Welcome to the inaugural installment of Good Programs, a new series that will single out well-conceived concert programs and offer a bit of commentary as to why we think they work so well.
As you know, we at the Loose Filter Project strongly believe that the concert experience is the way in which we as musicians interact with the world, and that the music performed, more than any other aspect of the concert experience, is the single most important aspect of the concert experience for the listener. While other elements (atmosphere, performance space) are also important in creating a new context for a concert, it is the music itself that ultimately must speak to the listener, and the pieces performed - how they react to one another, and the context that they create - determines the message. That message should be that the music you're hearing is exciting and vital.
I want to highlight two programs today, one conducted by Susanna Malkki, the other by David Robertson. I think these programs are notable because musically they are very exciting and engaging, yet they also fit squarely into the overture-concert0-symphony format so often employed with little to no imagination by so many. I am not a big fan of this format, but I understand why it is so prevalent.* Orchestras rely on big-name soloists and popular symphonies to fill seats, but these two programs show that a conductor can build compelling musical programs even while acknowledging economic necessities.
The first program is a January set with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Malkki.
- Lindberg - Parada
- Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major w/ Ingrid Filter
- Berlioz - Symhonie Fantastique
The Lindberg is a thorny opener about 12 minutes long that I think relates nicely to the Ravel. They are both orchestrated in an almost sensual way, yet after Parada's dense sonorities the tonal language and jazzy elements of Ravel's concerto sounds especially fresh. Preceded by two more recent pieces with such vivid sound-worlds, the Berloiz sounds even more fresh and revolutionary.
The second program features Robertson and the New York Philharmonic. (w/ audio clips)
- Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
- Barber - Violin Concerto w/ Gil Shaham
- Bartok - The Wooden Prince
*I have even programmed some future programs of my own that follow or play off of this formula. Hopefully someday I'll have the opportunity to conduct them.
- Torke - Ash
- Stravinsky - Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments (or Violin Concerto)
- Ives - Symphony No. 2
Two quite different versions of Neo-Classicism on the first half, and a bold piece of Americana wedged into a symphonic framework on the second.
- Beethoven - Coriolan Overture
- Ravel - Rhapsodie Espagnol (no soloist, obviously)
- Barber - Symphony No. 1
On the first half of this concert I like the way that the soft ending of the Beethoven dovetails with the mysterious opening of the Ravel - two completely different versions of 'soft' - not to mention the different styles of each piece. The Barber symphony is a great piece, and contrasts nicely from the two that proceed it.
- Adams - Violin Concerto
- Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
This is one of my favorite programs; two mastodonic works.
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