Xian Zhang, the New York Philharmonic's associate conductor, cuts a diminutive figure on the podium, but good lord, what amazingly powerful sounds she coaxed out of the orchestra on Saturday night! Practically everyone I know was at the Steve Reich All-Stars affair at Carnegie Hall -- apart from Bruce Hodges, who was seated across the aisle. But while the Reich program was undeniably attractive, I'd heard those pieces played live by those performers (except for newish Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Zeigler) before. Reminded recently that I'd yet to hear a performance conducted by Zhang, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and attend the Philharmonic concert tonight.
Prokfiev's Alexander Nevsky Cantata is a piece that I've long appreciated without ever really taking it to heart; I've enjoyed it when I've heard it, but I couldn't sing one of its tunes to you. What the New York Philharmonic played on Saturday night (as well as the preceding Thursday and Friday) was not the cantata but the complete film score, as painstakingly reconstructed by the gifted William Brohn, played in time with an immaculate print of Sergei Eisenstein's film. Prokofiev's original soundtrack was recorded by an undersized and none-too-distinguished studio ensemble; what Brohn did was to recreate the score, orchestrated along the more plush and dynamic lines of the later cantata.
As Tony Tommasini noted in his New York Times review of Thursday night's performance, it was a thrill to view the stark, noble and often disarmingly amusing 1938 film with this kind of sonic upholstery. But more important for me was the discovery of just how intricately interwoven sound and image were; the visuals gained depth from the music, but the music also gained humanity and even humility from the visuals. The dead city of Pskov was unbearably gripping, the call to arms "Arise, Ye Russian People" stirring and the famous "Battle on the Ice" overwhelming.
Armed with two video monitors behind her music stand, Zhang led the orchestra with animated sweeps of her baton and fluttering fingers, eliciting sounds that were by turns rustic and barbarous. The orchestra sounded utterly fabulous. Joseph Flummerfelt's New York Choral Artists provided weighty, majestic singing; mezzo-soprano Meredith Arwady, who processed slowly to the front of the stage for "The Field of the Dead," sang with ravishing tone and deep pathos.
An outstanding night, then, and a sold-out concert as well. I'm certain that I'll be reading enviable reports of the Reich concert soon, but all things considered, I think I made the right decision. At the same time, I'm very much looking forward to hearing Zhang's work in a more conventional setting before too long; based on tonight's results, she's the real thing.
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Added to the blogroll per a post by Steve Layton at Sequenza 21 is the humbly titled New Music Blog, a useful compendium of contemporary-music concerts in New York City compiled by Nadia Sirota (an up-and-coming violist whose important work can be sampled on her website) and Liz Gately. Even if you get your concert listings in The New York Times, Time Out New York or Classical Domain, you'll still want to pay attention to this blog -- sometimes new-music concerts come together too close to deadline for the conventional sources, but New Music Blog is well-connected to the composers and performers who make those events happen. And it's got attitude, to boot! Keepin' it real, y'all.
Playlist:
Sergei Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky Cantata*; Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel - Pictures at an Exhibition - Lili Chookasian*, the Westminster Choir*, New York Philharmonic/Thomas Schippers (Sony Classical)
Christopher Rouse - Symphony No. 2; Flute Concerto*; Phaeton - Aralee Dorough*, Houston Symphony/Christoph Eschenbach (Telarc)
Alfred Schnittke - Violin Concertos Nos. 1-4 - Chamber Orchestra of Europe, NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Philharmonia Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach (Teldec)
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