Did you throw popcorn at Robert's head? : ) - jdaniel@jps.net 09:21:10 11/08/09 (3)
 Yes. Yes he did. He missed. nt - Popcorn Head 10:19:46 11/08/09 (0)
 Hey jdaniel TGR and I brought your name (and virtues) up at the concert - Robert C. Lang 09:31:06 11/08/09 (1)
 That's good, and right back at ya. I hope to get up there for a concert in Jan. nt - jdaniel@jps.net 20:45:38 11/11/09 (0)
 RE: Conductor Semyon Bychkov - Robert C. Lang 23:55:48 11/07/09 (0)
 RE: Conductor Semyon Bychkov - steve.ott@kctcs.edu 14:15:14 11/07/09 (0)

For sure I enjoyed the concert. I am glad like heck that I attended the pre concert lecture, especially for the listening tips on “The Bells”. I had never heard it before and it was sung with the Russian text to boot. I would have enjoyed it just based on the merits but hearing an explanation for Rachmaninov’s inclusion of bells and the use of different bell tones to mark each four movements (sleigh bells [youthful adolescence], wedding bells, brass bells [connoting life’s misfortunes], and funeral bells really helped tie it all together for me. Also the influences of Rachmaninov contemporaries such as Debussy and Ravel who famously employed wordless choruses were noteworthy as the performance unfolded.

But more than any of this I enjoyed and celebrated how the chorus, soloists, the massive orchestra and Bychlov, united to form a powerful force in the performance of a complex score. I thought the orchestra performed flawlessly which carried over to the 2nd Symphony. “The Bells” made for great theater, but whether or not I purchase a recording depends on what couplings are available

I agree that there seem to be only abstract traces of “Rachmaninov” music in “The Bells” (although I definitely heard some). This is clearly a different side of the composer that is not often heard these days. But as was pointed out in the pre concert lecture only a fraction of Rachmaninov’s output is commonly performed these days, including his extensive choral and opera compositions. Also, I remember when I first heard the Brahms Requiem in San Francisco last year I remarked that I didn’t hear much “Brahms”. But upon subsequent listens at home (I have the Atlanta and Boston SACDs) I hear his fingerprints all over the work.

And yes, I truly enjoyed Bychkov’s 2nd Symphony. Although, *I* (not the orchestra) almost ran out of gas toward the end of the performance and not necessarily because it was long (full 1907 version), but probably a result of me logging too many hours listening to various versions of the 2nd Symphony to “refresh” prior to the concert. That was definitely not my intent. I had planned to listen just to the Fischer/Budapest SACD and be done with it. But something unexpected happened. The Fischer didn’t grab me. This was completely unexpected because I have enjoyed it in the past but I couldn’t figure out what was missing except that it lacked “bite”. I turned to the de Waart/Exton SACD. While that brought some things to the table there were more givebacks than gains. Next up was a Sir Alexander Gibson on Chandos LP (dbx encoded). Now we were getting somewhere. It was this recording and probably the Previn Telarc CD that help me figure out what went wrong with the Fischer. It was simple. The Fischer is recorded a lower level that most of my other recordings so as to preserve and capture the full dynamic range. I just had to turn it up a bit to make it really bloom. This increase in volume was validated by last nights performance. I did not have my spl meter with me at the concert but I would guess that the decibel levels soared over a 100 on any number of occasions (for "The Bells”, too). In all I listened to four of my eight 2nd recordings. So, I was a bit Symphony #2 challenged going in to last night.

But nothing beats a live performance and Bychkov really pulled it off. I timed each movement and they were each longer than “average”, which made for a longer than “normal” performance. I, too, found the first movement a bit slow in parts. I also found things a wee bit wanting in the middle of the 4th movement. But that could have been me because I was a bit tired. The conclusion was beyond reproach. One minor issue was the “break” (for lack of a better term) between the 3rd and 4th movements. Listening on disc there is usually no more than 10 seconds between movements, in this case between the idyllic and whispering close of the Adagio and how the 4th opens with an enlivened change in tempo (opening triplet theme) and the contrast that is underscored is just something that I am used to. But a live concert reflects reality as oppose to a recording. The musicians needed to gather themselves for that tremendous 4th movement and extended finale.

I learned more than a few things from the performance. Rachmaninov achieves some almost breathless tonal coloring throughout the 2nd Symphony that I have always found indescribably enrapturing, but I never knew for sure what instruments or combination of instruments were used. Well, I discovered they were the violas. There are at least a half dozen times in which I noticed that the violas where the only instruments playing or they were providing the tonal lead for the orchestra. Also, for many years I thought Rachmaninov employed muted brass instruments to get a “distant” sound. But I don’t think I saw muted instruments.

Regarding Bychkov, I agree with you with regard to his level of musicianship. He doesn’t put on a “show” like we saw with Vanska’s conducting last concert, but I will be checking out his recordings (including the Brahms Symphony SACD set that I recently purchased).

Robert C. Lang