Today was the next to last symphony of the Pittsburgh Symphony Season.

The played pieces designed to highlight the symphony players, many of whom would have soloist careers if they wanted.

1) the WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE

memorable for the extended opening on Cellos and Anne Martindale Williams got the solos. You've heard this sad, amazingly beautiful section of the overture and live it was exquisite. Aside from the storm on the second section, the overture has a shepherd in the form oa an English Horn solo. It is wonderful music -- sweet, bucolic and giving great pleasure. Then there's the gallop in the trumpets and brasses. Every pieces needs a little bombast.

2) Hayden's 92nd symphony -- again looks to the four principal strings for solos and the solo bassoon. While you might think Haydn a bit too sterile compared to the romantics and his contemporary Mozart, this is a symphony for the principal players.

3) Ein Heldenleben... What can one say when half of the piece is nearly solo violin and the concertmaster plays like a soloist? What happens when whole juggernaut of brass is unleashed. A Hero's Life is passion and emotion and I suggest you find Honeck and the Pittsburgh symphony's recording from 5 years ago.

AS for next week -- promise me anything but give me two modern pieces of brilliance.

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto #1 with Yuja Wang as the soloist

Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th Symphony

And they are taking these pieces tour into Europe.

One of my personal favorites is Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1". I have a live recording of it with Evgeny Kissin as soloist. I have other recordings but the recording mentioned is a favorite and was suggested by someone from the EA with whom I have lost contact.

I need to listen to Hayden's "Oxford Symphony". As my audio system has improved so has my appreciation of a wider range of music. Time to hit the music storage closets.

The ending of EIN HELDENLEBEN is one that Strauss turns to softness and emotion and not brassy bombastics (although there is plenty of brass in A HERO'S LIFE) but the last movement ends in sunset and Strauss uses the great pentatonic tones of his ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA opening. The effect is emotionally spectacular and I swear half the audience was in tears.

Then they cheered clapped and all that for five minutes

THis is a tone poem of solo pieces -- the Hero's wife (Strauss is the "hero" and he wrote this for his real wife as praise for her) She's represented as the solo first violin. EVery time the Concertmaster takes those solos you hear the love Strauss had for his wife clearly, delicately and so wonderfully preserved for the audience.

The HERO himself is represented by the Brass (all of it). Mostly by the French horn. However, the entire tone poem starts in the low notes to the tuba and rises almost two octaves through the brass. His CRITICS are the woodwinds and flutes and sound like critics should sound (which is humorous)

THere is a youtube video with Mariss Jansons conducting the BRSO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RzJ_SjE4yw ... There's one video for each movement. AT least listen to the first for that great sweeping theme that represents the Hero.

There's another rendition conducted by Arturo Toscanini and it is rather a quick tempo which is probably more in line with Strauss's rehearsal practices. Toscanini is still considered to have the best version recorded. Now I might be a bit biased toward my own orchestra so I can't say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFk0ivdyZI

This is just one youtube without the video because it's from 1941.

This was first performed in 1898 and Strauss is one of the last giants of the Romantic era of classical music.

Dave (imported) wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:58 pm Today was the next to last symphony of the Pittsburgh Symphony Season.

1) the WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE

memorable for the extended opening on Cellos and Anne Martindale Williams got the solos. You've heard this sad, amazingly beautiful section of the overture and live it was exquisite. Aside from the storm on the second section, the overture has a shepherd in the form oa an English Horn solo. It is wonderful music -- sweet, bucolic and giving great pleasure. Then there's the gallop in the trumpets and brasses. Every pieces needs a little bombast.

Remember the old joke that a highbrow was a person who could hear the William Tell Overture without thing of the Lone Ranger?

I guess I'm not highbrow. I thought of the Lone Ranger the instant I read the words "William Tell Overture". I had a Dutch Swing College jazz version of it on vinyl and it was the most enjoyable piece of music I've ever heard.

Everybody in Heinz Hall thought of THE LONE RANGER too and that includes Manfred Honeck who conducted the concert.

I think Rossini put the "overture" together from what were the four best themes of his SIX HOUR OPERA...

Yes friends and opera lovers {roll your eyes} SIX HOUR LONG OPERA...

And this was a concert to highlight the individual sections of the orchestra, So the cello opening was introduced by the Principal player and the entire cello

section as a piece to shine with. This is icing on a "piece of sugary thrill"

The third section with the English Horn brought one of the best English Horn players (cor anglais) out of semi-retirement (Harold Smoliar) ... again this is like a cherry on an ice-cream sundae...

And the trumpets of the Pittsburgh Symphony just have fun because most brass players are wild men (and women)

It's the opening piece of a concert and it gets the audience's attention.

There is a script for putting together any show, the first piece is something hard and fast, get your blood pumping music, then the second can be a more serious piece usually longer and more filling, then the last one back to the hard and fast finishing up with a bang. Sometimes this can be done in one piece of music, Beethoven's 9th comes to mind.

River

Riverwind (imported) wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:03 am There is a script for putting together any show, the first piece is something hard and fast, get your blood pumping music, then the second can be a more serious piece usually longer and more filling, then the last one back to the hard and fast finishing up with a bang. Sometimes this can be done in one piece of music, Beethoven's 9th comes to mind.

River

In that formula (and it is a good formula) the second piece is usually the guest artist and a concerto. This concert replaced the invited soloist with the orchestra players.

The tried and true formula is used in next week's concert will be -- Tchaikovsky Piano concerto and Shostokovich's 5th.

If you want to hear (and watch) Yuja Wang play the Tchaikovsky, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yue6Cb5OULM

Sounds good Dave. May 19th, I attended the Carnegie Hall return performance of James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He conducted Wagner's Lowengrin, Beethovin's Piano Concerto #4 played by famous Kissin, and Scubert's Symphony #9. When Levine was wheeled to the podium in his

robotically equipped chair, the entire house went wilde with applause. A nice time at Carnegie.

And the very last symphony of this season (not the last appearance by the Pittsburgh Symphony) was wonderful...

Yuja Wang play the Tchaikovsky 1st Piano concerto and gave an encore. That's a thunderous piece of music and she wore a little black dress (you know the sexy kind).

Shostokovich's 5th symphony is enigmatic and wonderful. It was supposed to be Shostokovich's equivalent of Beethoven Eroica for Stalin's Soviet Union. And to this day, no one really knows Shostokovich's real intent. But forget the politics and there is a breathtaking symphony At one time loud, thunderous and then ever so soft and emotional enough to break your heart.

and Hey, It's TONY NIGHT on BROADWAY