Charles Dutoit & Garrick Ohlsson with the Philadelphia Orchestra match musical whims in Vail

By -

What a festive atmosphere here in Vail Colorado! The beautiful space of the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is incredible, with a high vaulted cover offering both access to the open air and great accoustics. The Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dutoit are back at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival for their third year and, based on the applause as Charles Dutoit took the stage to lead the orchestra in a standing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, they are well loved here.

The concert began with Garrick Ohlsson on the piano for Beethoven's Concerto No 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73. From power to practically imperceptible, Dutoit's adept touch led the Philadelphia Orchestra beautifully through the opening moments of the Beethoven. Nicely building the crescendos in a late classical style, Ohlsson and Dutoit deftly glided through the opening Allegro con Spirito. The piece sets the pianist against the orchestra with a contrary relationship, yet the conductor and soloist were in perfect synchronicity. The orchestra melded under the piano allowing Ohlsson to shine with even some of the lightest touches of the piano keys. Later, as Ohlsson's hands warred against each other with opposing emotion, the subtle strength of the orchestral pizzicato brought an elegant tension to the movement.

The Adagio un poco mosso is obviously one of Ohlsson's favorite sections of the piece. His passion was subtle but clear, soft and yet ever present. The wonderful "sunrise" opening to the movement was absolutely beautiful, tender, soft and delicate - yet blooming into the brightness of a new day. Another highlight was the amazing control of Richard Woodhams and Peter Smith in a short but serene oboe duet. As the piece modulates and explores the more tonal obscurities of the romanitic side of Beethoven's music, the expertly played fluttering tremolo of the piano becomes a musical effect rather than series of notes. Ohlsson handles the music effortlessly - so smooth it disappears into the fabric of the piece.

In the Rondo the playful aspect of the music comes out. Again, Dutoit handles the orchestra and the classical repetitive figures with precision and skill. Watching Ohlsson and Dutoit dance about the Rondo added to the fun and ultimately brought the audience to their feet for a standing ovation at the close of the first half of the concert.

Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances opened the second half of the concert. Power, strength, beauty, passion, rhythmic drive, pulse, movement and energy are building and shifting constantly throughout this piece. Dutoit understands where orchestra IS and where it's going at every moment, bringing intensity as the piece builds - bringing the volume up and down as is necessary without ever losing the intensity. He moved through the tempo shifts as if wandering through a dream, fluid - constantly changing. When the first Violins and Cellos took the beautiful melody, Dutoit caressed the orchestra through. As the piece got darker, he hunched his shoulders and brought out gremlins in the orchestra - encouraging the lower strings to really get the most out of their anger - then intensly driving home the percussive beats. Then the music shifts to another melodic section and more loving caresses by the conductor. Toward the end, Dutoit was like the sea-god Poseidon, swelling the orchestra as he might ocean tides. The performance brought the audience to their feet for yet another standing ovation.

The final piece of the evening was la valse by Ravel. It starts ever so subtly, as if the darkness of night were creeping out of the shadow in twilight. Eventually, the upper strings are brought in as if they were playing a lovely, rich Strauss Waltz and yet there was always an edge to the music - something off balance. Dutoit kept the orchestra dancing the fine line of beautiful music and manic insanity, as if the music were played by the mentally deranged, in their minds performing the most beautiful music imaginable. Yet, there was always a Tim Burton-esque edge, bordering on psychotic. It is beautiful music, and yet also tormented by memories of the First World War.

The Philadelphia Orchestra proved once again why they are so very popular at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, earning three standing ovations in one evening. Charles Dutoit definitely brings out the most of this world class organization. With Tomorrow night's concert offering more Beethoven with Gil Shaham performing the Violin Concerto in D Major and the immense passion of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, it is shaping up to be a stunning weekend here in Vail.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more