Tag Archives: Alexander Barantschik

ALL MOZART ALL THE TIME

November 23, Davies Symphony Hall: The audience had the honor and pleasure to hear a concert of Mozart’s work. Several of the pieces were new to us. The excitement of discovery matched the beauty of the music. Bernard Labadie conducted. He is internationally recognized as a master of Mozart, Baroque, and Classical music. Lucy Crowe, soprano, sang four of the seven selections. Her voice is pure, clear as glass, expressing delicacy, loving, and power. This program was her debut with the SF Symphony.

Bernard Labadie, conductor Lucy Crowe, soprano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer (1756 -1791)

The Overture to La clemenza di Tito, K.621 was composed in 1791, Mozart’s last year. it was a good year for his music. There was a celebration of Leopold II. They needed to commission a new opera. The likely contenders were Antonio Salieri and Domenico Cimarosa. Fortunately for Mozart and his audience, including us, those other composers did not have the time. Mozart was ready and created La clemenza di Tito/ The Clemency of Titus. It was successful enough at its premiere in Prague, but over a month it became a great hit. The premiere of The Magic Flute/Die Zauberflote was premiered in Vienna. He wrote to his wife:

“It’s the strangest thing, but the same evening that my new opera was given here for the first time with such applause, Tito had its final performance in Prague, also with extraordinary applause.”

Two months and a week later, Mozart was gone.

Rondo, Al desio di chi t’adora, K. 577 The aria was composed in 1789. In this era, the music of an opera could make changes or add on extra arias, especially to please a singer. In Le Nozze di Figaro/The Marriage of Figaro, in 1786 Vienna, Susanna was performed by Mozart’s friend, Nancy Storace. He appreciated her comic presence on stage and wrote specifically for her voice and character. In 1789, The Marriage of Figaro was produced again in Vienna, but with a new Susanna. She was the mistress of Da Ponte, the lyricist. She wanted her role to be equal to that of the Countess Almaviva. This aria replaced two others from the original score. Susanna shows her virtuoso singing. The scene is outside. The music reflects the breeze and birds. This aria was our introduction to Lucy Crowe. She was splendid: At the wish of one who adores you, /Come, fly hither, my hope!/ I shall die if you make me sigh/in vain any longer.

Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben, From Zaide, K. 344 This aria has lyrics that are unusual and beautiful. Which is the “best” aria? Impossible to decide. Crowe was absolutely on top of the challenging music. Her voice was on a journey making lovely sounds going up and down and stopping to repeat a sound especially pleasing but difficult to make. The lyric is something different. Rest gently, my dear life,/sleep until your joy awakes./Here, I give you my portrait./See how it smiles at you./ Sweet dreams, rock him to sleep,/and finally grant his wish,/so that his desire/will become reality.

Masonic Funeral Music, K.477 Composed in 1785, it was originally written for the ceremony of two Masons being promoted to a higher level of the hierarchy and of their studies. Soon, two Masons died. Mozart changed the title of the work from Meistermusik to Maurerische Trauermusik/Masonic Funeral Musik. It is stately and sad as funeral music would be. Mozart changes the instruments for this piece. He adds 3 basset horns to the 2 oboes, clarinet, contrabasson, 2 horns and strings. Mozart was a Mason going to meetings twice a week. He became a Master Mason; Masonic symbols and experiences show up in The Magic Flute.

“Schon lacht der holde Fruhling,” K.580 This aria was never performed as planned. It was to be in a German version of Giovanni Paisiello’s opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia/ The Barber of Seville. It was tremendously popular at that time, but Rossini’s version took over in 1816. The production never happened, but Mozart had composed an aria that would have been added in order to give Josepha Hofer, Mozart’s sister-in-law neé Weber, something special. Mozart knew her vocal skills for extremely high tessitura. The song may not have been inserted into the German Barber of Seville, but Josepha’s voice was perfect for the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. The aria became an orphan until other composers completed it. No basset horns in this one, but it was a Mozart aria sung by Ms Crowe. It was lovely, a lost treasure found. “I sit here and weep,/ alone on the field,/ not for my lost little sheep/but only for the shepherd Lindor.”

“Venga la morte…Non temer, amato bene,” K.490 This aria adds a solo violin accompanying and playing with the orchestra and the soprano. A special treat: SF Symphony’s Concertmaster, Alexander Barantschik, was the soloist. The aria was written to be inserted into Mozart’s opera, Idomeneo. Its premiere was in Munich. After only a short run for the opera, Mozart returned to Vienna. While there, he was fired from his job in Salzburg. His boss, Archbishop-Prince Colloredo and Mozart did not get along; Mozart stayed in Vienna. The son of Idomeneo, Idamante, has a predicatment. He cannot marry the woman he loves; he decides death would be better. This is opera. It is not real. Repeat. This is opera. It is not real. The music was ravishing. It is Mozart’s opera, after all.

This amazing program ended with Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543. His last three Symphonies, No. 39, No. 40 ( Great G minor), No. 41 (Jupiter) were all written in nine weeks. The 40th and 41st have been more popular than No. 39. Benjamin Pesetsky suggests that might be because it does not have a catchy name. It is still Mozart’s work. The Symphony projects conflicts between a pleasing 3/4 time and a powerful response. In the Andante, once again there are two messages presenting a love and maybe an end of love. Even in the Finale which features some of Mozart’s wonderfully playful sounds, one might consider if there is a warning in the end of the music. It has mystery; Mozart certainly is allowed to put forth a mystery which we cannot solve.

SF Symphony Premieres of Music & Artists

May 11, 2023, San Francisco Symphony, Davies Hall: It was a great night for the music. There were thrilling debut performances of music and by the artists. Violinist Hilary Hahn was scheduled to perform Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 77 with the SFS. Illness made it necessary to cancel. What could take the place of Brahms and Hahn? The fully packed audience learned the answer: pianist Bruce Liu, a great pianist who gave us Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. #3 in C minor, Opus 37 (1800). This was Mr. Liu’s debut performance with the SFS; he was the complete artist for Beethoven. The program opened with Darker America (1925) by William Grant Still. It was the SFS’s first performance of this classic music which combines music, history, and emotion. One can hear the composer’s thoughts. Closing the event was Ein Heldenleben, Opus 40 (1898) by Richard Strauss. Strauss is best known for his operas; this piece for orchestra presents the drama that propels his operas. The conductor, Rafael Payare also made his debut with the SFS. He is in his fourth season as music director of the San Diego Symphony and his first season as music director of the Montreal Symphony. He has conducted major European orchestras Including the Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Orchestra, and more.

Rafael Payare, conductor Music Director, Montreal

Maestro Payare shares his electric presence with the orchestra and audience. His gestures are clear and his physical movement expresses the rhythm, shape, and character of the music. He is exciting to watch and more than that he reaches into the orchestra players’ musical beings. Their music is alive with energy in response to him, making a thrilling concert.

William Grant Still, conductor (1895-1978). Photograph by Carl Van Vechten (1949).

Composer William Grant Still created prolific and varied works: 5 symphonies, 4 ballets, 9 operas, more than 30 choral works, chamber music, art songs, and pieces for solo instruments. His work was successful and embraced by music institutions. He was the first African-American composer to have an opera, Troubled Island, produced (1949) by the New York City Opera and the first to be produced by a major opera company. His first symphony, Afro-American Symphony (premiered in 1931) was the first performance by a major American symphony orchestra of a work by an African-American composer. His career was one of many “firsts,” and his work surely deserved the recognition. He was also the first African-American to conduct major American symphonies, the Hollywood Bowl and the Rochester Philharmonic. He studied with George Chadwick who encouraged him to create music out of an authentic American voice. He also studied with Edgard Varese, the avant-garde French composer. Still was grateful for his time with Varese although he did not follow his avant-garde way. He dedicated Darker America to Varese. Still wrote a program note describing the changing emotions of this tone poem. It depicts the “American Negro. His serious side is presented and is intended to suggest the triumph of a people over their sorrows …” There are three themes: sorrow, hope, and a “theme of the American Negro.” The music suggests their hardships. The English horn begins the sorrow theme; hope is found in the “muted brass accompanied by strings and woodwinds.” The music does not promise a happy ending. Sorrow and hope lead the people to overcome their struggle. The themes join in the ending notes, more subdued than joyful. Although only 13 minutes long, this piece is musically refined, powerful, and moving. One hopes that SFS’s performance will begin a revival of this piece in other major halls.

Ludwig Van Beethoven, composer (1770-1827)

In his early career, Beethoven often performed piano concerts, includeding improvised music. His partnership with the piano meant that many of the pieces could not be performed by anyone else. It was also true that his piano music was too difficult for lesser beings. His realization of his progressive deafness led him to withdraw from his appearances. He could no longer do the piano parts he composed or sail through improvisations, creating as he played. The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Opus 37 was probably written in 1800, and premiered in 1803. For music specialists, Beethoven’s work is divided into three eras. This Concerto sits on the fence between the first and middle eras. It maintains the purity of Mozart’s and Hayden’s classical style, but Beethoven’s energy and grand heart, convinces the Concerto to jump off the fence. As played by Bruce Liu, its invention and demand for a pianist of Beethoven-quality let us hear the greatness of the composer.

Bruce Liu, Pianist Bruce Liu after winning the 18th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland, 2021.

There was not a moment of the Concerto in which the listener could relax. This is not a warm bath of music. There are sudden changes of key and from soft to loud. The audience was literally on the edges of their seats, ears up, eyes open. Mr. Liu’s style is restrained, no wild arms flaring around; he sat quietly and opened worlds with power and finesse. The music pulses with feeling that makes it different from the earlier Beethoven and classical predecessors. Beethoven pushes humanity forward. His music demonstrates what humans could be and could do. Davies Symphony Hall seemed to levitate when the music ended. No one wanted it to end. After several curtain calls, we were surprised to see Mr. Liu sit down to play Liszt’s etude, La Campanella, which is based on a virtuoso violin piece by Paganini. Wishing Ms Hahn a speedy recovery, he said, “This is one for the violin lovers.” It is intricate, fast, and faster, making circles within circles of music like concentric roller coasters.

Richard Strauss, composer, conductor (1864-1949) Painting by Max Liebermann, 1918, below

Ein Heldenleben, Opus 40, by Richard Strauss, is called a tone poem as is Darker America. It is operatic in the sweep of the story of a Hero’s Life. It is the composer’s own story made into music. In a note to himself, Strauss wrote, “–the man is visible in the work.” The on-going debate over a program, story, or theme in serious music (and painting, dance, writing) was on his mind, and he went ahead with his own sort of program. There are dramatic episodes; it opens with a lush, passionate, bold depiction of The Hero. The music changes radically to abrasive, “cutting,” “hissing,” sounds; those words are written on the score. It is Strauss giving the critics and critical public a large and nasty presence in this music. SFS’s Concertmaster, Alexander Barantschik, played the violin solo majestically. His solo work was devoted to the part describing The Hero’s True Love. Strauss wrote to the novelist Romain Rolland that his wife, Pauline, was “very complicated … tres femme, a little perverse, a bit of a coquette, never the same twice.” The Hero and his True Love are playful, they follow each other and then stay away. In The Hero’s Works of Peace, The Hero goes to battle but also to make peace. The closing section is The Hero’s Escape from the World and Completion; his battles are over and the music becomes tranquil. One of Strauss’s friends protested the quiet ending. The composer changed it to something completely different, loud, profound, and fitting for the mysterious character of The Hero. Ein Heldenleben was more exciting than an action hero’s movie. Its rich, gorgeous music was even fun to hear.

Barantschik, Nel, Wyrick Meet Beethoven, Chopin, Shostakovich

Chamber music at the Palace of the Legion of Honor is always a high point of San Francisco’s musical season. Remarkable musicians playing some of classical music’s finest selections in a theater that looks like the inside of magical music box: it’s great. Sunday, November 1, opened the season with Beethoven’s Trio in G major, Opus 1, no. 2; Chopin’s Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Opus 54; and Shostakovich’s Quintet in G minor, Opus 57. Each one was a gem. The character of each was entirely different from the others. I mention that for readers who may think narrow thoughts about chamber music. You have been misled; these are peak musical experiences. Alexander Barantschik, the Concert Master of the SF Symphony, violin; Anton Nel, piano; and Peter Wyrick, Associate Principal Cello of the SFS formed the trio for Beethoven. Michael Grebanier, SFS Principal Cello was scheduled to perform but replaced by Wyrick. The music was delightful. Beethoven plays with bright emotions, letting his lyricism and great heart carry the listener into an ideal natural world. The Scherzo movement offers syncopation and suggests a folk dance. The Finale: Presto sweeps aside any constraint, calling upon the pianist for virtuosic performance and yet keeping all three in an exciting ensemble. It was thrilling to watch and to hear these artists.

Extraordinary pianist Anton Nel heads the Division of Keyboard Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He has performed frequently with the San Francisco Symphony as well as the Cleveland, Chicago, London orchestras, and in partnership with Alexander Barantschik in the Chamber Music series. His performance of Chopin’s Scherzo No. 4 was a gift. Although a life long Chopin devotee, the Scherzo was not familiar to this Hedgehog. It was performed with exquisite style and taste. Nel gave Chopin the leading role and by doing so showed his own brilliance. It is a big piece, not at all a piece of another, grander work. The listeners were given much to embrace and absolutely stellar musicianship.

In the Shostakovich Quintet, SF Symphony musicians Florin Parvulescu, SFS violin, and Jonathan Vinocour, SFS Principal Viola, joined Barantschik, Nel, and Wyrick. Concert goers who feel they know Beethoven and Chopin could have been quite surprised by the selections by those composers on this program. They were both fresh and profound. They may have been most impressed and surprised by the Shostakovich. His music is not played so often, was shut out of programming for decades, and when presented now opens the mind and heart with forceful, beautiful, sometimes soul wrenching music. While Shostakovich suffered greatly when out of favor with Stalin and his henchmen, this Quintet was written and premiered during a brief interlude of acceptance. It is glorious. Its premiere was 1940, but it sounds new and full of life. Its performance by this quintet of champion musicians provided music that could send the entire audience aloft. The persistence of the Russian dances in the last movements whirled us along while a thoughtful, musical spirit appears as if to whisper a reminder of a quiet secret. The audience called the quintet back for multiple bows. Each of the performers deserved whole hearted cheers.

Pictures from top: Beethoven, photo of Chopin by Bisson, 1849; Shostakovich.

Barantschik, Zukerman, Kremer: Great Violinists in San Francisco, Part I

Part I: Music lovers in San Francisco had a festival of great violinists from late January to Groundhog’s Day. It was easy to forget the inevitable post-holiday let down when in the presence of artistry that lifted the spirit while demanding an open heart and mind. Alexander Barantschik, San Francisco Symphony’s Concertmaster, was leader and soloist on Jan. 22, 2014, when members of the SFSymphony joined him in works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Britten, and Piazzola. With the exception of Piazzola’s works, each composer wrote the selections when very young. Very young: Mozart was 16 when he wrote Divertimento in F maj.; Mendelssohn was 13 when he wrote Concerto in D min. for Violin and String Orchestra; Britten was 10-13 when he wrote the themes, songs, and tunes which he made into Simple Symphony when he was 20. The words charming, delightful, beautiful are the ones which instantly come to mind for the Mozart Divertimento. The second movement Andante has a delicious lyrical, nearly seductive style. It ends with a Rondo which is bright and exciting. The players did so well capturing the light-on-water brilliance. Barantschik’s playing in the Mendelssohn Concerto had all the virtuosic abilities the piece deserves. He is an appropriate inheritor of the piece which was written for Eduard Rietz, the violinist to whom Mendelssohn dedicated important works and who was Concertmaster when Mendelssohn revived Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion. Before joining the SFS, Barantschik served as concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra. San Franciscans are fortunate to hear his performances with the orchestra and in chamber performances. The Concerto is full of energy and musical invention. Mendelssohn demonstrates his ability to see the many different dimensions in which the music can be arranged, altering the order of phrases and finding new combinations for them. Never more devoted to chess playing than to music making, the young genius gives us music that thrills the audience. Britten’s Simple Symphony was a surprise to audience members who know Britten only through “heavy” music like operas Turn of the Screw. This was fun and tuneful. The four movements, Boisterous Bourree, Playful Pizzicato, Sentimental Saraband, Frolicsome Finale, live up to their titles to create a frolicsome suite. The musicians played with relish. I first heard Piazzola’s music when a friend played tapes he had brought back from Argentina many years ago. It is tango, but it is more than “just tango,” and also shows how complex and rich tango can be. Barantschik was accompanied by soloist Seth Asarnow on bandoneon and the SFSymphony players. At the risk of robbing the music of its fascination, it’s worthwhile to assert that it is serious music. It is music that grew in a composer whose consciousness included jazz and Stravinsky (and Stravinsky was a composer whose consciousness had said hello to jazz as well). Tango is popular music which might prevent some music writers from taking it seriously; not this one. After all, the tango is famous, and infamous, for being about sex, a very mysterious and serious source of art.pictures: top: a bandoneon; above, L to R: Alexander Barantschik, Felix Mendelssohn; below, Astor Piazzola, Benjamin Britten.