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Attended the "Russian Titans" concert, at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque......
The concert featured two works, conducted by one of several Music Director candidates, Rune Bergmann. Jennifer Frautschi performing Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto. Bergmann and the Philharmonic performing Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.
The short story is this may be the best classical concert I've attended in 10 or 15 years.....
Jennifer Frautschi was a commanding presence on stage for Prok's Second Concerto..... Playing a Stradivarius violin, she got nice volume in the rather large Popejoy Hall. She was great with melodic line in the opening two movements, the melodies became recognizable as the work progressed. Her form was impeccable (would easily pass the John Marks test). The virtuosic final movement sustained melodic like, avoiding the common fault of sounding "choppy". Jennifer got a thunderous ovation after it finished, both Frautschi and Bergmann applauding each other. Frautschi even pointed to some musicians in the orchestra. It was an enthralling performance.
After the intermission, Bergmann and the NM Phil performed the warhorse Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony. And the conductor and orchestra did not disappoint. Bergmann's read of the opening movement was almost without fault. Although I've heard more explosive renditions of this opening movement, Bergmann was able to exercise patience, to let the climaxes build on their own momentum. The second movement was again almost without fault. The opening horn was first rate, just slightly louder than Tchaik's intent (common fault).... Once again, the control of the dynamics and tempo will make Bergmann the frontrunner in the Music Director vote. The third movement was once again almost without fault. This is a tricky movement because virtuosic wind lines or the inner melodies win out at expense of the other. But Bergmann did well here with the NM Phil. The final movement labored somewhat. Taken a little slow, it brought out the flaws of the NM Phil, which is somewhat sluggish brass and strings. The NM Phil brass didn't quite have the horsepower for this final movement. But still overall, a first rate read by Bergmann, and the NM Phil sounding almost like a major orchestra. And once again, a thunderous ovation from the audience, which almost filled the 2000 seat hall to capacity.
The New Mexico Philharmonic's strength is in its wind section. I'd almost call it phenomenal. The principals were all very strong. The oboe almost sounded like Ray Still, the flutes had nice projection and melodic line, the clarinet was close to Robert Marcellus caliber (!). Even the bassoons were first rate. The wind section had great projection, balance, and cohesiveness.
I was also very impressed with the acoustics of Popejoy Hall. Seated in the upper level mezzanine (front rows) right side. I've been used to dry halls like Severance Hall and Philadelphia's Academy of Music. Popejoy was a more reverberant hall. Almost sold out, and a rather large 2000 seats, I was able to hear even soundstage and depth from my vantage point. (I closed my eyes and did the "world's best stereo" thing.) The sound was neutral, the choirs of all orchestra sections easily heard. The only "flaw" was I thought the back of the stage (winds, brass) was rendered more clearly than the front of the stage (violins).... But minor flaws.... The sound was never muddy or harsh. (I thought there was no sound reinforcement, but was hard to tell for sure.)
Once again, one of the best concerts I've attended in a long time. Bravo!!
Follow Ups:
Somehow, my wife got the idea that Jennifer Frautschi was full of herself, based on a feature about her on the television program, "Breakfast with the Arts" (back in the days when A&E actually featured, you know, ARTS programming - I guess that the current "intervention" type programming they feature now gets greater audience share and makes the station more profitable - yeay!). But I digress. . .
I suspect that your notice of similarities of the NM players to the great players in the Cleveland Orchestra is right on. My own opinion is that players have gotten so good today, that the "great" names of the past might not have stood out so much if they were in today's environment.
Glad you enjoyed it! Madeline and I have really enjoyed Albuquerque ourselves the couple of times we've been there, although we haven't been there for a long time and did not attend any concerts there. Do you know if the "High Noon" restaurant is still there? Back in the day, we thought it had great food, and the acoustic guitarist who played there was really good in our opinion.
The hassle of working away from my home town (Glendale, AZ) has worn me out..... I rarely have time to eat out during the week. I eat at Il Vicino on occasion, only because it's directly off Alameda.
My stay in Albuquerque should be temporary.... I hope to enjoy the systems again sometime in December. But the classical community here is far better than that in Arizona.
hey, was just at Omni at Montelucia for a Mayo Clinic course.
Your town reminded us of Palm Desert with some heavy commute traffic, but it's very good and pristine.
been interacting as you know with pbarach about the Uchida/Cleveland Mozart (9 and 21, specifically). Wonder if Chris is correct, but our mutual friend indicates the orchestra sounds more gentle at least in classical period music.
The Cleveland Orchestra does sound "gentle"..... But at the expense of articulation and "explosiveness".... I've called the sound "dainty" myself.A great example of this is the Welser Most performance of Brahms' "Academic Festival" Overture at the Proms...... It's a nice performance, but I'd rather be plastered to the back wall, if you will. (There's also a recent NHK/Blomstedt performance, audio only.)
Edits: 11/21/16
Agree with gentler attacks. Saw an interview of Franz during the same Proms describing what he wants and he's getting it. The Brahms Symphony 1 was superb with a gentler approach (I kept straining to hear more aggressiveness).
did you read, "straining to hear"?
It got a bit boring due to Franz' approach.
Disagree about the Brahms 1... The Welser performance was boring to my ears.
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