DR Kultur: Bamberg SO, Jonathan Nott LIVE. Mysteries of the night - all toward clamorous blaze of day. Ives Three Places. Mahler Seven. 24.5.11.

Jonathan Nott continues quite a successful Mahler cycle both in concert in Bamberg's warm Keilberth-Saale and on disc with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra Nott now has playing comparably well to numerous leading orchestras in Europe. His Mahler first caught my attention with a Fourth played by Bamberg at the 2006 BBC Proms, turning this music on its dark side while framing such with strong linear and textural clarity.

If any previous Mahler interpreters serve as example to Nott, it may be Pierre Boulez; differences too between both stand out. Simultaneously arguably most controversial of Boulez’s Mahler interpretations, favorite of mine from among them is of the Seventh Symphony. The slightly heavy, yet dry – near end of the peak of the Dohnanyi era – approach to Romantic music, Mahler included, of Cleveland balances well with Boulez’s ironic, dour wit, fire for the Seventh – brisk pace notably through second Nachtmusik. Getting past quasi-Brucknerian terracing of contrasting episodes, buildup through the first movement, Boulez and Nott both recall to mind Hermann Scherchen’s way with Mahler. Especially memorable his 1965 Toronto broadcast of this (especially for having popped it on a first time one hour after pseudo-Furtwangler slog Christoph Eschenbach made long ago here through a stellar cast Don Giovanni (Mattila, der Walt, Thomas Allen, Fleming as Elvira, Cachemaille).

Boulez’s interpretation of the Seventh repeated over PBS last year recorded live from Chicago; some of Boulez’s more obvious interpretative decisions got smoothed out, making all seem less decisive, driven home than before from Cleveland (on DGG - though on wit, risk-taking still a bit shy next to Scherchen).

Bamberg now certainly has an orchestra for Mahler with which to reckon. Burnished melos from their winds, buttery lower strings - good if not quite alone definitive qualities, Nott has helped make distinctive toward utterly specific expressive, interpretative purposes. A pervasive nostalgic air characterizing the Mahler Seventh, elusively so for most notably the second Nachtmusik Nott had his forces fully intimate - revealing how in Mahler’s sonorities, conceptualization thereof, some of the bottom has fallen out – hollowness, exposed gaps left in its wake. Gone is some of an acerbic, (proto-)neo-classical, practically Stravinskian quality like from Boulez, but not completely – instead more subtly reckoned intimation of the same. What has been (exaggeratedly) assessed as clinical detachment characterizing the Boulez is equally revealing. Pool out of which Mahler draws references to the past is deep. What references occur, with what detachment, irony, distortion, other device Mahler applies gain their elusive, ephemeral quality thereby – with no single exemplary way to illustrate this.

Nott opened this program with masterpiece by comparable genius transcendentalist Charles Ives – Three Places in New England – Mahler more sophisticatedly effective at it in his Seventh, Ninth, Das Lied than in his Third Symphony. All one might have sought from Nott and his forces playing Ives was a little more earthiness than emerged here. Mahler admired Ives to extent he carried back a copy of Ives’s Third Symphony back to Europe with him, with it in mind getting it performed there. Nott’s grasp of Ives’s music seems complete, except perhaps in one area – its frequently brash qualities, utter plethora of vernacular sources. Swagger for middle movement comedic Putnam’s Camp – study, likely, for large Ives Fourth Symphony scherzo - its march rhythms from ‘Marching Through Georgia to the British Grenadiers - was good, if less uninhibited than might be ideal. Deeply intoned syncopations, limned by harmonics above, provided broad shape for long moment of stillness, for it rapt intensity as well.

Diaphanous, languid sense of mystery to open most extended picture among the three, the ‘St Gaudens in Boston Commons’ was complete – all groping to form out of several intervals good intimation of Afro-American ‘spiritual’ – deeply expressive Bamberg woodwinds helping carry to satisfying closure idea deeply suggested here. Empathy Ives feels for plight of black regiment during the Civil War, musical comment on such is hardly equaled elsewhere. Direct simplicity from principal chairs compensated well for incidental Bambergeois smoothing out of more extravagantly scored passages. Stretto from differing strands of material to combine, also clash with each other Nott supplied rhythmic shape, acuity, even some earthiness from his strings – if intermittently less freedom than is preferable.

Tempos for all three pieces were slightly slower than usual. The most evocative piece of the three, and abstract, the Housatonic at Stocbrdge – found Nott the most at home with what he confronted here. The textural density of this music and its subtly compressed quality are such Nott can not anymore find daunting. The Romantic appeal of landscape both pointedly and evocatively described in words (simply written down, not performed at all) found Nott completely at ease – comparable to what a mature Bartok or Ligeti accomplished years later – with interwoven melismatic chromatic descant very flexibly, limning broad melodic line – fully evoking Nature, inhaling mists all about. Stretto toward eventually arriving loud dissonant climax formed very effectively organically from what preceded it – with most inhibition at last put aside. Out of the swirls, rushes of the Housatonic might form a lake comparable to what next composer listed might have then rowed or swam across.

Nott, oars ready to traverse lake about, invited his players to openly, warmly resonate all before them, clarinets sticking out to further enhance color, warmth - stringent upper winds and strings to profile craggy rock, cliffs aloft. Remainder of the way Nott marked deliberately, with strings, winds, bellicose trumpets on cusp of breaking out, anticipating the Exposition. Equine upbeats to proceeding march step got vividly, lightly marked, brightly lifting sense of forward motion going. Natural shaping of rubato, sonorities underneath, eschewing unmarked slowdown, provided ascending second theme superb elasticity. Marking of tuba line helped tighten up return of the first theme. Reminiscence of second theme semitone lower (B Minor) occurred with continual forward motion - pizzicato, woodwind cries eerily punctuating the night air.

Atmosphere remained spectral for coolly approached strands of first theme - marked timpani accenting then spurring all on forward. In the hands of somebody less adept, eschewing sturm und drang here might suffice to throw off center of gravity – no issue for Nott. Pastoral episode entered all forest mercurial - as though lost, from ‘another world.’ Full flowering out of ‘sehr breit’ reprise of second theme, for refusal to distend it earlier had it emerge fresher than normally one can anticipate. High entrance on violins getting transition to recapitulation going had Nott observing the ‘a tempo’ written in there instead of – too commonly – docking it. An earthier, lustier vigor then arose through especially the strings, forest immersed fire then coursing way through the rest, picking up most sturm und drang along the way, but without excessive bombast or empty banality Mahler already provided the means to avoid.

Nott favored, compared with fleeter Boulez, moderate pace for Nachtmusik I. Contrast of sonorities, still allowing much acerbity, fit here warmer approximation of Knaben Wunderhorn motifs. Gradual at building atmosphere, all naturally opened out - toward march refrain in violins being cadenced on rattle (trills) on low register clarinets. With moderate breeze coursing through first trio section, Nott became attentive to dotted rhythms being precise contrasting with how violins drowsily spin out the rest. Groping lower strings enveloped then remotely placed reprise of main section. Spectral second trio (F Minor), with ‘irdisches Leben’ plaintive winds purposefully came off acrid, less sublime. Light descending terraced winds helped dissemble memory of cellos’ klezmer refrain to same idea,, all preparing surreptitious tone for brief transition back to forthright refrain, despondently so. Reprise of first trio passed by more urgently – as though intended fleeting, passé thereby. Main march motifs made final sheepish return - false or precarious step always right around the corner - with all then spinning off into a void.

Nott became closest to Boulez on central scherzo - ‘Schattenhaft.’ It became distinctively so for Nott with less projected, more resonant Bamberg forces to make stand out its garish, acrid, shuddering occurring throughout, then to more potently extrude to abet ubiquitous menace, do greater harm from within. Measured step starting out was perfectly adept, followed by blunt sudden capture of foreground for descending rapid run in dark woodwinds – as having emerged out of nowhere. Icy, tremolo like runs in the strings sharply cut through mists, nebulae about. Strings then attacked waltz refrain with schmaltzy, confident abandon. Insistence to avoid oboe led trio turning mawkish Nott staged by having violins eerily match in their descending trailing off wiry tone from the oboes. Besotted accenting from viola solo Nott made to infect violins and timpani. Nott prevented all through bumpy ride back into scherzo from stabilizing until plaintively reply from oboes in minor-key Neapolitan. Hole dug out of warm Bamberg sonorities only grew deeper, still more so from then on.

Fragility within warm glow Nott had infuse Nachtmusik II became quality less to forefront than subtly pervading it all instead. Obvious sensation got provided by pungently marking this music’s well varied acrid dissonances, but all as though having percolated out of the twilit Romantic glow. Even while fully inhaling nocturnal fragrance all about, there was more than just this means by which Nott set up some aesthetic distance; Mahler’s music does here itself. Nowhere did doing so provide greater dividends than with Nott’s shaping of song like middle section – no obvious places excessively lingered over – with natural rubato rendering line its normal shape. Comments midway through the trio section maintained their reticent, dour character intact. Reprise of ‘’Traumerei’ opening enhanced overall relaxed air, followed, contrasted then by stringent push through violins’ led stretto, fleshing out high and dry their internal dissonances – without breaking line. Atmosphere about got deeply absorbed during process of all fading away – all in beautifully rounded perspective – anticipatory as much as nostalgic.

Conventional way with similar finale to the Fifth Symphony is to reward its formal complexity with broad pacing, providing all its fugue and chorale a Brucknerian weight, portentousness – such as one encounters on the old Barbirolli recording. Treating similarly the finale to the Seventh is judged to be riskier, given its brightly lit color, its surface wise more obvious banality – its superficially light weight harmonically and extensive parody, Rapid, tight interlocking of harmonic progressions working their way through Nott invoked toward working a spell over all his players – with the Stravinsky of Petrouchka, Symphony in C - pan-diatonicism with the latter - imminent.

Pacing things broadly, Nott, increasingly interwove much subtle terracing into Mahler’s scoring – confident to expose where Mahler has intentionally left gaps, places where voicing does not get doubled properly. Lift to ebullience, all pomp, the overtly festive character here hardly ever got minimized at all. Brass and strings strongly competed amongst themselves at serving up lusty fervor to Meistersinger and other popular tune refrains. Suspected academic quality to Nott’s interpretation, instead of denying the comedy infusing all this, deepened it, provided it more savor than crudely underlining it can. Busoni’s music fleetingly came to mind, ‘’higher knowledge’ to be derived thereof, and then with for instance widely spaced low trombone underpinning ‘sextuplet’ spinning forth laendler in the strings, the first especially of the Ninth’s two central scherzos.

Shock of what gets encountered earlier found at last rich fulfillment in treating the finale to the Seventh with much deserved respect, thus making first movement ‘caravan’ episode toward the end sound less like location where things might have suddenly derailed, to instead psychologically have been likely eventually all along.

NPR: LOC 2010-11 opener - Verdi's Macbeth - attempting making virtue of the pedantic, insipid. New production (Barbara Gaines). Renato Palumbo.

Lyric Opera of Chicago opened 2010-2011 with Verdi’s Macbeth - first time for Macbeth to be produced there in eleven years. There were several strong elements in play here, one that it was the season opener, and in it featuring a traditional modern abstract production by Barbara Gaines – founder and director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She has developed a fine reputation as such in the Windy City. Reliable not to send Lyric off on a limb again or on opening night, she made her operatic debut with this. According to press, she brought out detail most likely known just to people familiar with Shakespeare and thorough story background - much there also merely for sake of visual spectacle.

Lyric’s patrons seemed to be likely getting best of all possible worlds – a production simultaneously looking up to date, displaying sophisticated special effects and playing it safe to reward itself for being faithful to the text; no traditionalists other than the die-hard would take offense. There then was a respected producer from the community and two big names on the circuit as lead protagonists and particularly in Nadja Michael’s case, who look good. It seemed however as though there was perhaps extra detail, a little sophomorically over-explanatory, distracting attention from what should be at heart – and without developing meaningful frisson with the same. It ultimately seemed good news to still many traditional patrons that Lyric was not reviving David Alden’s production from last time.

Could it then be worthwhile John Van Rhein (Chicago Tribune) knows well matching, parallel social opprobrium up there to ours to make it good for Lyric to never revive the David Alden? Houston Grand Opera, sharing Catherine Maliftano as Lady Macbeth, played it in late 1997. Asher Fisch conducted the Alden production for Chicago well - then to return this past season to Lyric for Ballo in maschera. From listening to all three relevant broadcasts, the one most compellingly dramatic was Lyric’s 1999 Macbeth. Macbeth likely suited Fisch’s abilities, Verdian potential better than Ballo, latter that for its enigmatic, shifting character, found Fisch slightly aloof.

Renato Palumbo’s conducting of Macbeth from Lyric was simply erratic, unclear as to what it wanted to significantly bring to light. Fatuously tentative attempt at making calibration with Gaines’s overly busy stage direction was likely an issue, apart from whatever meaningful Gaines brought up on terms of psychological complexity, concerning the Macbeths. Nadja Michael’s accommodating Verdi’s music to her own vocal problems also confused matters.

Thomas Hampson (Macbeth) amidst this cast sounded most of all as though operating in a vacuum. Musical, dramatic intelligence he invests in what he sings still manifests itself. Macbeth reassuringly is the more passive member of the murderous couple; Gaines likely enhanced the effect by bringing to the fore metaphorically much sexual tension between the two, mostly at Macbeth’s expense - sexual frustration, too, with it perhaps some of the only thrill that Macbeth can get while being goaded on by his wife.

Since being filmed twelve years ago in Zurich again as Macbeth, Hampson’s voice has naturally darkened; strain while attempting high notes now accompanies subtle change to quality of timbre and weight. His opening duet, ‘Due vaticini’ with Banquo evinced fine line, steadiness, noble poise. Dignified wariness, foreboding informed first extended scena with Lady Macbeth – but compromised by insufficient power for several notes above the staff and streamlining of inevitable cabaletta.
Apparitions of murdered boys found Hampson confidently defiant but with little tether from orchestra pit upon which to anchor his lines. Trickier still, similar held true for his banquet scene hallucinations. Hampson descended to engaging in Sprechstimme for confronting second vision (and then somewhat again during ‘Vendetta’ duet closing Act Three). One listening keenly could reckon early on in dialogue - first between Macbeth and hit men - attempt by Hampson to fish out where (musico-) dramatic focus might be or from among whoever on the sidelines one might be able to gin or cook up some..

Hampson’s effort to capture Macbeth’s repossession of noble emotions rang slightly hollow. Good affectation of Verdian line for “Pieta, rispetto amore occurred, but compromised by fatigue, hollow mid-range, and undesirable tendency to fletcherize several phrase endings. David Pountney, who directed Macbeth at Zurich for Hampson (and Paoletta Marrocu), watching his production marks return to a more auteur approach to staging opera – without going so far out on a limb as David Alden, or more vulgar, Martin Kusej (Munich) – production in which Naidja Michael also took part. Even as glibly conducted by Franz Welser-Most – Pountney evinced clear sense of where all dialogue, insinuation, the dramatic argument lead. Hampson capitalized well on much in Zurich; fortunately numerous vestiges of his interpretation of Macbeth remained well intact here.

If evaluated on vocal power, swanky good looks alone, Nadja Michael (Lyric debut) is just ‘the babe’ for Lady Macbeth. She freely offered both in spades, plus fine agility up and down the range – except for glaringly insecure high notes. For part hanging out in a slightly higher tessitura than is hers to handle, there resulted issues as to how to negotiate characteristics of this part less depended upon than usual to sell the soprano lead.

Letter reading was haughty, grandiose. “Vieni t’affretta” started out well, but became thick, wobbly; eventual sag to line revealed take on this number low on steel, sustained vehemence, Albeit for handful of strong accents, cabaletta sounded equally tentative. Approach to following duet with Macbeth came across laid back. “La luce langue” from both Michael and Palumbo became a shapeless morass, essentially making nonsense of attempt at forza for anti-heroic coda to it – line having already petered out.

Openly ridiculous was – as reported by Seen and Heard - Lady Macbeth’s starting Brindisi both staged as and sounding besotted – idea, no doubt, but one easy to sum up as what a neophyte must have brought in to committee. With this music, way it is marked, it made little sense - evident not yet producer’s ability to develop element of frisson between text and layered on commentary just as of yet. Attempt to restore calm, starting second verse, with over-emphasized hesitations to start each line also heavily strained credulity. “Una macchia” (sleepwalking scene) Michael rendered authoritatively, but for frequently melodramatic emphases. Intonation frequently soured near and above the break.

Italian-American tenor Leonardo Capalbo made a conventional Macduff – too rushed to settle in vocally – to effectively, early on, help announce foul play having just occurred. Recitative and ‘Ah la paterna mano’ sounded full of ardor, with good line, but all slightly heavy-handed. Clipping of cabaletta to follow between both Capalbo and Palumbo was cheap, vulgar. Konstantin Stepanov emerged sounding slightly thin as Malcolm. Slovakian bass Stefan Kocan with dark, grainy timbre, met Hampson favorably for first scene together. He tended to slightly push his voice toward achieving grander scale, resulting in tight vocal production – and then lost good intonation on several low notes. “Come dal ciel precepita”, accompanied well, Kocan made carry expansive weight, gravitas, foreboding. Fully long-breathed legato seems to slightly evade him, even with fine cultivated ability to lyrically phrase Banquo’s music at his behest.

Synchronization issues have been pointed out about the new Barbara Gaines production, concerning how to better move witches’ choruses around expeditiously. It was also Renato Palumbo’s responsibility to insist the stage direction not overdo or ‘work so hard’ much animated gesture occurring on stage. Even with mostly good choral and orchestral precision at his disposal, Palumbo hardly brought any identifiable concept to bear upon Macbeth. Whatever the staging conceits, Duncan’s music during Act One did not gradually enter and exit as it played, yet is precisely indicated to do just that.

Murderers’ chorus in residential area park was sufficiently, consistently loud to awaken city block nearby. At times, some Italianita was evident in assisting shaping rhythms, vocal lines. Distortion of accompanying rhythms opening concerted ensemble closing Act Two forced, without anything stopping along the way, Thomas Hampson had to suddenly make funny segue, elision for all to hang together right. Such action made effective something clearly resembling new change of meter – still unfamiliar to me.

Obsequious to singers, Palumbo was most frequently the type to just blithely follow along, while robbing this music of much of its solemnity, terror, its mystery and grandeur. Elaborate was the tethering of flying witches, ghosts attached to guywire above the stage while leaving more imposing, pressing vocal rhetoric de-tethered from orchestral support below, including a crudely pushed sa-shay accompanied sleepwalking scene Choral preparation was left very reliably up to Donald Nally – undercut by minimal observation of Verdi’s dynamic markings. Palumbo remained content to conduct as accompanist to both singers and this production instead of leading Verdi’s Macbeth.

Dr Kultur: Gustav Mahler Todestag Konzert. Glowing valecdictory 'Das Lied.' Claudio Abbado. A.S.von Otter, Jonas Kaufmann. Philharmonie. 18.5.11

Claudio Abbado accepted honor of doing 2011 Mahler Todestag concert for Berlin – commemorative of his passing one century ago. Two works from Gustav Mahler’s late period occupied this program. Adagio from the unfinished Tenth Symphony opened. Ample, well varied tonal opulence made interpretation here distinctive. A sense of contaminazione – through developing thematic material - became something with which to reckon. Lushness from the strings hearkened back to days the Berlin Philharmonic could play this music with still greater ease. The Philharmonic grew in other ways more attuned to playing Mahler under Abbado - its boorishness, klezmar, eccentricities all becoming more of a natural than during tenure preceding his.

Opening violas resounded distraught – searching, trailing off during introductory idea provided – then to fully realize obbligato to opulent first subject. Abbado deliberately marked recurrent theme for B section during its first visitation. More fully harmonized, brass increasingly prominent, Abbado slightly set back restatement of first theme to build early melodic intensity before through variation process thematic elements then begin disintegrating. Violins passionately sang descant over main theme, for all then to abruptly dissipate into trailing off recitative. Outpouring of emotion henceforth sounded put somewhat at an aesthetic distance, as though to temporally observe from afar.

Any deconstructionist feel is really Mahler’s own – that Abbado let speak for itself – also to eschew notion, even after numerous completions of the Tenth that it is still anything but a torso. (I believe Mahler Ten, though arguably could be completed through the third movement – there seems almost enough there for even the obviously uncompleted first scherzo second movement, but still silly to have attempted completing anything past ‘Purgatorio’ - brief third movement interlude.

Color during quasi-Allegretto-like Andante pages was piquant, with pizzicati in violas and cellos enhancing spectral pre-Messiaen bird call, flutter in woodwinds. Voicing in lower strings, doubled sometimes in the bassoons that often get covered up in an ersatz-Brahms or perhaps Reger like dense texture got fully drawn out to both expand upon the opulence of Mahler’s rhetoric while making one hear from beneath what also tears at, rends the fabric. Chamber groupings of winds with concertmaster strung out light febrile lines between dense tutti.

Any sign of insecurity here was likely due to nature of the material itself. One might have sensed matter-of-fact trailing of unaccompanied violins' duet right before damply realized organ like progression leading into the Adagio’s dissonant climax. Light Abbado shot through such accumulated dissonance then infused lines of peaceful resolve through the remainder of this while keeping violins restrained with their vibrato – until chromatically leaning into low harp starting cadence preparing evocative chord to follow. Brief moment stable in the key of E-Flat high in the violins provided fine benediction – Abbado following Mahler’s instructions to keep matters here simple. This place can ideally, hypothetically provide the listener glimpse of the other side – such a way the Tenth’s very incomplete finale gets spoken of. This Adagio, under the right circumstances, will say all that Mahler Ten can say; here it did.

The other symphony on this program was one alongside that of the Eighth Abbado has conducted least frequently of all of Mahler’s symphonies – unofficially his ninth - just called ‘Das Lied von der Erde.’ Numerous early Abbado Mahler performances were with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A cool temperament, grasp of atmosphere was paramount then, stressing the surface brilliance, linear clarity of Mahler’s writing, its virtuosity more than other factors then. A more thorough musicality, emotional depth he has eventually well provided, especially through again the Ruckert and Ninth symphonies with Berlin.

A glowing opulent radiance suffused the first movement, ‘Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde’ throughout. Such in Mahler from the Berlin Philharmonic often gets replaced nowadays by something drier or urbane Things on top lines here started forthright in one, with feeling of some dragging (far) underneath. With this opening movement, Abbado seemed restrained about opening out very much, preferring to defer to his tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Kaufmann with lean tone and a ringing top brought out, unusually febrile, great expressivity of timbre while sustaining good legato and keen, impassioned attention to text. The forced joy on for instance ‘Herr, dieser Haus’, anti-heroism, deep angst came across completely. This piece can hardly get sung better than this.

Kaufmann resounded forth at ease with a ringing ‘euch Klingen’ – long sustained appoggiatura on (B-Flat and) A to fill out ‘Welkt hin du stribst. While stopping short of emphasizing surface brilliance at the music’s expense, Abbado continued slightly cool, detached, while always attentive to Kaufmann. English horn solo/obbligato during central orchestral interlude of this helped fill matters out, complemented morosely by Kaufmann on ‘Das Firmanent,’ for all to then fill with menace for ‘Du aber Mensch’; and ‘following.’ Even with Abbado deferring just emotionally one or two layers back, Kaufmann made very intense the start of last full stanza to this, then to gently back off at tormented brindisi’s conclusion. Abbado provided strong profile to dramatic utterances during its closing stanza.

In contrast with the more contralto like Thorborg, Ferrier, or Ludwig, we had here near as illustriously Anne Sofie Von Otter. “Einsam in Herbst’ here started off at easily flowing pace, never rushed - all orchestrally continuing to leave, likely deceptively a weightless impression. A richer quality to mezzo of choice’s middle register might be coveted, but pay-off in phrasing this music from a more youthful, intimate perspective here was very clear.

Between woodwind and string sonorities from the Philharmonic and Von Otter, there was in some of the modal harmony, lines a blended sense of capturing the blues, greens, rich lavenders of Mahler’s sonorities here. Gentle sense of naïve wonder filled Von Otter’s voice at ‘man meint ein Kunstler.’ Through passing indications of despondency, Abbado connected through overall flowing line without undercutting their emotional or expressive content. “Mein Herz ist mude”, coming off such a moment Von Otter darkly intimated in place of heavily underlining it. Contrast between achieving a brightly plaintive ‘Ich komm zu dir’ and finding deep sadness for ‘ich weine viel’ was excellent.

One had to rely upon the Berlin Philharmonic for sufficient lightness on ‘Von der Jugend.’ Deeply expressive was Kaufmann’s handling of sudden infusion of melancholy halfway through – after starting this reticent, heavily on purpose, over Abbado and Berliners lightly pointing the chinoserie; they then joined Kaufmann in lingering over melancholy of having encountered something deep, so unknowable midway through.

Lightness through ‘Von der schoenheit’ was, especially from woodwinds Mozartean - youthful stance of Von Otter to match. Several weak low notes apart, all gradually opened out to a world half-opiate, half-transfigured. Abbado wisely chose to keep slight lid on bacchanalian accents during middle section to this, both without losing character or instead unduly rushing Von Otter through it. Combined deep yearning and brightly rich colors infused closing stanzas, passing moment of occluding despondency in postlude to this - not shortchanged - only to highlight expression, sound world in very strong relief.

“Der Trunkene in Fruhling’, slightly deliberately paced, anticipating ‘Abscheid’ somewhat, sank things in more deeply. Kaufmann, equally as earlier, was again perfect. Something of a truly besotted Chinese temperament strongly rubbed off here – something all at once reticent, stubborn or distraught – drowsily reticent Kaufmann’s handling of ‘Der Lenz ist da.’ Indication of distraction from the wonder of Nature all about an irony-laced Kaufmann potently picked up - with honeyed tone several places. Abbado calibrated the bright chatter of woodwinds against both lighter string and more foreboding sonorities with utmost simplicity.

Abbado set his interpretation of ‘Das Lied’ – what may have been allusive to Bruno Walter and/or Herbert von Karajan already – slightly more apart with ‘Abscheid.’ Sense of the fragility of Mahler’s sonorities over deep undertow remained mainstay here. More radical sounding still was, in specifically spacing everything, austerely a sense of vast empty space – without any massive slowdowns to achieve it.

Von Otter, with lighter voice than perhaps customary, while completely filling out her lines, meaning within, sang somewhat obbligato to overall orchestral line This held true, at ‘O sieh; Wie eine Silberbarke’ – spinning forth at once lighter tone and intense word painting. Berlin woodwinds emerged deeply expressive, such as lied-like oboe at ‘Der Bach singt’ – Von Otter extending, floating out continuing line thereof. Von Otter then found it more sublime to instead of overstating despondency with ‘Die mude Menschen’ to, more potently, merely suggest it.

Anticipating dry, utterly desolate rendering of ‘Die Welt schlaft ein’ was Abbado to evocatively highlight, set up in foreground various strands of horn and lower woodwind obbligato over muffled strings. Other sudden change of perspective, switching what may be in background with foreground, or sudden emergence in fore of something absent a moment earlier was but one subtle means Abbado employed to draw all he could out of the ‘Abscheid’ – Abbado also less the novice with Mahler’s music than was Karajan when he helped give the world the Berlin Philharmonic’s very first commercially issued rendition of ‘Das Lied.’. The greater emotional, psychological engagement Abbado strongly insinuated hardly held back any secrets. Certainty restating opening recitative (‘Es wehet kuhl’) concerning much grief was complete. Beseeching friend final time before parting became, by still lighter means, most intimately expressive – without breaking line.

Coming off Von Otter’s dry, but fully engaged ‘Lebenstrunkene Welt’, arrived abruptly recapitulatory cortege interlude forthrightly issuing forth ongoing tread. Reach for deeply chromatic intervals in lower instruments underneath, naturally compelled much despondency to the fore. A plaintively febrile Von Otter re-entered with ‘Er stieg von Pferd’, all then quietly distraught with ‘Er sprach.’ Even with tone light, sentiment expressed continued to be deep. Arising, emerging from desolate landscape was Von Otter’s febrile, Schubertian impassioned ‘Ich wandle auf der Heimat, with winds left to fill things out further. In a way Von Otter’s interpretation of Mahler’s ‘Das Lied’ resembled Stotijn’s – perhaps a little more Stotijn as she performed this for Metzmacher than the more tragically weighted performance in London under Bernard Haitink several months later.

Coda starting with ‘Die liebe Erde’ with Abbado restrained from having strings dig in too deep, preferring to more sublimely suggest their doing so instead – all lingering, from Von Otter included – quickly turned all febrile. Through obbligato in mandolin, celesta, all emerged radiant and warm – blues through overall perspective gradually turned up without gilding anything - Von Otter’s ‘Ewig’s’, all melting into soft down Berlin provided, still had allotted to them modest remainder of the way.

MDR Figaro - Save The Children Sendai Benefit: Leipzig Gewandhaus, Riccardo Chailly in harrowing Bruckner Eighth (ed. Nowak). 06.05.11

Recalling time Riccardo Chailly started recording Anton Bruckner’s symphonies, ingredients for making of a fine Bruckner interpreter were likely present, but vague to discern. On half of the mature symphonies, little better than tentative came to fruition - the later recorded Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth exceptions. The Seventh Chailly, hardly older than thirty, recorded with RSO Berlin now cries out for him to return to it in Leipzig soon. His take on Bruckner, already modernist, was one to immediately emphasize clean lines, but easy to find fragmented, confused sounding with verticality of Bruckner’s sonorities, emphasis on projecting tone, including with lush quality of the string writing - all cutting in at various angles. Hieratic aspects of Bruckner’s music, with hardly well focused alternative to replace them, got understated.

Chailly’s Decca Bruckner cycle, recorded in Berlin and then Amsterdam, came to a conclusion with the Eighth – good qualified success with it - fourteen years after recording the Seventh. Now twelve more years have passed. After fifteen years in Amsterdam, first ten years of which seemed to reflect some unease, situation in Leipzig with Chailly there these past five years seemed to hit the ground running from the outset. Leipzig’s strings have a little darker patina and fibrous edge to their sound than their Dutch counterparts - woodwinds darker color as well. Chailly has infused Leipzig’s playing with a deep smoldering fire that surges through them all.

Chailly and the Gewandhaus toured four Asian cities last March - Seoul, Hong Kong, and several days before the terrible northern Japan earthquake Tokyo with an all-Dvorak program and the Bruckner Eighth Symphony each. This performance happened as a benefit for Save the Children – regarding the many young victims of this catastrophe. Not only on humanitarian terms, but also on musical and aesthetic ones, this performance of the Eighth reflected selfless commitment by Chailly and all involved, most memorably to Anton Bruckner’s music.

In aspiring to grasp nobler, loftier heights in scaling the architectonics of the Eighth in Amsterdam, Chailly adopted an almost quasi-Brahmsian approach to slurring lines somewhat heavily over ends of phrases, employing allargando, other device to make space for doing so. Such (mild) affectation has mostly vanished now. The Ninth Symphony, as an aside, addresses new conflict, but without the ability to sustain the titanic conflict that at different junctures during the Eighth makes it so gripping. Chailly however with this Eighth, and with fine discipline not to sentimentalize the argument, took pains to place some of all this back, deciding upon an Eighth in which the music can most straightforwardly speak for itself.

Romantic conceits of making the Eighth metaphorically of either Promethean or transcendent Faustian proportions rested content to just be suggested here. The drama of Bruckner’s inspiration overall stepped aside from overtly taking on metaphysical proportions, but also not succumbing to any ‘period’ practice musicological conceit.

Chailly picked a comparably moderate pace for first movement to what he had before, but here inexorable forward motion beneath unimpeded by slightly belabored feigning of making overall reaching line connect. Fragmented character of the opening subject received more definite shape, less luftpausen, attenuation to make things slur over more than necessary. Confidence in both line and its components at last sounded assured. More expansive second theme still sounded mildly underlined, phlegmatic here, but enhanced by solid firmness underneath – still better separations within line observed once recapitulated. Forthright consequents in the brass were firm - retreating transition through woodwinds flowing, supple, through more classically arched, steady, trudging forward third theme group.

All continued taut underneath while supple through strings and winds spinning out inversions of first two theme groups. Anticipated arrival of the recapitulation, thoroughly prepared, sounded forth, gradual its buildup to a purposefully qualified climax full and compact. In 1999, Chailly, toward keeping all moving, rushed the quiet principal flute descant over unaccompanied trumpets’ ‘Annunciation.’ Toward maximum cumulative effect, all was steady this time - in mind too of expansively handled Adagio to come.

Expanded out transition to second group - by not over-blowing apex achieved right before - over single pitch continuing ‘annunciation’ trumpets made eloquent heavily descending unison strings intimating first subject as backed by Chailly’s from outset mildly classicizing conception of this music – still open to capturing this music's impetus to transcends formal restraints. Propulsion through third theme group toward ringing climax – full arrival at last of ‘Annunciation’ was infused with febrile sense of mystery. Picked up first theme group fragments Chailly gathered shape for from underneath in their mimicking the scaling of earlier achieved fine proportions.

Chailly, in 1890 scoring less elaborate than 1887 (original version), brought out the folk element in the Deutscher Michel’ rotating idea dominating the Scherzo here. Playing too was less thick from Leipzig strings than previously from Amsterdam, for shimmer of different colors and light to freely emerge through rustle mid-to-back to fill panorama still remaining full of much empty space. Chailly had his strings in Leipzig purposefully rise and fall, contract and diffuse in context of what was in front of them with fine simplicity, certainty and ease. Mystery capturing all this, while keeping prominent a never over-emphasized indigenous element, was complete.

Strings, deftly began Trio section, deferring to extended horn obbligato, then placing themselves more forward vis-à-vis clarinet, toward building, supported by brass, opulent cadential phrases, limned febrile thereof by harps. Intimation of great weariness infused brief re-transition, Chailly waiting until higher reaching cadential lines to employ underlining.

At considerably slow pace Chailly took the Adagio, there still remaining intimated sense of pull forward through its peaceful opening – palpably conveyed also here a sense of spiritual fatigue. Contentment with suggesting grandiosity for long ascending lines off heavy doubled third in the bass - as opposed to bloating them - was very apt toward preserving legato. Less absorption remarkably in what sonorities get built up through such opening revealed more thorough grasp of what gets confronted here.

Reprise of big ascending consequent Chailly then provided firmer shape. He made intentionally gradual grand arch to line in the cellos as second theme proceeded, from having started it, conventionally shaped, at a slightly accelerated pace. Reply from Wagner tubas toward cellos making part of the climb a third time warmly, succinctly framed the cellos doing so. Chailly very tellingly hesitantly shaped light transition to full reprise of the first theme - for winds reaching high for cadence, providing harmonically therein glimpse of light further opening out would later provide. Subtle detachment of ascending brass attempting to wrest themselves free of growing anguish in building stretto in strings above informed next full reprise of the first theme. Simplicity prudently informed next second theme reprise, limned well by fine concertmaster solo therein. All following striving then turned febrile, toward exposed violins making poetic lift - prefigured by winds - over which Chailly made beautifully sustained allargando.

Eschewing making harmonic change from very dark, fortissimo brass enunciation of first theme in B-Flat Minor to large A-Flat chord (slight awkwardness of Bruckner’s revision - Nowak edition here) from sounding climactic, Chailly slowly continued inexorably accumulating musical and dramatic tension – goal clearly perceptible here numerous paragraphs before – to stoically a noble climax. The risk-taking, interesting from Barenboim in Berlin last year, seldom otherwise, of imposing big accelerandi toward making it was not for Chailly – helping this Adagio, two and a half minutes longer than in Amsterdam, make it out to twenty-eight minutes - without becoming too slow or losing grasp of simplicity.

Strings on following harp-accompanied consequent eloquently eschewed fleshing out deeply constructed chordal progressions, making then all sound febrile on top. Subtlety Chailly might not have managed well much earlier, he included a hair-pin accelerando within starting final brass enunciations of first theme, pulling back from doing so right away, giving the conclusion of this Adagio full sense of repose and hinted, subtle impetus toward pressing forward at once - recalling DGG Berlin recording for how Karajan overshot the mark here. This was all true - vast empty space all about - achieved by taking this Adagio conscientiously slow. Very quiet break - almost ninety seconds - before the finale could begin was rapt.

The finale, only slightly slower than in Amsterdam, gained here finer nobility, resolve thereby. Contrast with urgency infusing starting idea in brass and chorale like well voiced second theme, was telling. Broad reach as slightly from behind in making transition to overtly breezily propelling forward third theme group paid fine dividends – brass consistently dark well beneath the strings. Fortissimo pressing forward on snatch of third theme, still plenty loud, eschewed making empty bombast thereof in favor of bringing out the strength of the trumpets’ motif, all toward readying poised Exposition closing lines. Hesitant false starts in strings with which Bruckner opens what follows Chailly provided fine shape, especially through replying brass.

Stoically insistent strings’ marking of brass sequence of descending consequents reminded of Klemperer’s manner of conducting such a passage. Febrile anxiety expressed by strings, followed by flexibly slackening of musical tension, excellently informed making re-transition off nodal sequencing preceding it. Ascending string tremoli spinning off firmly urgent restatement of first theme in full turned risky, in awaiting brass to lend all profile - better yet something achieved from observing all from very wide perspective.

Second theme sounded fuller than as encountered earlier. Third theme group pressed breezily its trudge forward, preparing first movement main theme arrival in C Minor well - rhetorical terracing of dynamics in the strings through their extended lines very fine. Chailly then began (arguably remainder of) the coda spaciously, brass deep in lament at outset, dotted rhythms then strongly marked – with at last second, press forward into final, stoically firm achievement of C Major, blazing forth unto measured proclamation of final four descending unison line to close all out, with it uncertain how, other than sternly, fulfilling a conclusion has at last arrived. Others, profoundly 1944 Furtwangler (Vienna PO), have found greater serenity in this finale; stoical perspective however though should be found equally valid.

This turned out Chailly’s most significant Bruckner to have easily run across thus far. It proved never lacking in philosophical import, with very well spaced sonorities common, abetted by broad shape to much of this – first movement alone in at slightly less time than in Amsterdam. Chailly’s vision of Bruckner here, making it to such complete fruition, crossed Gewandhaus footlights very compellingly.

Much spacious pacing vaguely recalled Sinopoli in Dresden (DGG); mostly some of its grayer modernist, despairing perspective got replicated here. Chailly lowered previous Romantic conceits by nakedly revealing with beautiful simplicity what vastness all about. It would be good to release this with perhaps for extended time Save The Children receiving proceeds toward relieving continuing great suffering in northern Japan – some expressive parameters of this Bruckner Eighth perhaps more acutely informed than usual by harrowing imagery of indeed a great tragedy - all very affecting, disquieting.

MET: Met McVicar Il Trovatore (in HD). Marco Armiliato. 30.4.11. Met Ariadne auf Naxos (on NPR) - Fabio Luisi.07.5.11

David McVicar’s production of Il Trovatore at the Met, when it first opened there in 2008-2009 became something of a Godsend, particularly after Graham Vick’s production. Vick later disowned it, after the Met had imposed some changes upon it, but also after really disastrous luck in making this ever reliable old warhorse come to life. Should one want to pick up the ideal party opera dvd, a Genoa Lucia di Lammermoor Vick produced, starring Marcelo Alvarez in only decent vocal performance therein, contends strongly, misfiring in all ways imaginable, often risibly so.

The spring 2009 broadcast Il Trovatore – with same vocal quartet as cast here – likely turned out, with Gianandrea Noseda conducting, tmost thrilling of that season. Equally to only mildly more authoritatively was Bruno Bartoletti conducting this fairly recently from Lyric of Chicago – where this production originated. While less distorting of balances and of other subtle intentions Verdi requested than Nicola Luisotti in San Francisco, Marco Armliato while keeping all together and alternatively finding good poise and swagger for numerous passages, lacked much compelling to say about Il Trovatore.

David McVicar clearly has ideas about Il Trovatore, while giving it a critical look especially toward how participating nobility behaves. Given what eccentricity that can emerge from such a perspective, and based on experience thus far, this production looks to depend upon having a strong ally on the podium to help keep dramatic tension alive. The action is updated to ‘Goya period’ Spanish Civil War - and placed on a turntable set. Prison cell for final scene looked instead to be an outdoor prison courtyard to which to get chained up. Only too obvious awkwardness was change from cramped interior to ‘outdoors scaffolding’ - preceding ‘Di quella pira’

The brutality of period in history in question, sense of class warfare arose eloquently to the fore, near as much as likely on previous outings. Mix of common townspeople, laborers, Gypsies, soldiers milling about, and then generically lusty whores for scene of taking leisure opening Act Three provides color. Swashbuckling motif became slightly excessive, but with set up of tableau for confrontation ending Act Two highly adept. Lighting tends to be consistently dark – also manner in how this got beamed by satellite – to point of obscuring several essential details of action on stage. Costuming (Brigitte Reiffenstuel) true to updated ‘period’ – was consistently very handsome, attractive.

How entire milieu taking over agitates di Luna, Manrico, turns Leonora neurotic can, with somebody more thorough conducting this feed it an expressionistic grandeur and abandon – very welcome here – such as has transpired before On the surface, to Armiliato also, Il Trovatore is a singers’ opera. Toward one goal however of holding its occasionally disparate levels of musical and dramatic inspiration together, this is also clearly a conductor’s opera - perhaps more so. Crudely (almost) making orchestra more prominent than the singers of course is wrong – Luisotti conducting this same production in the Bay Area one most culpable.

Best of the three men for this outing, most even vocally, was still relative newcomer, Stefan Kocan as Ferrando. He cut a handsome figure with dark, grainy voice to match – excellent case for making Slavic equivalent of veteran basso Bonaldo Giaiotti on the old Price/Domingo/Mehta recording. Gruppetti, runs, turns were all accurate, even some trills, to make Kocan envy of any bass attempting this thankless part. He also, yet stoically, infused his lines during opening racconta with fine involvement. He in front of men of the Met chorus very capably led obbligato to Hvrostovsky during two ensembles midway through.

Central to McVicar;s thinking here is necessity of having a strong Azucena. The ever stalwart Dolora Zajick failed to disappoint him. Some streamlining of the process of putting this back in rehearsal for two runs at the Met this season may have taken its toll, but Zajick, with darting eyes for key moments, still commanded the stage. She stoically assisted McVicar in providing Azucena full sense of gravitas - for one so single-minded but also complex - in evincing both full warmth and menace – enhancing too the mystery surrounding the gypsy woman. Trills during ‘Stride la vampa’ may have been unsteady, Zajick’s voice overall may not consistently roll out the power it could instantly on command ten or twenty years ago, register shifts may be less even. Sense of authority though, from fine low notes through ringing top through most of her lines – was still intact. McVicar also opts for keeping Azucena alive at opera’s conclusion – logical perhaps in this context for her to have survived action thereof.

Marcelo Alvarez, who during excellently focused milieu of this production’s debut in 2009, gave of his lyric best – striking one then as only slightly underpowered for Manrico. He opted with abandon afforded him here to push a little more metal into singing Manrico this outing. Indisposed earlier during this run, he seemed to have recovered well to close this same run well. Ringing high B’s were intact, with fine swagger through ‘Di quella pira’, he managed to utter some honeyed tones during ‘Ah si ben mio’ and recitative preceding it, but still managed to chop up line somewhat during this passage toward making strong verbal emphases. Somewhat of a blank as an actor on stage, he emerged vocally most lyrical, convincing in the final scene of the opera, working closely with Zajick – doing so also paying off several dividends during their first scene together. Rhythmic slovenliness through a blustery ‘Deserto sulla terra’ to start things out was singularly unattractive – also his streamlining of refrain during the Miserere. His letting go of anything resembling good intonation for sake of achieving dramatic heft continued recklessly through Act One.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky played Manrico’s unsympathetic rival, di Luna. A little stiff at acting he still cut a commanding and handsome figure, with mane of silver hair, colonial style get-up, and during Per me ora fatale’ outstretched self-bloodied right hand – self-emboldening impetus for moments later taking on Manrico’s men – very insightful on David McVicar’s part.. Dark toned sense of mortal resolve carried across the footlights for recitative with which he first appeared on stage (‘Tacea la notte’) and made resentful looking, sounding ‘In braccio al mio rival’ later. Intonation issues surfaced for pumping out his sound that later intermittently turned into pure bluster – thank heavens less so than recently in San Francisco; his di Luna emerged entirely two-dimensional there.

Apart from bench-pressing the top, putting at risk maintaining legato, ‘Il balen’ came across stalwart, if less alluring than whomever out there might strive with smoother line to more subtly enhance it. Machismo in engagement with especially Manrico and Leonora, also an element of narcissism, surfaced well – compromised late by intonation momentarily going sour on him upon making final stage entrance.

Sondra Radvanovsky cut attractive figure on stage as Leonora, with noble ladylike poise for a good half of how she carried herself – still compellingly for the rest of this. Even if making Leonora appear willful or neurotic, a Leonora all noble, dignified without any sense of daring also obscures telling the whole story. Vocal placement, somewhat back, causing her to flat numerous times around the break, particularly during Act One, remains curious. Steadily infusing extra vibrato into the sound seems quite consistently her means of opening things out and achieving a clear, less occluded top better than might otherwise emerge – her reasonably even, creamy tone, legato underneath a mainstay. An excitability to laugh during several tense moments looked slightly out of touch – perhaps due to some streamlining this go-around. Superficially, Leonora may appear one of Verdi’s more passive heroines, but element belonging to Verdi’s earlier notably heroic warrior maidens, sense of new liberation they convey, can also factor in – if less so for Leonora than for handful preceding her. While having to confront di Luna, such likely should not remain under wraps. Radvanovsky looks fully convinced of how she portrays Leonora – apart perhaps from impetus to give things a little extra oomph she may this outing have sensed lacking from the orchestra pit.

Once past Act One, intonation problems became less significant. Floating of numerous lines during ‘’D’amor sull’ali rosee’ – starting off slightly flat - and during especially repeat of “Per che d’’altri vivere’ - long-breathed final entreaty to Manrico provided fine allure, winning much sympathy. Maria Zifchak (Inez) and Eduardo Valdes (Ruiz) capably led supporting cast – Robert Maher also fine (Old Gypsy). Choral preparation (Donald Palumbo), natural feel for moving chorus across stage, all sounded and looked very apt.

Marco Armliato evinced fine mastery of idiom with aplomb while not challenged by Verdi’s more subtle demands. His ear for catching this music’s colors is good. Swagger, specificity with Verdi’s rhythms throughout first scene of Act Three certainly came across forthright. With exception of glibly coasting through explosive transition into closing trio to Act Two, necessary fire to seethe through Il Trovatore became more evident during its middle two acts. In numerous passages, a glib streamlining of how to pace this work became the norm. Opening of the final scene suffered somewhat - passage in which Verdi achieved new heights of simplicity. Efficiency, loyal support of his cast, decent ensemble seldom came up short, yet some lack of fire to infuse, surge underneath, propel forward the best Trovatore’s one can encounter came up a little short; hopefully the same will occur again soon with this production.

With Fabio Luisi now new principal guest at the Met, perhaps soon more than that, a generous helping of Strauss from him over next handful of seasons or so can likely be welcome. Like an Elektra during fairly recent Christmas holidays, this Ariadne auf Naxos evinced an equal mastery of Strauss, the idiom, but as held back again in part by quality of some of the singing. Combination of catching the healthy robust air, thrust of prelude to the Prologue, lightness to infuse much from within revealed somebody a slight cut above average at this – inherent qualities slightly more evasive to Kirill Petrenko (new Bavarian State Opera music director designate) last season. Providing, combined, a fine sense of gravitas and importance, with dollop of fine comic wt and irony was Thomas Allen, in interaction with Major-Domo of Michael Devlin – Devlin fluent, but whining, marking it excessively, making more of it than can happen.

Voice still relatively intact, Joyce di Donato, absolutely certain to look charming on stage, vocally left some of the youthful qualities altogether infusing this part lacking. Determination to get Composer’s idea across did so at cost to stability of line and to intonation, all quite slippery around the break partly for what flutter one finds there now.

The impetuosity, even heroic quality of this character hardly got compromised, but something of the charm, openly at Sarah Connollly’s disposal last season, went missing here. Mystery of particular lines serving as preview to what gets raised after intermission got short changed by weak low notes – high notes also succumbing to strain for lack of support underneath. Thin as opposed to thick and strained, coy, utterly without charm was the Zerbinetta of Kathleen Kim – repeat from last year’s cast – less up to the demands of her big aria than for tentative stab at it last season. Attempt to expressively compensate for obvious sloppiness, compromised intonation during the aria were excessively breathy starts to especially lines starting on off-beats - to ruinous coy effect.

Contrast of gesture, intermixing of colors, unified pacing to the Prologue worked well for Luisi - mysteriously somehow little at his disposal useful toward helping out some of his cast. Among supporters during the Prologue, Tony Stevenson availed himself directly well as Dancing Master. Violeta Urmana and Robert Dean Smith individually affected prima donna manner, habits backstage with fine aplomb. Vasily Ladyuk dryly, but capably, with good diction led Zerbinetta’s sidekicks – team only let down by a coarsely dry Truffaldino (Joshua Bloom) but enhanced by recent Lindemann Young Artists grad Paul Appleby (Brighella) partnered well by Mark Schowalter (Scaramuccio).

Opera opening scene came across slightly glib, compromised by merely competent Nymphs (Audrey Luna, Tamara Mumford, Lei Xu) in place of a more consistently silvery impression. Luisi’s lightly malleable way of moulding Straussian line waited for Met woodwinds to enter to cast ispell during prelude to the opera. Curiously, return of the nymphs heralding arrival of ‘ein junger Gott’ came across hard-pressed, Luisi then waiting for orchestra moment before Bacchus enters to magically open out perspective. His accompaniment for Ariadne’s solos was warmly supportive throughout – lightness Luisi usually best at conveying while accompanying comedian troupe’s banter.

Violeta Urmana, past several early slightly uneven moments, with plummy, warm timbre, portrayed Ariadne as woman of stately poise and resolve The clumsy breaks that can too easily emerge between registers during recent attempts at spinto Verdi do not inhibit her efforts here. Slight Slavic edge near the break sneaked in, but hardly obstructively so. “Es gibt ein reich” carried forth with even line, intimating well a betrayed, stranded woman’s darker misgivings, but then direct manner with rapturous coda to this aria betrayed a keeping at arm’s length what infusion of vulnerability might work toward revealing the complete picture. Urmana conveyed well, darkly Ariadne’s more distraught emotions - before point Ariadne fully awakens to, becomes cognizant of new reality before her. Shock of mistaking Bacchus for Theseus blazed forth with a ringing high A. Once transformation should have done its work, however, Urmana came across cool, only dispassionately able to take all in where one might expect more involvement, yielding to it until during closing lines; one departed hearing this grateful most of all for some fine singing.

Robert Dean Smith, intensely lyrical Tristan on short notice at Met in HD three years ago, got handed here the thankless role of Bacchus. In attempting to sound heroic starting out, some strain ensued; such hardly ever fails to show up from most tenors attempting this. For relaxed passages to follow, “So willst du mit mir” and confident ‘’Bin ich ein Gott” toward gently bringing Ariadne around, Smith let melt most effortlessly. Once into last part of this scene, Smith finally then evinced good moment or two of ringing heldentenor sound, bringing Met forces under Luisi to point of at last fully breaking free from phlegmatically, as opposed to effortlessly negotiating, sostenuto, Strauss’s ornately voluptuous demands.

From pretense up front of being written for chamber orchestra, yet to take on larger peaks of Ariadne/Bacchus finale ahead with similar transparency, little goes unexposed here. By opera’s end all then should rhapsodically take flight. Luisi is not one to come up with transformation overnight of how Met forces (that likely might soon be his own) will approach playing Strauss. He reckons it something to communicate by most unforced means, something natural to the Met’s playing to slowly get inculcated as only certain way magic can transpire, as opposed to smugly putting contrivance forth instead.

With Ariadne – when she is bad truly Ariadne Obnoxious - orchestral forces can not alone make it happen - instead working alchemy between all constituent parts, especially singers, perhaps working past clunky staging conceits (Elijah Moshinsky production the Met still cranks out). It can mean the difference between the good, serviceable presentation that has surfaced here and one to predominantly lift far beyond the footlights to very rear ceiling of the house, filling all in in-between.

BBC: BBC SO, Ilan Volkov. Nicolas Hodges. Exposition balancing heroic and abstract ideals. Clarke Untitled 2. Beethoven Third. 29.04.11

Balance between attaining heroism with abstraction eloquently informed thirty-four year old conductor Ilan Volkov – recently music director of the BBC Scottish SO – making guest appearance with the more prestigious BBC Symphony Orchestra of London. He scored a triumph, doing so. Both ideals explored found blithe consummation in a deceptively light, but fully absorbing, vigorous rendition of Beethoven’s Third Symphony.

Near same time as his only piano and violin concerti got written arrived Benjamin Britten’s tribute - 'Ballad of Heroes' set to W.H. Auden text - to the anti-fascist heroes of the Spanish Civil War. Auden ventured to Spain himself to offer his help, eventually helping inspire Britten to write this piece. Layout is similar to the maturely realized Sinfonia da Requiem, both opening with a dirge, continuing with danse macabre, and closing with chorale of sorts – finale to ‘Ballad of Heroes’ limned by lengthy melisma enhanced tenor solo looking ahead over two decades to his ‘War Requiem.’

Volkov found more interesting to bring to the forefront than how Britten’s scoring accommodates British choral tradition. Beat seemed slightly unclear for trumpet fanfares emerging - as though from the mist - starting this - more wonky had they played at a well demarcated mezzo-forte. Volkov had line fill out gradually, in place of broadly stating what was facing him instead. Approach of establishing choral parts obbligato to the orchestral line was such, as from which the sung text emerged refined with fully achieved profile – better than the expected norm. Volkov brought out harp gilding of still full sonorities achieved here to just partially relieve the austerity of opening dirge.

Rhythm for Scherzo was bracing, calibrated through Shostakovich like cascade of chromatically descending flute trio, rustle in bassoons – then arch to choral writing fully anticipating ‘Look, the storm come – Now the floodtide and seahorses’ Balstrode starts during Act One of Peter Grimes. Volkov’s excellent proportioning guaranteed throbbing middle section, with violins’ fully anguished descant, its fine profile intact. Tenor Toby Spence eschewed gilding his lines during the finale, eloquently appreciating with firm line the simplicity of how text and music merge, making any belabored affectation obtrusive by comparison. Choral work was very fine.

James Clarke’s Untitled No. 2 formed dark oasis between comparatively simplistic Britten and the ‘Eroica.’ It seemed to ask most of all what defines music. Inspiration derives from equally non-specific titled abstract expressionist works by Clifford Still - museum dedicated to his memory having recently opened in Denver, Colorado. Comparable to Still’s intent is that this music not be illustrative, pictorial, representational in any way – also forfeiting suggestion this could be a concerto.

In terms of exploring resonances, overtones as sustained, manipulated, extended out thereof Wolfgang Rihm’s music also comes to mind toward redefining tonality or tonal specificity as devoid of traditional meaning – all as reckoned for how sonorities, including how those of single pitches will get articulated. Feldman, in opus like Music for Violin and Orchestra, makes his bias just a manipulation of sound, as perhaps just evoking Nature completely abstractly, putting aside all suggestion of tonality, but free too from the strict ordering of Schoenberg and Webern.

Untitled #2 implies some ensuing agon, but avoids it occurring between soloist and orchestra – having it between chords, contrasting aggregates instead. Influence of Morton Feldman on this enterprise is certainly plausible. Clarke, interviewed, suggested thinking about this music as one might rock strata. Episodes during which most all motion, sense of where things may go becomes very static – opportunity for chords, resonances to grind against each other - at layer seemingly beneath this music’s surface – to suggest much depth. Brass slowly shifting between highly attenuated eleventh chords - decorated by quasi-(igneous) percolation of single pitches widely distributed about – grandiosely displayed how static this music can become.

Development, illusion thereof of coalescing buildup of sonorities may loan out hunch that relative stasis to ensue for a good six minutes ending soon before halfway through this 25 minute work might also be illusory. Given how elusive this music seems, certainly also hope for anything representational to emerge, one must choose one’s words carefully toward describing this. Ability to carry on logically though is good, not to make circular logic out of all this - as might the neurotic captain from Buchner’s Woyzeck.

Placement of major seventh chords perfect intervals and semitones apart - how much of Untitled #2 is mapped out - clearly reveals that by no means has order, regarding compositional processes got abandoned here. Likewise this music, as frequently focused, transfixed at times on resonances - reflection and refraction alternating between them - contains some linear aspects, even suggested lyricism by such means. A most elaborate moment or event occurs during introduction to the soloist’s centrally located accompanied cadenza, with brass having set up decent minor ninth pedal point on E and F natural out of which is built tonal environment suggesting E Minor (with major seventh of G-F# layered above). Steeply arched upward leaps from soloist’s right hand then emerge – perhaps with nothing moving in any specific direction, but all suggestive of linear activity possibly internally being integral to all at stake.

Soloist Nicolas Hodges – heard for Elliott Carter together with Volkov at the 2008 Proms - commented that there exist virtuoso things that occur in this piece; his mastery of such was imaginatively complete. Compelling here was mention of passages in which the orchestra can be fearsomely loud to cover up the soloist, value predominantly being what resonance might linger on, once the orchestra has cut off, more than anything (overtly) powerful or virtuosic. The very opening of this work immediately provided deep sense of how ingrained together the orchestral and soloist parts in this piece should be; initial orchestral sonorities organically form out of soloist arpeggios, intentionally so.

Intermittently developing moments of relaxation from predominant oppressive air provided welcome relief, such as right before midway through, a freely moving exchange of sonorities between soloist and strings, brass both anchoring and continuing motion through elaborate disjunctive lines, to comment perhaps on tension or stress still dissembling. Arabesque, as intimated by opening soloist arpeggios also provided fine elaboration on sonorities, wide range thereof and overtones to fully register or suggest.

Impetus Ilan Volkov supplied – going so far as to voice out numerous resonances toward elaborately revealing developed overtones - seemed mostly lyrical, understating orchestra going full out – for instance right up to cut offs from which lingering keyboard resonances distinctively emerge. Within deeper overlapping of hinted, developing motif through stream of harmonic dissonance infusing coda to this piece, light perhaps appeared to issue forth. Much psychologically engrossed density could then more convincingly, freely dissemble. Dedication, focus, invested therein from soloist and orchestral forces alike helped poetically, comprehensively lay out picture in abstract lines and sonorities. All sounded complete, yet supple, plastic. Dip(s) into tonal recesses deep below constant at almost all times, mercurial space above unfurled effortlessly before all.

Out of elaborate runs and figuration emerged good stretto between upper, lower brass and piano aggregating into well sustained pedal in the strings. Pulsation extending out of ringing dissonant chord to follow extended into sustaining stream of dissonance in the strings, portion thereof playing in harmonics. Illusion that some of the writing toward the end could be vocalized became enhanced by interjected recitative for piano, framing thoroughly pervasive shimmer to carry all beyond minimally perceptible horizons.

Human dimensions invoked by quasi-vocalized qualities to finish the Clarke Volkov dragged kicking and screaming back in to render very satisfactorily the Beethoven Third Symphony – more tentatively encountered on one outing by the BBC Scottish before. Spring to opening chords, bracing pace to follow, on merits of Beethoven’s music alone, putting aside excessive ‘period’ tendencies or ‘period chic’ with which to clutter things up, sounded immediately ready to challenge anything obstructing their way, wrest all free from court (and modern) conventionalities. Lean textures generally prevailed, but integrated with full sense of voice-leading, presence of overtones from the big bad Romantic past. Purpose in how Volkov elucidated form and expression, in place of acting beholden to anything else, was abundantly clear throughout.

Sinuous, flowing line coursed unimpeded through opening tutti of the first movement, space supplied to gently mark laendler accenting during second theme, elsewhere and also to designate wistful, momentary rumination upon where the argument has taken us thus far. Such fully prepared terracing, grand scaling thereof into closing section of alternatively cleanly robust and supple shaping of all its lines.

Good sonorous bedrock underpinned start to the Development, saving cellos on forebodingly restated first theme from coming across too lean. Internal complexity through cross motion between first theme in lower strings and downward figuration above got reckoned with full ear for harmonic change through fully, but lightly engaged sturm und drang. Bucolic accenting thus became available in full, especially through insistently interjecting violas – without loss of perspective. Keeping all breathing flexibly in interest of sustaining line optimally well, a little flaccidity threatened to creep in at outset of dissonant stretto to prepare, contrast with more feminine accented re-transition to follow. Volkov however tightened his grip on proceedings through the stretto before too late – notion being to keep things again within human dimensions as opposed to attempting blowing things up to metaphysical proportions.

Sturm und drang continued to course through first theme re-transition, all tensions remaining febrile, rife through all contrasts, buildup, plus regretful tone from retreating woodwinds to prepare flexibly molded recapitulatory statement. Through harmonic transitions, quality of the music-making turned intermittently weightless, but with deeply infused lyricism making all still more specifically profiled, felt than during the Exposition. BBC principal trumpet very briefly broke the spell by overplaying right before the coda, subtonic (D-Flat Major) opening of which Volkov made emerge very rich, as opposed to conventionally docking it. All emerged vernal and fresh through final sublime reprise of ‘inversion theme’ toward lovely legato French horns’ buildup to a very fulfilling close.

Taken at very moderate pace, highly attentive proportioning maintained solemnity of the Marcia funebre – all just slightly comparable to how one often finds Allegretto of the Seventh interpreted. Winds infused restated first theme, following lean stoically profiled strings for the latter, with optimum cantabile. Unison lines in cellos preparing first theme subdominant restatement sounded at once lean and darkly expressive. Stark profile well maintained throughout, a little incipient weeping crept into oboe restating the same – most sublime. Maggiore interlude opened lean, rugged - for contrast very supple open-air infusion of what develops therein, principal trumpet this time spot-on in preparing last rolling cadence to wrap it up. Fugue emerged lean on surface, fully weighted beneath.

Fully Italianate cantabile descant from BBC violins - all rock-solid beneath – alone completely filled out dimensions of approaching crest to the fugue. Simplicity reigned unimpeded into the recapitulation, all then fully sung, starkly proportioned. Volkov filled out trailing off lines, harmonization through the coda very expressively – one slightly imprecise cut-off tiny price to pay for fully vocalized appoggiatura from the winds. Closing lingering off cadence in winds off distraught, fading away strings, without conventional Romantic docking, was sublime, even recalling example of Karel Ancerl.

Headlong rustle with subtly worked therein lightly pointed harmonic shifts strongly characterized an uninhibitedly joyous romp through the scherzo. Tutti immediately upon arrival gave off full rustic frolic. Trio, started by French horns, got off to a hearty start, with fine yielding on lingering phrases extending out.

Finale, strings racing down, began dangerously fast, but clean, infused with the simple joy of taking it on, in place of grand-standing. Variations spinning out from skeleton of a theme got breezily paced, achieving cumulation through opening out of the ‘Prometheus’ theme lithe as is its wont. At continuing bracing pace, fugato to follow maintained internal terraced voicing with excellent finesse; cadenza-like principal flute solo spoke lightly, rapidly - fine space provided him. ‘Country dance’ very joyously to follow hardly could have been better, more freely accented. After sobering ‘Prometheus’ reprise, second fugato emerged supple, precisely calibrated its voicing, through unusually pointed out intro theme descant in violins to fully prepare the brass getting the same – incredible to behold. Lacking such preparation, this passage often comes across detached.

The Andante epitomized nobility sublime, forefront clarinet accompanying concertato in the winds fully enhancing its rusticity followed by strings eschewing common working of violins descending into brass ‘Prometheus’ theme. Segue into anguished violins’ crest to line was followed by antiphonal muttering in strings and winds suffused, distraught, but light. Brass, while restating central ‘Prometheus’ idea here achieved doing so completely, stopping far short of portentousness. It was, as prefaced by simply forward thrust on the symphony’s opening two chords, to singularly depict the heroism of the common man. Open swagger through presto coda, full of life as was the rest of the finale to risk Volkov being again mistaken for Ancerl, simply expressed the joy of being alive.

For ‘Eroica’, without first-movement repeat, lasting forty-four minutes, profundity, proper weight to formally, aesthetically articulate such hardly ever got missed. No other name comes to mind, among thirty-something’s or younger for what could as clearly promise to be a great interpretation of this work.