mark andre hamelin playing in reading

[pianonut]

mark hamelin is playing the busoni concerto (did he write one?) this weekend (mar. 5) in reading, pennsylvania...for anyone who is living close by.  he will be playing on a new bosendorfer.  i think you just type in reading symphony or RSO to get the times.  $15-$50 tickets are available.  the last time (went to hear andre watts) there were a few seats one could move up to at intermission.

there is a great restaurant nearby called melody.  it is on the second floor of a fancy hotel (forget which one - sheraton?) anyway, they have performers in the restaurant, too. 

[Alde]

What a treat!  Nobody plays the Busoni Concerto.  You are so lucky to attend.  Make sure to review the concerto and post.

[SDL]

Damn - thought you meant the original Reading (uk) at first 

[pianonut]

ok, i'll post a review.  i've never heard the busoni concerto so will be a new experience.  (and, i've never heard mark hamelin live).

[Musicag]

If you can, try to borrow the concerto and listen to it at least several times to prep yourself up for the occasion. That way you would appreciate and music much more...

[pianonut]

ok.  when i go to wcu, i'll listen to it.

[pianonut]

here's my concert review (for what it's worth):

at risk of someone from the rso breaking all my fingers, i just don't like busoni.  he sounds like a thrift store composer (borrowing from rossini, tchaikovsky, beethoven,etc) and really going nowhere (to me) in his music.  i didn't remember one melody, and the places that started out exciting (i think fourth movement is where the piece should have started) didn't go anywhere (compositionally).  the first and third movements sounded too much alike and used too many of the same orchestral and pianistic techniques. and, i felt that he should have decided whether he was writing a symphony or piano concerto.   

but, in fairness to the unheard works of many composers who are lesser known, i applaud marc-andre for risking his own success or failure on the idea that 'at least the audiences will hear things that are rarely played.'  the busoni concerto is not without bravura, and both the symphony and marc andre hamelin did a superb job with the technicality and endurance needed to get through such a long piece (with no intermission).  Also, the mendehlssohn men's chorus (which sings at the end of the busoni concerto) did a fantastic job, too.  they would do any piece justice, the way they sung 'with one voice.' 

my first impression (when the piece started) was 'why is the piano tuned so low?'  then i realized they were going to play the entire concerto (without intermission) and by the time they got to the end, there would be such a discrepancy that it would be better to make it at the beginning.  BUT, if wishes were horses...i would have had an intermission (before the fourth mov't) and re tuned the orchestra and the piano.  another thing that i wish, would be that the conductor would have had access to one of those automatic scrolling computer screens (so he wouldn't have to reach down and turn each page).  i only noticed this in the first movent', but not so much in the others.

you have to give credit where it's due.  i liked the director, sydney rothstein, and sort wish (for a first piano concerto) he'd conducted the tchaikovsky first or something.  even though it is a well known piece, i think we would have heard more of the bass (of the bosendorfer) and less attention to hearing the low Ab (bosendorfer had an extra 9-10 notes, i think) in particular that busoni wrote.  also, i felt that marc hamelin tried not to overpower the orchestra and played less of the bass than i would have liked (but i was sitting way in the back in the balcony so it could have been where i was seated). 

hamelin is really a technician and musician, but the busoni made him seem like a type A personality pianist.  bombastic, virtuosic, and yet very together with the orchestra.  he listens well and clearly wanted all of the orchestra to be heard (including softer instruments).  if it were me (hahaha) i would have lowered the lid of the bosendorfer and played more bass.  ok - enough rehashing. 

another thing i liked was the beauty of watching the concertmaster (christopher collins lee) do ANYTHING.  whether he was tuning up the violins or just sitting down.  he has an amazing technique, too, when he plays of minimizing movements (as in most all the first chairs of the orchestra) and letting the music come out.  i enjoyed him immensely.  AND, wow - how many cellos, basses, and double basses were used in this concerto.  interesting orchestration!

alan harler, the music director of the mendelssohn club of philadelphia has to be greatly commended, too.  he is also a musician of the first order.  when the men's chorus came in, there was a perceptable 'awe' in the audience for the exactness of pitch, harmonies, entrances, exits, everything AND musicality.  they, in my opinion, would have been held up a bit higher had the orchestra re-tuned (ok - rehashing again) but all in all, the flow was marvellous if you are one that doesn't like to break up a piece.

for the text of the busoni: (next message) 

[pianonut]

Lift your hearts to the Eternal Power,
Feel God near, behold his achievement.
While earthly joys vie with sorrows,
The pillars of the universe stand serene.
Thousands and thousands
of years, as serene as today in strength,
giving off flashes of brilliance and might;
the indestructible shows Himself thus.

Hearts came aglow, hearts turned to ice,
As life and death playfully made their rounds.
But the pillars stood tranquil and steadfast,
ever as stalwartly as they do now.
Lift your hearts to the Eternal Power,
Feel God near, behold his achievement.
The world, once dead, is now fully renewed.
Extolling divinity, the poem falls silent.

(this wasn't sung in english, by the way, i believe it was german - and wonderfully done).  Busoni realized the transitoriness of life, virtuosity, and human achievement, yet he didn't give up - and continually studied.  he performed a fairwell concert in berlin in 1922 of Mozart's twelve piano concertos (going beyond his love for schumann and mendelssohn) so he must have been quite a pianist.  he had a 'modern style' and was more interested in ideas than color.  he once said 'never be carried away by temperament, for it disrupts strength,' yet he sounds like a romantic composer when you hear his works.  he was 'italian by birth and instinct, german by education and choice.' (his father was italian, and mother german)  his best pupil, egon petri, inherited 'his master's taste for the big pieces of the repertoire.' his seriousness could be followed by rachmaninov.

[Alde]

Thanks for the wonderful review.  It is very sad that about only 20 piano concertos have made it to the mainstream.  New or old concertos are always compared to these top 20.
But I agree with your comments.  Mark Andre is a phenomenal musician.  He has the ability to play any piano composition.  However he has to be careful because he might lose more fans then gain new ones.

[pianonut]

glad you liked the review!  i would definately go hear hamelin again.  and, of course, the RSO and mendelssohn men's choir.

say, does anyone know of any magazines or newspapers that need a music critique?  do you think i'm good enough, or do i need more of an open mind.  perhaps if i live near philly long enough, i will have the experience it takes to appreciate things that aren't mainstream (even though, i admit, i like the classics).

[ralessi]

I really disagree...being a BIGGGGGGG fan of romantics and all.  first, looking at people taking off one, another, you will find SO MUCH of one composers style music in many others such as the Liszt paganinni etudes and Brahms crazy variations on paganinni themes. It is completely obvious that Brahms took SOOOOOOOO much from the 6th of Liszt, but the Brahms variations are still HIGHLY looked upon as a work (being the AMAZING work that it is).  JUst like Mozart with mendelssohn as well as Chopin with Liszt and visa versa, Wagner and Stravinsky  with the music of Liszt  ...the list goes on and on.  I have a recording of John Odgon playing the busoni concerto and i think it is phenominal! the orchestration if amazing and the piano part is so...i dont even know what to say..its crazy.  Very extended melodies, yes, but i would say the music goes nowhere.  Look at Bach music.  Most of it has a begininning, middle, and end.  There is a melody and and themes but (for me) they dont seem to go anywhere.  After talking to my teacher about it, he told me that it does go somewhere, it just doesnt go where i want it to.  After thinking about it..it really makes sense.  I hope im making sense whoever is reading this.  Personally the piece is more of the bravura type, like some of Liszt's pieces.  The technical demand is out of this world not to mention the CRAZYYYYYYYY endurance that this piece demands.  this piece is nightmarishly difficult and (LOVING THE PIECE!), can say that although it isnt the most beautiful, melodic concerto written, I would respect ANY musician who can play this piece as Hamlin or Ogdon has, simply for that reason!

Cheers!
Ricky       

[ralessi]

Lift your hearts to the Eternal Power,
Feel God near, behold his achievement.
While earthly joys vie with sorrows,
The pillars of the universe stand serene.
Thousands and thousands
of years, as serene as today in strength,
giving off flashes of brilliance and might;
the indestructible shows Himself thus.

Hearts came aglow, hearts turned to ice,
As life and death playfully made their rounds.
But the pillars stood tranquil and steadfast,
ever as stalwartly as they do now.
Lift your hearts to the Eternal Power,
Feel God near, behold his achievement.
The world, once dead, is now fully renewed.
Extolling divinity, the poem falls silent.

(this wasn't sung in english, by the way, i believe it was german - and wonderfully done). Busoni realized the transitoriness of life, virtuosity, and human achievement, yet he didn't give up - and continually studied. he performed a fairwell concert in berlin in 1922 of Mozart's twelve piano concertos (going beyond his love for schumann and mendelssohn) so he must have been quite a pianist. he had a 'modern style' and was more interested in ideas than color. he once said 'never be carried away by temperament, for it disrupts strength,' yet he sounds like a romantic composer when you hear his works. he was 'italian by birth and instinct, german by education and choice.' (his father was italian, and mother german) his best pupil, egon petri, inherited 'his master's taste for the big pieces of the repertoire.' his seriousness could be followed by rachmaninov.

one more thing....
must have been quite a pianist?!  Incase you have never heard stories or even possibly recordings, BUsoni is one of the GREATEST pianists that this world has ever seen!  May i suggest people try to find recordings if possible!? 

Cheers!
Ricky

[pianonut]

i prefer more 'color' in orchestration.  his all seemed bland.  i much prefer liszt over brahms (i just can't play it as well YET)  the paganini variations of liszt is my preferred version.  AND, even if one takes from another - you can choose the original when able to play it.  to me, very few composers actually mastered one or the other or both(orchestration, piano composition)  Rimsky-Korsokov is my favorite orchestrater.

[Motrax]

Speaking of Mister Rimsky-Korsakov, (and this is a little off-topic, sorry) do any of you know his C# minor concerto? I found a mini-score with all the parts written out, but it's not very readable for actually playing the piece, and I've never heard a recording of it. Do any of you have editions of the sheet music or recordings to recommend.

Thanks!

-Motrax

[pianonut]

i'll look into it at wcu.  'music in the romantic era' by einstein agrees with me about color. p.314 "he was a romantic in that he was one of the greatest masters of color, in this respect quite as independent of berlioz as he was, even in his later years, of wagner."

i love the capriccio espagnol and sherazade.  it seems that he was willing to experiment with sound and not limit himself to writing the same way for everything.  he had a good imagination and made "secondary figures which always corresponded to the character of the particular instrument playing them (little virtuoso cadences of the principal solo instruments), the rhythm of the percussion."

he was the connecting link "between the five and the next generation."  his pupils glazunov and stravinsky.