were on display in Jeff Tyzik's clever "The Twelve Gifts of Christmas," in which sections of the orchestra replace the original presents (as in: "three French horns, two clarinets, and a glockenspiel and a bell tree"). The piece itself is great fun, filled with in-jokes and musical quotes from Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, and (appropriately) lots of Tchaikovsky.

The area high school and college students of the Holiday Festival Chorus (directed by Kevin McBeth) are always a joy to hear, and this year was no exception. They sounded clear and robust in the arrangements of "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" by Mormon Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg, and were particularly impressive in the syncopated, whimsical arrangement of "Jingle Bells" by Jack Gold, Marty Paich, and Mack Hayes, with its many rhythmic and key changes. With Mr. McBeth at the podium, they also did a fine job with André Thomas's brief "African Noel" for six-part chorus and percussion.

A few of my favorite things this year were the classical orchestral selections, led by a simply gorgeous prelude to Engelbert Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel." Humperdinck was a protégé of Richard Wagner, so it's not surprising that his prelude sounds more than a little bit like the one his mentor wrote for "Die Meistersinger." Mr. Jarvi's performance brought out all of the contrapuntal richness of this music and the orchestra did full justice to the composer's lush orchestral landscape.

It was also fascinating to find a work I'd never heard of on the program: the overture to the ballet "Der Schneemann" ("The Snowman"), written at the ripe old age of eleven by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and orchestrated by the composer's teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky (no slouch as a composer himself). It's surprisingly mature-sounding music, with all the ripe harmonies that would characterize Korngold's later work for films and the concert stage.

I've seen a number of the "Holiday Celebration" concerts over the years and have rarely been disappointed. They're always festive events, with the orchestra and hall decked out in seasonal finery and a selection of music calculated to appeal to both adults and all but the youngest kids. There's also a special drink at the bar: a bright-red Poinsettia Punch. And you can take your drinks to your seat with you, allowing you to savor them during the show.

The Macy's Holiday Celebration concerts continue through Sunday, December 20, after which Powell Hall gets turned over to the Compton Heights Concert Band and the Bach Society for their annual holiday concerts on December 21 and 23, respectively. The SLSO returns on New Year's Even for the annual musical party under the baton of David Robertson. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Symphony Review: Real American exceptionalism October 16-18, 2015

Steven Jarvi

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The phrase "American exceptionalism" gets misused a lot these days, but as this past weekend's concerts of some wonderfully inventive twentieth-century American music demonstrated, sometimes the USA can take credit for things that are, indeed, exceptional.

The concerts opened with a pair of suites by Leonard Bernstein: "Three Dance Episodes" from his first major Broadway hit "On the Town" (which opened in December 1944) and the "Symphonic Suite" from his score for the 1955 Elia Kazan film "On the Waterfront." The stylistic contrast between the two was striking. The selections from "On the Town" are brash and pure Broadway, albeit with some sophisticated harmonies and polyrhythms that weren't typical of the Broadway stage back then. The longer and more dramatic film music packs more of an emotional punch, moving from mechanistic aggression to lyricism to an exultant but dissonance-tinged finale.

Roger Kazaa

All of that calls for a wide range of interpretive skills from both the conductor and musicians—which Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi and the players delivered in abundance. I have noted in the past that Mr. Jarvi is a magnetic and physically exuberant figure on the podium who has shown the he's equally at home in both the classical and pop worlds, handling Vivaldi, Leroy Anderson, and film music with equal aplomb. As a result, his "On the Town" dances had both the swing and sense of freedom this stuff demands, as well as real precision and a fine ear for detail. And his "On the Waterfront" had all the necessary drama.

There are lots of exposed solo parts in this music, including an opening horn solo in "On the Waterfront" that's nearly as scary as the one in Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" and some nice moments for the alto saxophone. Roger Kazaa handled the former beautifully when we attended Saturday night, as did Nathan Nabb on the latter. The percussion section deserves a shout-out for their work in the first movement's presto barbaro depiction of urban violence, as does Diana Haskell for her E-flat clarinet solos in "On the Town."

Inon Barnatan
Photo: Marco Borggreve

After intermission came this week's relative rarity, Aaron Copland's 1926 "Piano Concerto." It's a work which, Paul Schiavo points out in his program notes, dates from a time when Copland—then a brash young man in his mid-20s—was making a name for himself with "works that vibrated with the exciting new rhythms of the Jazz Age." Even so, you can hear elements of the expansive style that would later characterize Copland's popular ballet scores and the "Symphony No. 3" in the opening theme of the blues-tinged first movement.

What apparently put off the audience at the concerto's 1927 premiere, though, was the polyrhythmic and exuberantly surreal take on 1920's dance styles like the Charleston that characterizes the concerto's second (and final) movement. It starts with an extended and slightly loopy passage for the soloist that is intended to suggest improvisation. The music careens around drunkenly until finally joining the full orchestra, a manic dance that might have been played by Paul Whiteman's band had they taken hallucinogens. It's a hoot and a half, and sounds hard as hell to play.

Soloist Inon Barnatan was clearly in complete control of this wild and woolly material and appeared to be enjoying himself immensely, as was Mr. Jarvi. I was so captivated I failed to take a single note (hey, it happens!) and was happy to give everyone a standing ovation afterwards. I've heard recordings of the concerto in the past, but I think it takes a live performance to really convey the sense of nose-thumbing fun Copland wrote into this music.

Diana Haskell

The concerts concluded with George Gershwin's wildly popular tone poem "An American in Paris." Begun during a trip to Paris in the same year that Copland spent working on his concerto and completed during a longer visit to the City of Light in 1928, the work is a reminder of just how much solid craftsmanship lurks behind Gershwin's irresistible tunes.

As with "On the Town," a performance of this piece "don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." Because while the composer, in a 1928 Musical America interview, openly acknowledged his nod to "Debussy and The Six" in "An American in Paris," this is still quintessentially Gershwin.  The first statement of the big second theme in the trumpets, for example, calls for a kind of jazzy freedom that might not necessarily come easily to all classically trained conductors and players. Mr. Jarvi and the band got every little nuance of it just right, though, delivering a performance of great energy and clarity.

Next at Powell Hall: John Storgårds conducts the orchestra with soloist Lars Vogt in Schumann's "Piano Concerto." Soprano Kate Reimann and bass-baritone Jeffrey Heyl sing the wordless solos in Nielsen's "Symphony No. 3" ("Sinfonia espansiva") and the concerts open with Beethoven's "Egmont Overture."  Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Symphony Preview: All-American boys at Powell Hall October 16-18, 2015

Aaron Copland in 1970
en.wikipedia.org

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It's an all-American weekend at Powell Hall this Friday through Sunday as St. Louis Symphony Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi leads the orchestra in a program of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and George Gershwin. It includes two Big Pieces, one of which—Copland's 1926 "Piano Concerto"—is not heard all that often.

As Paul Schiavo points out in his program notes, the concerto dates from a time when Copland—then a brash young man in his mid-20s—was making a name for himself with "works that vibrated with the exciting new rhythms of the Jazz Age." The popular style of more well-known works like "Rodeo," "Billy the Kid," and the "Symphony No. 3" was still a decade or more away, although you can still hear suggestions of that big, open sound in the opening measures of the concerto.

Serge Koussevitzky
en.wikipedia.org

"The Piano Concerto", writes Copland in the first volume of his 1984 autobiography (co-authored with Vivian Perlis), "was the last of my works to make explicit use of jazz materials. I have often described myself as a 'work-a-year' man—1926 was the year of the Concerto." He goes on to give a detailed description of how jazz elements are incorporated into the concerto, but since you can read much of that in Mr. Schiavo's notes there no reason for me to repeat it here.

The concerto was not particularly well received at its 1927 premiere with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the composer at the piano. "If I felt I had gone to the extreme of where jazz could take me," writes Copland, "the audiences and critics in Boston all thought I had gone too far. One critic actually accused Koussevitzky of being a malicious foreigner who wanted to show how bad American music was!" These days the concerto, while still not a core part of the repertory, rarely meets with that kind of hostility.

The soloist for the concerto will be Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan, who currently serves as the New York Philharmonic's first Artist-in-Association—a position that guarantees him three years of performances with that prestigious ensemble. The orchestra's outgoing Music Director, Alan Gilbert, has described Mr. Barnatan as "the complete artist: a wonderful pianist, a probing intellect, passionately committed, and a capable contemporary-music pianist as well." Which certainly makes him sound like a good match for this material.

Inon Barnatan
Photo: Marco Borggreve, inonbarnatan.com

In his discussion of the "Piano Concerto" in his autobiography, Copland goes on at some length to point out that he was "often critically paired with [George] Gershwin" and that some critics suggested that the latter's "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Concerto in F" might have influenced Copland's own work. But he and Gershwin had, in fact, no contact with each other. "On one occasion," notes Copland, "when we were finally face to face at some party, with the opportunity for conversation, we found nothing to say to each other!"

Which brings us to the second Big Piece on the program this weekend: Gershwin's wildly popular tone poem "An American in Paris." Begun during a trip to Paris in the same year that Copland spent working on his concerto and completed during a longer visit to the City of Light in 1928, the work is a reminder of just how much solid craftsmanship lurks behind Gershwin’s irresistible tunes.

"This new piece," observed Gershwin in a 1928 interview in Musical America, "really a rhapsodic ballet, is written very freely and is the most modern music I've yet attempted. The opening will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and The Six, though the themes are all original. My purpose here is to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris, as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere."

Gershwin in 1937
Photo: Carl Van Vechten
en.wikipedia.org

As someone who has just returned from another trip to Paris, I have to say it works beautifully. The lively opening with its colorful evocation of the city's lively sidewalk cafes and bustling boulevards (complete with honking taxi horns in the percussion section) is a masterful bit of musical imagery. And the bluesy central section evokes not only the homesickness of the traveler but also the charm of Paris at night.

"An American in Paris" is also reminder of how far Gershwin came in such a short period of time. This is, after all, a guy who went from being a Tin Pan Alley "song plugger" to an accomplished composer and orchestrator in only thirteen years. In another seven years he would write one of the mainstays of twentieth century American opera, "Porgy and Bess". What might he have done had he not died so young?

The concerts open with a pair of suites by Leonard Bernstein: the "Three Dance Episodes" from his first major Broadway hit "On the Town" (which opened in December 1944) and the "Symphonic Suite" from his score for the 1955 Elia Kazan film "On the Waterfront."

Listening to the score for "On the Town" may feel like a nostalgic exercise now, but back in 1944 this story of three sailors out to see as much of New York as possible in one day had real resonance for a country that had been at war for four years. The D-Day invasion was just six months old and while the Third Reich was crumbling, the war with Japan still raged. Everyone in the audience understood that Chip, Ozzie, and Gabey were so desperate to see it all today because, for them, there might not be a tomorrow. You can hear that in the melancholy of the second movement ("Lonely Town") as well as in the frantic bustle of the finale ("Times Square: 1944").

Leonard Bernstein, 1945
Photo: Carl Van Vechten
en.wikipedia.org

"It was very hard for any of us on opening night to have a clear idea of what our show was really like," recall original cast members and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green in the liner notes for the 1961 studio recording of the show for Columbia. "World War II was on, and the theme of young people caught in it, and the urgency of their desperately trying to cram a lifetime of adventure and romance into a moment, seemed to move the audience and give the show an underlying poignancy, while never having to ask for sympathy."

The music from "On the Waterfront"—Bernstein's only film score—shows a different side of his musical personality. It's haunting, lyrical, and, in its final pages, builds to exultant climax. In the film, the music accompanies a scene in which Marlon Brando's character, despite being beaten to a pulp by goons hired by Lee J. Cobb's crooked union organizer, shakily gets to his feat and defiantly returns to work. It's an inspiring moment, even if the film itself sometimes comes across as anti-union agitprop from a director who, a few years earlier, had cooperated with McCarthy's anticommunist witch-hunt.

The essentials: Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with piano soloist Inon Barnatan on Friday at 10:30 a.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m., October 16-18. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Pure family fun with Pixar in Concert

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Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Steven Jarvi
What: Pixar in Concert
When: December 27 and 28, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis

Phrases like "family entertainment" and " recommended for all ages" are far too often euphemisms for "dull and unimaginative," as though children were simply very dim adults who could only be trusted with the performing arts equivalent of plastic scissors. Fortunately, the folks at Disney/Pixar know better.

For nearly twenty years now, Pixar has been cranking out animated feature films that genuinely do appeal to all ages. They don't talk down to kids or patronize adults. They create compelling characters and weave appealing stories around them that touch on universally human themes while avoiding clichés.

And accompanying all of it is some highly imaginative music. "Pixar in Concert" (which the St. Louis Symphony presented this past weekend) combines live performances of the music from fourteen movies with montages of memorable scenes from the animated features for which the music was composed. It's a fast-paced, consistently entertaining evening that seems far shorter than its two-hour run time.

SLSO Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi led a massively expanded ensemble that included beefed-up brass and percussion sections, piano, celesta, guitar, and synthesizer. There was also a sax section that added some real punch to Michael Giacchino's mock 1950s jazz score for "The Incredibles."

The resulting Very Big Band played with impressive precision, given the addition of so many musicians who aren't usually part of the ensemble and what I assume is a fairly short rehearsal schedule. Mr. Jarvi had a lot to hold together here, and did it remarkably well.

The music encompassed a variety of styles, from the Coplandesque Americana of Randy Newman (who scored half of the fourteen films represented) to the rock-inflected work of Thomas Newman (nephew of Randy and son of film composer Alfred Newman) for "WALL-E" and "Finding Nemo," to Patrick Doyle's celtic-flavored score for "Brave." That guaranteed enough variety to prevent the sense of déjà vu that can crop up in an evening devoted to a single film composer.

There were three generations represented in our party (ages 10 to 66) and we all had a great time. That, it seems to me, is a sign of genuine family entertainment.

Licensed by the Disney/Pixar organization, "Pixar in Concert" is a touring show that was presented by the Florida Orchestra in St. Petersburg last month and moves on to Lille, France in January. You can see the show's future bookings at the Pixar web site. Next at Powell Hall is the annual New Year's Eve Celebration on Wednesday, January 31, at 7:30 p.m. See the symphony web site for ticket information.

Symphony Preview: Fast away the old year passes

In my last symphony preview post, I gave you a glimpse at the upcoming Christmas concerts. This time, let's look at the post-Christmas action.

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December 27 and 28: Pixar in Concert - For some years now, the orchestra has been using the weekend after Christmas for movie-themed programs. In 2011 and again last year, for example, David Robertson conducted an entertaining evening of the film music of John Williams. Mr. Robertson is an unabashed admirer of Williams' music, and the concerts were a great showcase for his work.

December of 2012 brought us a showing of the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film with the soundtrack performed live by the orchestra while the late December treat in 2010 was a showing of Charlie Chaplin's classic "City Lights" with Mr. Robertson conducting Chaplin's original score—a completely enchanting experience. And so it goes.

This year it's "Pixar in Concert," as Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi conducts music from 14 Pixar animated films while the movie excerpts are shown on the big Powell Hall screen. Featured movies include "Toy Story," "Brave," "Cars," "Monsters," and two of my favorites: "Up" and "WALL-E". Licensed by the Disney/Pixar organization, "Pixar in Concert" is a touring show that was presented by the Florida Orchestra in St. Petersburg last month and moves on to Lille, France in January. According to the company web site, the show has bookings through this coming June around the world, so it's obviously a popular event.

Press notices for the show have been generally good. Reviewing the San Francisco Symphony edition back in July, for example, Chad Liffman at spinningplatters.com called it "a fantastic musical evening." "Even if you've seen the films and know them well," wrote Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk of the Grand Rapids Symphony appearance, "'Pixar in Concert' is a different experience. Don't tell Pixar, but it's often more exciting than the original films themselves."

Pixar has come a long way since the early days of the late 1980s when it upheld the banner of digital animation virtually alone with delightful shorts like "Luxo Jr." (the source for the animated lamp in the Pixar logo) and the sweetly nostalgic "Red's Dream." Beginning with the phenomenally successful "Toy Story" in 1995, the company became a major force in full-length animated films. By the time Disney bought Pixar out in 2006 it was valued at $2.4 billion. Not bad for an operation that started out as a part of Lucasfilm's computer division back in 1979.

David Robertson
stlsymphony.org

December 31: New Year's Eve Celebration – David Robertson conducts the orchestra in the annual New Year's Eve gala. "Full of surprises and enchanting music," says the SLSO web site, "this best-kept secret is a memorable way to ring in the New Year!" And they're not kidding. The concert content is, in fact, a secret that won't be revealed until the music starts at 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Still, we can make educated guesses based on previous years. Expect lots of good humor, both from the music and from Mr. Robertson, who can be a very funny guy when he gets his hands on a microphone. In 2012, for example, the orchestra did Morton Gould's "Tap Dance Concerto" and featured some good-natured sing-alongs with the audience. Dance music has, in fact, been a major part of the New Year's concerts. And waltzes are always associated with New Year's Eve in any case.

The concert is a big seller, but if you can't get tickets, don't despair. Last year St. Louis Public Radio began broadcasting the concert live.

"Pixar in Concert" performances are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., December 27 and 28. "New Year's Eve Celebration" starts on Wednesday, December 31, at 7:30 p.m. All concerts are at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For ticket information, visit the SLSO web site. Note that on the 31st, Grand will be closed from Lindell to Delmar for First Night, to plan accordingly.

A holly and jolly holiday with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

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Seven Jarvi
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Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Steven Jarvi
What: Macy's Holiday Celebration
When: December 19-21, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis

The Macy's Holiday Celebration concerts with the St. Louis Symphony have, over the past several years, fallen into a pattern that's as familiar and cozy as a bulky red woolen sweater. This year, I'm happy to report, is no exception.

As always, Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus director Kevin McBeth's Holiday Festival Chorus sings some familiar carols, including a wonderfully precise arrangement of the traditional Ukrainian "Carol of the Bells". I was also very taken with their performance of the delicate arrangement of "Silent Night" by Mormon Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg. The use of harp and celesta gives it a wonderfully transparent texture. Mr. McBeth does an impressive job getting very polished performances out of these singers, who all hail from local high schools.

Also, as always, the orchestra plays pops favorites like Leroy Anderson's "Christmas Festival" (a piece I have loved since I played it in high school), the audience participates in a sing-along, and Santa (the always reliable Whit Reichert, if my ears do not deceive me) shows up with a child plucked from the audience to "conduct" Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride." Friday night's munchkin was so charming that she threatened to steal the show.

Santa also has some banter with the vocal soloist. This year it's the charming Chelsea Packard, who does fine work throughout and knocks "Let It Go" (from "Frozen") out of the park. Her musical theatre background is apparent in her engaging performances, although I rather wish she had done Adolphe Adam's "O Holy Night" without the ornamentation that so many younger singers seem compelled to bring to their vocal lines these days.

Chelsea Packard
chelseapackard.com

Equally traditional at these concerts is Randol Alan Bass's setting of "The Night Before Christmas" for narrator and orchestra, with a local celebrity in the speaking part. This year it was radio broadcaster Charles Brennan, who is competent but (at least on Friday night) looked a bit uncomfortable.

There are a few surprises on the program this year, the most welcome of which is Louis Richman's "Hannukah Festival Overture." It's apparently quite popular with holiday pops events around the country, but this was my first exposure to it. Richman's orchestration is clever and inventive and the piece is a nice counterpart to Anderson's "Christmas Festival."

The final two pieces on the program were also a welcome addition: a suite from Alan Silvestri's music for the film "Polar Express" (arrangement by Jerry Brubaker, Chief Arranger of the US Navy Band for 13 years) and "Christmas Eve Finale" from Dimitri Tiomkin's score for that Christmas chestnut "It's a Wonderful Life." The arrangement for orchestra and chorus by Patrick Russ and Paul Henning (part of their "Suite from It's a Wonderful Life") is big and colorful and brings the evening to an appropriately celebratory end.

Steven Jarvi conducts and narrates the entire affair with panache. He also put his own stamp on the music. His "Christmas Festival," for example, brings out some of woodwind parts in ways that previous readings have not.

Holiday cheer, in short, abounds at Powell Hall this weekend, assisted by the fact that drinks can be brought into the hall. I recommend the Poinsettia Punch—refreshing and not too sweet.

There are three more chances to catch this tasty musical sugarplum Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm. Post-holiday cheer continues next week with "Pixar in Concert" on Saturday and Sunday, December 27 and 28, and the annual New Year's Eve gala on the 31st.
For ticket information, visit the symphony web site.

A fabulous 'Winter Fable' with the St. Louis Symphony and Circus Flora

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Looking for something different in holiday entertainment? Seriously consider "A Winter Fable," the current collaboration between Circus Flora and the St. Louis Symphony. It features great music by Steven Jarvi and the symphony—including some rarely played pieces by Ippolitov-Ivanov, Dvořák, and Janáček—and an impressive array of circus acts. It's major holiday fun.

The Flying Walledas at Powell Hall
circusflora.org

Music, as I have observed before, has always been a part of the Circus Flora experience, so their partnership with the symphony (this is their fourth) isn't as unusual as it might seem. The big difference is that here the performers are working with music written for other purposes rather than with material composed specifically for their show. Which makes it that much more impressive that the music selected by Circus Flora Theater Director Cecil MacKinnon (who doubles, as always, as Yo-Yo the Narrator) and Mr. Jarvi is such a good match for the acts.

And the acts this year are impressive. Juggler, aerialist, and clown Amanda Crockett is the star of the show as far as I'm concerned. She grabbed my attention immediately with her ingenious hat juggling routine (to the strains of Bartók's "Romanian Folk Dances") with its striking bits of illusion. At times the hat seemed to defy gravity and the laws of physics, apparently staying rigidly suspended in mid air one minute and then threatening to float away the next. There's no trickery or special equipment involved, just precise physical acting.

As if that weren't enough, her later comic trapeze act (accompanied by a couple of Brahms "Hungarian Dances") demonstrated that, like Circus Flora's former resident clown Giovanni Zoppé, Ms. Crockett is also an experienced aerialist.

Juggler Kyle Driggs also impressed us with a fluid and graceful routine using five lightweight rings and an umbrella, as did Matt Roben with his comic cycling act. Luciano's Pound Puppies—a troupe of trained shelter rescue dogs—were also great fun. They were a huge hit with the younger set, although I have to admit I found their antics pretty irresistible as well.

Acrobatic acts are prominent this year, including Shayna Swanson's athletic aerial silk specialty and brief turn with the Cyr wheel (a kind of giant metal Hula Hoop); the Poema Family's wonderfully precise, rapid-fire Risley act; and the team of Nina Chubrikova and Yury Kuznetsov (a.k.a. Duo Resonance), a last-minute substitution for the hand-balancing team Duo Mai.

Amanda Crockett
amandacrockett.com / Van Larson

Duo Resonance mixes traditional hand standing and balancing routines with a kind of fluid choreography carried out on a slick low-friction mat. Once again, the accompanying music—Janáček's evocative 1894 overture "Jealousy"—neatly synched up with the action.

The St. Louis Arches are on hand as always and, as always, were true crowd pleasers. Selected from participants in Circus Harmony, our city's only comprehensive circus school, the Arches invariably bring down the house with their fast-paced juggling, tumbling, and acrobatics.

The most thrilling moments of the evening came, as is so often the case, from The Flying Wallendas and their trademark human pyramid high above the stage. The high wire is suspended at about the level of the dress circle boxes. That means that while a seat in the dress circle area is not always ideal for seeing the action down on the stage (which, for these performances, extends farther into the house than usual), it gives you a view of the Wallendas in action that you'll never get in a conventional circus tent.

Finally, I'd like to throw a few well-earned words of praise at Mr. Jarvi and the orchestra. While some of the music on the program is fairly familiar. it is, for the most part, the sort of thing not often heard on the Powell Hall stage, so the high quality of the performances deserves to be singled out. I don't think I've ever heard the SLSO do Ippolitov-Ivanov's two "Caucasian Sketches" suites before, but here we had three of the four sections of the second suite as well as the popular "Procession of the Sardar" from the first suite. I especially enjoyed the increasingly boisterous "Lezghinka," with its flashy percussion passages. It's always gratifying to hear live performances of pieces I know primarily from recordings.

It was equally gratifying to see the orchestra given a solo spot performing the exhilarating "Furiant," the final movement of Dvořák's Op. 39 "Czech Suite"—another one of those works heard far more often on recordings than in live performances. They got an enthusiastic round of applause and deserved every bit of it.

Performances of "A Winter Fable" continue through Sunday, December 14, at Powell Hall in Grand Center. Holiday programming continues next weekend as Kevin McBeth leads the IN UNISON® Chorus in "A Gospel Christmas" on Thursday, December 18, and Steven Jarvi leads the orchestra and Holiday Festival Chorus in the Macy's Holiday Celebration concerts Friday through Sunday, December 19-21. For ticket information, visit the symphony web site.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of December 15, 2014

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St. Louis Chamber Chorus in 2011

The Kirkwood Public Library presents the Bella Corda and Musica Viva guitar ensembles in a Christmas concert on Monday, December 15, at 7 p.m. The library is at 104 E. Jefferson in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: kirkwoodpubliclibrary.org.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Concert Three: Palestrina and Herbert Howells "A joyous mass for Christmas by Rome's 'Prince of Music' — Palestrina is interlaced with achingly beautiful carols by a towering figure of the English Musical Renaissance, Herbert Howells." The concert takes place on Sunday, December 21 at 3 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, 100 E. Adams in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org

Kevin McBeth conducts the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus in A Gospel Christmas on Thursday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. "Gospel sensation Oleta Adams joins the STL Symphony and IN UNISON® Chorus led by director Kevin McBeth for a night of soul-stirring Gospel music to celebrate the most joyous of seasons." The concert takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. The concert is sold out, but standing room tickets are still available. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Chelsea Packard

Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with the Holiday Festival Chorus and vocalist Chelsea Packard in the Macy's Holiday Celebration Friday and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., December 19-21. "Old and young, naughty and nice are all invited to enjoy St. Louis' annual holiday tradition in a splendidly decorated Powell Hall. Enjoy a visit from Santa and your favorite carols and holiday tunes, including the Polar Express Suite, The Night Before Christmas narrated by KMOX's Charlie Brennan, music from It's a Wonderful Life and the 2014 Academy Award® Winner for Best Original Song, "Let It Go" from Frozen. See why more than 10,000 St. Louisans make Powell Hall home for the holidays." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents Marie Halley, vocals; Lisa Gilbert, wooden flutes; and Bran Vihan, guitar and vocals, in A Concert of Celtic Carols on Thursday, December 18, at 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.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents a Winter Solstice Concert by guitarist Todd Mosby on Friday, December 19, at 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.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Rebecca Drury and tenor/pianist Jon Garrett in a concert of music for the holiday season. on Saturday, December 20, at 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.

Winter Opera presents Holidays on the Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 16 and 17, at 7 p.m. "Treat someone special to the unique gift of music and fine dining this December. Includes a four-course dinner at Dominic's on the Hill as well as a concert sung by Winter Opera artists. Gift certificates available." The event takes place at Dominic's On the Hill, 200 1501 Wilson. For more information: www.winteroperastl.org.

Symphony Preview: The concerts of Christmas present

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The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will be delivering Christmas presents for St. Louis audiences throughout the month of December. Let's sneak downstairs and take a peek under the wrapping, shall we?

The Flying Wallendas
circusflora.org

December 12-14: A Winter Fable with Circus Flora - Music has always been a part of the Circus Flora experience, so the partnership with the symphony isn’t as unusual as it might seem. This is, in fact, the orchestra's fourth team-up with our much-loved local circus; the last one was "A Child's Christmas in Wales" two years ago.

As always, the combination of music and circus acts has a story line to hold everything together. This time it's a fairy tale "set in the High Tatras mountains, in the ancient and beautiful Kingdom of the Spiís." There's a magic spell, a princess and (because it's a circus) a horse, along with trained dogs. The Flying Wallendas will be on hand with their legendary high-wire act, along with the popular St. Louis Arches and, of course Theatre Director Cecil MacKinnon as Yo-Yo, the Narrator.

Symphony Resident Conductor Steven Jarvi leads the orchestra in a program with a heavy Eastern European and Russian flavor. Dvořák is heavily favored, along with Bartók, Glinka, Janáček, Ippolitov-Ivanov and that other hyphenated Russian, Rimsky-Korsakov. There are also some Brahms "Hungarian Dances," along with Berlioz's "Hungarian March" from "The Damnation of Faust."

Kevin McBeth
stlsymphony.org

December 18: Kevin McBeth leads the IN UNISON® Chorus in "A Gospel Christmas" – Best-selling singer/songwriter Oleta Adams and her band are the guest soloists in a program that features many of her original compositions along with Gospel favorites and popular Christmas tunes. There's even a soulful version of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from "Handel's Messiah: a Soulful Celebration" by Paul David Wilson.

Celebrating its 20th season with the SLSO, the IN UNISON® Chorus is "an all-volunteer, 120-voice auditioned ensemble that performs a variety of musical styles, with a focus on the interpretation, performance, and preservation of the music of African-American and African cultures." Kevin McBeth, who became director of the chorus in 2011, is Director of Music at Manchester United Methodist Church and serves as full-time administrator for the Music Ministry, which includes 18 choral and handbell ensembles, involving nearly 500 youngsters and adults.  NOTE: as of Friday, December 12, this concert is sold out, but standing room tickets are still available.

December 19-21: The Macy's Holiday Celebration – Steven Jarvi conducts the orchestra and Holiday Festival Chorus (consisting of students from local schools and colleges conducted by Kevin McBeth) in a program of traditional carols and seasonal pop songs. Featured soloists are musical theater star Chelsea Packard and local television personality Charles Brennan, who will narrate Randol Alan Bass's musical setting of "The Night Before Christmas."

There's also a "Holiday Sing-Along", music from the films "Polar Express" and "It's A Wonderful Life," and the annual "surprise" visit from Santa (usually played by the ever-charming Whit Richert). "Pops" events like this are usually big moneymakers for the orchestra and great fun as well. Only a dedicated Scrooge could complain.

The Bach Society at Powell Hall
bachsociety.ort

December 23: The Bach Society Christmas Candlelight Concert – A. Dennis Sparger conducts the Bach Society Chorus along with members of the SLSO, the St. Louis Children's Choirs, and soloists Jane Jennings (soprano), Debra Hillabrand (mezzo), and Don Frazure (tenor).This is usually a more classically-oriented program, although favorite carols and an audience sing-along are included as well.

The "candlelight" refers to the opening of the second half of the concert. The lights dim, and the members of the Bach Society walk down the aisles singing, each with an electric candle. If you're lucky enough to be sitting downstairs in the orchestra section, you find yourself surrounded by singers - some carrying the melody, some harmony, enveloping you in a constantly changing kaleidoscope of sound. Charles Ives would have loved it. It's a St. Louis tradition and every music lover should get to experience it at least once.

This isn't an SLSO event, but symphony musicians are involved and it does take place in Powell Hall, so I figured it's fair game for this article.

There are other special concerts at Powell after Christmas. I'll give you a look at the in my next preview article.

Symphony Preview: Extra seasons with the St. Louis Symphony, December 5-7, 2014

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As I said in my first symphony preview post this week, the main event at the St. Louis Symphony this weekend is Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” Steven Jarvi is at the podium and the violin soloists—all drawn from the symphony string section—are Jessica Cheng (“Spring”), Angie Smart (“Summer”), Jooyeon Kong (“Autumn”), and Alison Harney (“Winter”). What I left out was any mention of the other two works on the program.

Usually a performance of “The Four Season” presents all four of the concertos as a unit. But not always. Before the four concertos became part of the standard repertoire, it wasn’t unusual for them to be played individually. Indeed, as I noted in my earlier post, that’s exactly what St. Louis Symphony back in January of 1928 when guest conductor Bernadino Molinari spread them out over three separate concerts.

This time around Mr. Jarvi has kept them all on the same bill but has shuffled in two other pieces: Samuel Barber’s hauntingly nostalgic “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” Op. 24 (1947), with Kiera Duffy as the soprano soloist; and Richard Wagner’s utterly ingratiating “Siegfried Idyll” from 1870. The Wagner was written as a Christmas present for his wife Cosima, so it’s played just before the “Winter” concerto, while the Barber acts as a bridge between spring and summer.

Mr. Jarvi elaborates on the logic behind this in the program notes. “James Agee’s incredible text,” he observes, “brings this work to life, similar to the poems that inspired The Four Seasons, which may or may not have been written by Vivaldi...With Wagner we move from autumn to winter. At first we were looking at something symbolic of winter—something representative of ‘lateness,’ the end of life. Then we thought of how Siegfried Idyll was one of the most wonderful musical Christmas gifts ever given.”

Makes sense. And I’m especially happy to see the Barber on the program. Mr. Jarvi says it’s one of his “favorite pieces of all time” and I’m inclined to agree with him. I first encountered this wonderfully evocative setting of James Agee’s little prose-poem (which later became the prologue for his autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family”) in a 1968 recording by the great Leontyne Price with an orchestra conducted by Thomas Schippers, and have been something of a sucker for it ever since.

The text is a poetic recollection of a peaceful scene from the author’s childhood in which the narrator is sometimes an adult and sometimes the child who later becomes the adult. Prosaic descriptions of a quiet summer evening on the lawn are mixed with flights of poetic fancy, leading finally to philosophical contemplation of the narrator’s family and their place in the cosmos: "By chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night." Barber’s music mirrors and highlights all of this with deceptive simplicity.

The inspiration for the novel of which Agee’s text became a part was a death; specifically, the death of Agee’s father. In the case of Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll,” the inspiration was exactly the opposite: the birth, in 1869, of the composer’s son Siegfried.

The piece was originally titled “Triebschen Idyll with Fidi's birdsong and the orange sunrise, as symphonic birthday greeting. Presented to his Cosima by her Richard. "Fidi," says Wikipedia, “was the family's nickname for their son Siegfried. It is thought that the birdsong and the sunrise refer to incidents of personal significance to the couple.” The first performance took place not in a concert hall, but on the stairs of the Wagner family home in Tribschen on Christmas morning, 1870. The musicians were members of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. Wagner’s wife Cosima (whose own birthday was December 24th) was awakened by the first gentle strains of the music and was, as you might expect, completely enchanted.

“As I awoke,” she would later recall, “my ear caught a sound, which swelled fuller and fuller; no longer could I imagine myself to be dreaming: music was sounding, and such music! When it died away, Richard came into my room with the children and offered me the score of the symphonic birthday poem. I was in tears, but so were all the rest of the household. Richard had arranged his orchestra on the staircase, and thus was our Tribschen consecrated forever.”

Although Wagner never intended the piece for public performance,, financial considerations obliged him to expand the orchestration from the original 13 players to 35 and publish the work as the “Siegfried Idyll” in 1878. It might also have been a canny marketing decision. He used themes from the “Idyll” in his 1876 opera “Siegfried,” so publication gave him another way to get his “Ring” cycle music before the public.

It is, in any case, a disarming a piece as you are likely to hear, and utterly unlike the more grandiose gestures most people associate with Wagner. It’s a reminder that even that great egotist had his moments of intimate reflection. And it also reminds us that winter is about the warmth of family as well as the cold weather.

The essentials: Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with violin soloists Jessica Cheng, Angie Smart, Jooyeon Kong, and Alison Harney Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m., December 5-7. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 20, 2014

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John Storgårds

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, Ocrober 24 and 25, at 8 p.m.  "Our own STL Symphony Associate Concertmaster Heidi Harris will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a popular masterpiece of the violin repertoire that makes the heart sing.  Known as the musical voice of his country, Sibelius captured the essence of Nordic landscapes in works such as his First Symphony." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.  For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony 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 STL Symphony and the Saint Louis Zoo join forces to show audiences just how musical animals can be! This playful program, based on John Lithgow’s popular children’s book, features Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, Henry Mancini’s Baby Elephant Walk and more." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.  For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Perseid String Quartet with pianist Diana Umali on Thursday, October 23, at 8 PM.  “The Perseid String Quartet returns to the Tavern for a program that includes Mozart’s famous Quartet No. 14, K. 465, known as the “Dissonance” quartet for the highly unusual and unstable harmonies used in the introduction. On the second half, the quartet teams up with pianist Diana Umali for Schumann’s Piano Quintet, Op.44, an emotive and often boisterous work which the composer said gave “his creative imagination…a new lease on life." The concert is free, donations are accepted and a percent of sale goes to support the performers. Come and enjoy dinner and a drink as we share this beautiful music!”  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 Tim Jansen, Music Director, St. Anthony of Padua Church, on Friday, October 24, 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

Joseph Gascho
kickstarter.com

The Washington University Department of Music presents a harpsichord recital by Joseph Gascho on Wednesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. The program includes works by J.S. Bach and Buxtehude, and C.P.E. Bach.  "Harpsichordist Joseph Gascho enjoys a multifaceted musical career as a keyboard artist, conductor, teacher and producer. In 2002, he won first prize in the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition. His most recent recording, Españoletas, featuring Harmonious Blacksmith and percussionist Glen Velez, will be released this summer. Recent performing highlights include concerts with the National Symphony at Carnegie Hall, the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, and conducting Idomeneo for the Maryland Opera Studio. A graduate of the Peabody Institute and the University of Maryland, he taught harpsichord and chamber music at George Washington University before accepting his most recent post at the University of Michigan." The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City, MO.  For more information: music.wustl.edu

The Washington University Department of Music presents a guitar recital by Kirk Hanser of the Washington University faculty on Friday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m.  "The performance will feature music by American composers, including Robert Beaser, Brian Head, Andy York, Michael Hedges, and local bandleader/composer Kim Portnoy. Many friends will be joining Hanser onstage during the evening, including flutist Paula Kasica and guitarist John McClellan." The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City, MO.  For more information: music.wustl.edu

All the hits, all the time

Steven Jarvi

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The St. Louis Symphony's regular subscription season ended a month ago with a bang-up performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 the weekend of May 9th. But they've got a final encore concert for you this Saturday.

In fact, it's kind of a meta-concert in that it's an encore program consisting of works often played as encores or (in at least one case) curtain raisers. They're calling it "Bravo! An Evening of Classical Favorites." And so it is.

Here's what's on the program, along with a few brief comments from me.

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture, op. 9 - This was actually an attempt by Berlioz to salvage something from his failed 1838 opera Benvenuto Cellini. It includes some themes from the opera's carnival scene, hence the title. Considered radical in its time and technically challenging, the opera has rarely been performed.

Faure: Pavane, op. 50 – Originally an 1887 solo piano piece, the Pavane was later orchestrated Faure for a small ensemble with optional chorus. There's no chorus listed on the program, so presumably you'll get the orchestral version. Faure thought this haunting and stately little piece "elegant, but not otherwise important." It turned out to be one of his biggest hits.

Morton Gould

Gould: "Pavanne" from American Symphonette No. 2 – American composer Morton Gould's "Pavanne" couldn't be more different from Faure's if it tried. It's jazzy and jaunty—very much in keeping with the overall mood of the American Symphonette No. 2, which Gould wrote for radio in 1939.

Grieg: "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt – This five-act epic verse drama by Henrik Ibsen is (unlike many of the great Norwegian dramatist's other plays) rarely seen outside of his native land. The music Grieg wrote for the premiere production, though, has proved immensely popular. There's an optional choral part for this piece as well.

Dvorák: Selections from Slavonic Dances, op. 46 – Dvorák wrote two sets of Slavonic Dances (Op. 46 in 1878 and Op. 72 in 1886) as pieces for two pianos. They were so popular he was obliged to orchestrate them—and those versions proved even more popular. Every one of these works is a little orchestral gem, representing a different type Czech dance.

Open-air performance of The Bartered Bride
at Zoppot Waldoper, Danzig

Smetana: "Dance of the Comedians" from The Bartered Bride – Smetana's 1863 comic opera had a rocky beginning, but has gone on to achieve popularity world-wide. Performances of it aren't as common here in the USA, but the overture and orchestral excerpts like this one are invariably crowd pleasers. The "Dance of the Comedians" also pops up in "Road Runner" cartoons, as I recall.

Bizet: "Farandole" from L'Arlésienne – Alphonse Daudet's 1872 drama (usually translated as "The Girl from Arles") wasn't well received in its day and has pretty much disappeared since. Bizet's incidental music, though, continues to be popular. The "Farandole" incorporates a traditional French Christmas carol, "The March of the Kings."

Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture - Glinka's 1842 fairy-tale opera isn't done very often. The overture, though, one of those pieces that used to crop up often as “filler” on classical LPs—a function it still serves on classical radio stations today. Its alluring melodies and neat little solo tympani part are irresistible.

Fred, Ginger, and canine companion

Gershwin: Promenade – This perky little tune started out life as the accompaniment for a dog-walking sequence aboard an ocean liner in the 1937 Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicle Shall We Dance. In 1960 it was published as "Promenade." There are many recordings of it out there, including one by the St. Louis Symphony as part of its complete Gershwin orchestral works set.

Gliere: "Russian Sailors' Dance" from The Red Poppy – This 1927 ballet has would up on the ash heap of history, largely (I assume) because of the heavy-handed Soviet propaganda that constitutes its scenario. Individual numbers are still popular, though—especially this typically rousing dance that starts majestically and builds to a wild climax. I recall playing this in the school orchestra. The trombone part gets pretty hectic towards the end.

Tchaikovsky: "Waltz" from Sleeping Beauty, op. 66 – Here's one of those famous classical pieces that became the basis for a popular song: Jack Lawrence and Sammy Fain's "Once Upon a Dream" from the 1959 animated Disney film Sleeping Beauty. In its original 1890 form it's a typically sweeping Tchaikovsky waltz.

Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5 in G minor – It's only appropriate that this should be on the same program as the Dvorák Slavonic Dances since it was, in part, the success of the Brahms dances that moved Dvorák to compose his. Although Brahms is the composer of record for the 21 Hungarian Dances, most of them actually used existing folk melodies. The fifth dance, in fact, uses a melody composed by Béla Kéler, which Brahms, apparently innocently, took for a folk tune. Copyright law was less fierce in those days.

Grieg: "Last Spring" from Two Elegiac Melodies – The Two Elegiac Melodies for string orchestra from 1880 were inspired by poems of Aasmund Olafsson Vinje. "Last Spring" is wonderful mixture of joy and sadness, with some final bars that will melt the hardest heart. Bring a hankie.

El sombrero de tres picos
by the Spanish National Ballet

Falla: "Final Dance (Jota)" from El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) – I can't think of anything better to bring you back from the melancholy of "Last Spring" than this joyous final dance from Manuel de Falla's 1919 comic ballet. First performed at the Alhambra Theatre in London, El sombrero de tres picos boasted choreography by Léonide Massine and costumes by some guy named Picasso. The great Ernest Ansermet conducted. Not shabby.

The essentials: Steven Jarvi conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in "Bravo! An Evening of Classical Favorites" on Saturday, June 7, at 7:30 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org. Note that Circus Flora is set up on the Powell Hall south lot, so parking could be at a premium.