Sunday, February 3, 2008
Ear Extensions
This weekend’s concert series was another amazing experience. Thanks to inclement weather, I was bumped into what I thought was one of the best seats in the house, at the expense of my privatizing my jubilation (no shame, no gain). Ravel’s Concerto in G major was a beautiful experience, winding me through mercurial harmonies embedded in a structure that waxed elusively of traditional counterpoint. Jean-Yves Thibaudet played with such fluidity and precision. Of course, I was happy to see the piece starting with a piccolo solo, feeling my mortality cradled in the delicate fountain of harp and string sonorities, and more than willing to let myself wind down in the gorgeous shadows of the second movement. Every week, I seem to become more and more enamored with the English horn.To be quite honest, Dances of Galanta was something of a blur after hearing Ted Oien’s marvelous introduction of the theme. The nuance, the artistry! The entire woodwind section as a whole sounded great, producing timbral combinations in clari-flut-obo-soon colours that the Bergen Wind Quintet (“the best woodwind quintet in the world”) tout so strongly. There was even a comical piccolo and bassoon duet! Gilbert Varga was also fantastic, with his energy and drive that reminded me of the authentically-frenzied tarogato music I heard lately. His interpretation of the Miraculous Mandarin was awesome! The DSO has wicked trombone and viola sections, that’s for sure. But it’s almost unfair to single them out, in lieu of the entire orchestra. The clarinet section did smoke the Montreal recording, though. Aren't blogs supposed to be subjective, anyway? : )
So, I'm writing from the campus at the University of Kentucky, anticipating the next percussion recital (my significant other's!), and truly looking forward to the Knussen next weekend. It's time for some really new music...
posted by Erin Fung at
5:22 PM
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Friday, February 1, 2008
A Demain!
It's nearly half past twelve and I should probably be in bed, but I find myself listening to Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin yet again, eagerly anticipating tomorrow. I've got it all planned out: a couple hours of yoga classes for some additional ear-and-angst cleaning before the concert tomorrow, nipping into Avalon for a little warmth - then trudging through inches of snow to the hall, making it in time to gingerly nestle myself into a seat with a wide berth. I can imagine tomorrow might be a little more hysteria for me, and truth be told, I'm really looking forward to it. After all, I love Ravel and Debussy, Dances of Galanta features amazing gypsy tunes in the form of verbunkos music, and above all, the clarinet takes the role of the prostitute in the Bartok with three resounding seduction scenes. As if it weren't enough that "verbunkos" literally means "recruiting"! What better way to get myself psyched up for my audition this weekend. Oh right, . . . t h a t.(As an afterthought - the recording I've got is of Montreal with Charles Dutoit, and I can't help wondering what tomorrow would be like if he were still around, remembering the kind of epic sounds he drew from the DSO last weekend! What a guy.)
posted by Erin Fung at
12:23 AM
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