Bing Concert Hall
03/06/2014
Bing Concert Hall, Stanford, CA
Music from the Heart of Europe
MUFFAT: Fasciculus I “Nobilis Juventus” from Florilegium Secundum
SCHMELZER: Sonata III from Sacro-profanum Concentus Musicus
SCHEIN: Suite VII from Banchetto Musicale
BIBER: Sonata IX from Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes
SCHMELZER: Balletto a 4 Pastorella
UMSTATT: Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in A Major
PISENDEL: Sonata for Orchestra in C minor, JunP III 2b
J.S. BACH: Ricercar a 6 from The Musical Offering
TELEMANN: Overture-Suite in B-flat major “Les Nations”
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra,
Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin and leader
Kuijken大師的告別美國音樂會之後兩天，我又回到了Stanford。這次是去新的Bing Concert Hall，是它正式啟用後我第一次去那兒聽音樂會。其實學校花了那麼多經費蓋了這個音樂廳，但音效並不理想。有些座位太偏，聲音傳不到，但坐太近，卻會失去清晰度。這個音樂廳，是連Philharmonia Baroque許多音樂家本身都不甚喜歡的。所幸的是，音樂會我事先沒買票，但被安排到旁邊的位子，倒還可以。
五天內已跑了三場音樂會後仍決定去聽，除了Stanford比Berkeley近很多，以及也想去Bing Concert Hall體驗一下之外，當然是曲目和演奏家。這次PBO的客座指揮是平時的固定成員，也是在灣區我最欣賞的巴洛克小提琴，Elizabeth Blumenstock。只要有她在，全場的氣氛就會亮起來。而且她很愛跟觀眾講話，展現其親切的一面。
這場音樂標題為Music from the Heart of Europe，作曲家們皆為德奧籍的。我想，所謂的"heart"，不見得指的是地理心臟位置，而是將義大利和法國音樂風格融和薈萃的中心。節目採簡單的二分法，上半場為十七世紀，而下半場為十八世紀的作曲家。
開場的Muffat為法式組曲，不過序曲之後的舞曲們，卻是各國舞的合集（dances of nationalities），其中最後英式的吉格比較有特色點。一如往常，這首Muffat可聽到Blumenstock犀利大膽的拉法，明顯凌駕於樂團之上。
Schmelzer的奏鳴曲，有Lisa Weiss助陣，絲毫不遜色於Blumenstock。其他樂團的則是有點溫和，不然就是聲音傳過來有點暗淡。Schein的組曲，則是採用文藝復興末期的義大利舞曲，是全場「音樂語言」最早的曲子。Schein組曲的另一個特徵為組曲的所有舞曲由同個主題貫穿，算是個「變奏組曲」。雖然是年代最久遠的曲風，散發出一種哀傷感，但最終的Allemande，以及緊接的三拍變奏（Tripla）（Allemande為四拍的舞曲）則是比較有生氣。
Biber的奏鳴曲，出自之前曾介紹過的Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes。Blumenstock帶領下，這首充滿了熱情，而第二小提琴，Carla Moore以及Jolianne von Einem樂句修飾地很不錯。而且Kristin Zoernig低音提琴聲部的演奏，分量充足，可以強烈地感受到。
上半場最後一首又是Schmelzer的另一首曲子，不過是比較輕鬆的組曲。Schmelzer生平寫了一百多首義式的Balleto，應是提供奧地利的貴族享樂用。如同Muffat，這首組曲也是結合了不同國家的曲風，五首嘉禾（Gavotte）舞曲的風味都不同。最有特色的，應該是巴伐利亞的（Gavotta bavarica），最有民族風。PBO在速度上甚至做出漸快，使氣氛更有朝氣。Blumenstock在這整首裡時常加入她自己的裝飾音，看得出來她相當樂在其中。
PBO members warming up
下半場的Umstatt對我來說是新的作曲家和音樂。市面上唯一的錄音，是由斯洛伐克小提琴家Milos Valent演奏的。後來Blumenstock跟我說，Valent是她的好朋友，所以決定要表演這首也是受他影響。這首協奏曲採用韋瓦第式的架構。快樂章小提琴有許多雙弦與三弦的地方，而中樂章，則是樂團靜止，只剩數字低音的伴奏，讓小提琴可拉出悠揚的旋律。雖然是一首相當短的曲子，但卻光芒炫目。
Pisendel的樂團奏鳴曲，長度也不長。平常的演奏會加入雙簧管增添音色，不過PBO是採全部弦樂編制。它的第二個快樂章是一首賦格，而結尾時的半音階主題，正好為進入下一首巴哈的「音樂的奉獻」（Musical Offering）裡的六聲部Ricercar作準備。這首Ricercar可適用於任何器樂編制，PBO繼續以弦樂器演奏，採小提琴x2，中提琴，大提琴x2，與低音大提琴的安排。「音樂的奉獻」的半音階主題，加上巴哈嚴謹的對位，讓Ricercar成為音樂會最嚴肅的一首。
最後的Telemann組曲，就標題"Les Nations"，就知道又是各國曲風合集的曲子。不同於Muffat和Schmelzer停留在歐洲，Telemann選的國家更有異國風情，如土耳其與俄國。PBO演奏這首整齊一致，並在兩首小步舞曲間做出很大的反差，第一首斷句鮮明，第二首則是連奏綿綿。而莫斯科人（Les Moscovites），則有David Tayler用theorbo彈奏深沉的低音來模擬克里姆林宮（Kremlin）的鐘聲，是個很酷的效果。令人印象深刻的，還有Les Boiteux（跛腳／遲鈍），很有可能是形容驢子；PBO展現出搖擺中的能量。最後的Les Coureurs，則形容奔騰中的馬匹，組曲在高潮中結束。
（註：為了怕忘記當下的印象和感想，所以參加音樂會時開始邊聽邊做筆記。旁邊的工作人員看到還問我是不是樂評哩～～）
Just two days after the Kuijken's farewell U.S. concert, I returned to Stanford. This time though, it was at their new Bing Concert Hall, my first visit since its official grand opening. Bing cost the university and its donors quite a fortune, but the end result has been frankly a bit disappointing to some. Although designed by the same acoustician who also did the Walt Disney Concert Hall, there are certain seating areas which make the listening experience quite unacceptable. Of course, you won't read about these in any official websites, which only seem to have nothing but the greatest praise. But take it from the musicians of PBO, who have also commented in person that they disliked Bing's acoustics. Luckily, even with a last-minute ticket purchase, I did get decent seats.
Attending another early music concert after doing three in five days can only be described as crazy, but the main reason, other than Stanford's proximity compared to Berkeley and a chance to see Bing, was none other than Elizabeth Blumenstock leading the PBO. She always seems to light up the scene, and it's always a delight to hear her speak to the audience.
The title of the concert was called Music from the Heart of Europe, and it was represented by an all German-Austrian lineup. I believe the "heart" wasn't supposed to mean the geographical center, per se, but as a center of the fusion of musical styles, most notably the Italian and French. The program was a divided simply in terms of composer dates, the first half the 17th century and the second half the 18th.
The opening Muffat piece is a suite, but the dances that follow the overture can only be described as dances of nationalities. The one that caught my ear was the English gigue. As usual, Blumenstock's bold playing shines out, raising her above the rest of PBO.
For the Schmelzer sonata, Blumenstock is joined by Lisa Weiss, who provides very good support in every way. The other members seemed in mellow by comparison and didn't carry well to where I was. The Schein piece is the oldest piece in the program, written in late Renaissance musical language. It is also a suite, but based on the Italian dances rather than the French. Schein's suites are also noted for its variation technique, meaning that the various dances share essentially the same theme, thus providing a sense of unity throughout the suite. There's an unspeakable sense of melancholy in the music of this era, but the closing allemande, along with the tripla variation, have more life in it.
The Biber sonata is from his collection of Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes. There's a lot of zest in PBO's playing under Blumenstock's leadership. Elizabeth is joined by Carla Moore and Jolianne von Einem, who shape the music well. There is also good bass support by Kristin Zoernig on the double bass.
The first half ended with another Schmelzer piece, but this time a lighter balleto. Schmelzer wrote close to 150 dance suites during his appointment as court composer and later Kapellmeister to the Holy Roman Emperor. As with Muffat, this suite is another juxtaposition of national music styles. Here then, were five gavottes of different nationalities. The gavotta bavarica sounded the most folkish, and repetition in the music presents opportunities to speed up for good effect. Elizabeth ornaments quite a bit throughout the balleto, appearing to really enjoy herself out there.
The Umstatt concerto which opened the second half was a new piece to me. The only commercial recording out there at the moment is a disc by Slovakian violinist Milos Valent. Elizabeth later commented to me that Valent was a good friend of hers and also inspired her to perform the piece. The violin concerto is Vivaldian in nature, with double and triple stops and other showy passages in the outer movements, and a lyrical second movement where the violin is accompanied by only the continuo. It is a short yet flashy piece.
The Pisendel sonata for orchestra turned out to be a short piece as well. Most recordings out there have ripieno wind instruments to augment the tonal color, but PBO stuck to an all-string ensemble. The second movement is a lively fugue, with a surprising chromatic ending that almost recalls the theme of Bach's Musical Offering. And with that, we are actually taken into the 6-voice Ricercar of the Musical Offering, with a scoring of violins x 2, viola, cellos x 2, and double bass. The chromatic theme and strict contrapuntal writing of Bach, makes it easily the most serious piece in the entire program.
We end with a Telemann suite, titled Les Nations. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that there probably is dance or musical portrayal of various nations involved. Unlike Muffat and Schmelzer, Telemann doesn't stay in the comfort zone of Europe, but ventures out further to the Turks and Russia. PBO's playing is tight, and they bring out some variety, such as in the two Menuets, the first one is sharply articulated, while the second one is played smooth legato fashion. In Les Moscovites, David Tayler's theorbo's deep repeating bass line is supposed to imitate Kremlin's bells, a cool musical effect at that. The last two dances are also of interest, Les Boiteux (limping) supposedly trying to invoke the gait of donkeys, which PBO provides good swinging energy to. This is followed by Les Coureurs, this time no question talking about galloping horses, thus a climactic end to the suite and the concert.
P.S. For a while, I've started taken notes at concerts to make sure I capture what I felt at the moment. I have been very behind in these concert reviews and would like to not have forgotten everything. As it turned out, a volunteer usher noticed what I was doing and asked if I was a music critic.
No comments:
Post a Comment