Music I'm Listening to: Recent concerts

I attended the Friday, May 10 performance of the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall. Guest conductor Marta Gardlolinska had to cancel at the last minute. She was replaced by Gemma New (currently music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra). I had heard of neither conductor, but I rather liked New. She was interesting to watch on the podium, her movements short and sharp, and slightly stiff, but she made the music flow. The concert opened with a piece called Overture, written in 1943 by Grazyna Bacewicz. It was not particularly memorable, but it was interesting to hear as I'm a fan of Bacewicz's chamber music. I have several recordings of her string quartets and other pieces for small ensembles. I was under the impression that she was a contemporary composer. I had no idea that the she was born in 1909 and died in 1969. Her music sounds more modern than her birth and death years might suggest. 

That was followed by Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor. The soloist was a Spanish cellist, Pablo Ferrandez. I had never heard of him either, but the San Francisco Symphony always brings in good guest conductors and soloists, and it was an excellent performance, although taken rather more slowly than I'm used to, particularly in the opening of the first movement. The Elgar was followed after intermission by Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, also nicely done. Just as impressive as the conducting was the way Ms. New acknowledged various members of the orchestra during the applause at the close of the concert. Often orchestra members hesitate to stand up and take a bow when pointed at by the conductor after a performance, but usually it's not out of modesty but because they aren't always sure who the conductor is indicating for recognition. New, with precise hand gestures, had them standing and taking the applause quickly and efficiently in what amounted to an entirely independent conducting performance. I was quite impressed. 

Dinner at Monsieur Benjamin after the concert. I've abandoned Absinthe, which for more than a decade was my go-to after-concert restaurant. Absinthe has raised its wine-by-the-glass prices to absurd levels. It just ruins the whole experience. Monsieur Benjamin is not cheap, but it now seems a better value. New and Ferrandez came into the restaurant shortly after we settled in and they happened to be seated at the table next to us. I resisted the temptation to do anything more than to quickly say that I'd enjoyed the concert – until shortly before we were leaving. I leaned over  to ask the conductor about the tempo of the Elgar and she agreed that they had taken some parts comparatively slowly but pointed out that she had taken other parts quite quickly, which was true. "Rubato," I said. "Exactly" she answered. She's one I'll look out for in the future. 

The following day, I attended the Santa Rosa Symphony concert at the Green Music Center. The jazz-focused program comprised four pieces: George Gershwin's Catfish Row: Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess, Gershwin's well known Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and Orchestra (but in the original jazz band version), Conrad Tao's Flung Out for Piano and Orchestra (a world premiere) and Edward "Duke" Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige – Suite for Orchestra. Conrad Tao was the piano soloist in both the performance of Rhapsody in Blue (played from memory) and Flung Out (during which he used a score on an iPad), conceived as a companion piece to the Gershwin but it was rather more abstract. Rhapsody in Blue was the highlight of the evening. Tao was exciting to listen to – fast, precise, and expressive all at the same time.