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East of the Hudson, West of the Delaware
A
new work for the viola canon
Schickele
remembers
Saturday,
January 21, 2006
By A. Michael
Noll
Pasadena Symphony: Jorge Mester (music director); Danielle Farina (viola); Schubert: Symphony No. 6 in C major; Schickele: Viola Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings. Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, CA.
The excitement at this concert was the world premiere of Peter Schickele's Viola Concerto, commissioned by the Pasadena Symphony, under the direction of Jorge Mester. The concerto is a masterpiece - a major addition to the viola concerto repertoire, alongside such works as the Hindemith, Walton, Martinu, and Bartók concertos and Berlioz's Harold in Italy. The performance by violist Danielle Farina (formerly with the Lark Quartet) was pure perfection, with lovely warmth of tone and considerable virtuosity. Schickele's concerto is a soulful piece, filled with a wealth of emotionality flowing in an American vein.
Schickele and Mester studied together years ago at Julliard and have been good friends ever since. In fact, Mester has conducted many of Schickele's comedy concerts. But far from that genre at which the composer excells, Schickele's Viola Concerto is dedicated to his brother David who died in 1999. The concerto seems to be about love: Schickele's love for his brother, the strength of Schickele's friendship with Mester, and Ms. Farina's love of the viola.
Interestestingly, Mester played the viola before turning to conducting, and Schickele's brother also played the viola, before turning to filmmaking. So, this concerto was indeed all about the viola as the composer allowed it to soar, interweaving memorable tunes and sounds in a uniquely energetic and lyrical fashion. Much of the concerto had an American/Appalachian feel to it, and days later these unique sounds were still in my head - this is a concerto that I want to hear again!
The four movements have been titled by Schickele to represent places and events in his brother's life, although there is no specific representation in the music, which was composed before Schickele added his titles to the movements. The first movement started with a bluegrass swing in the upper registers of the viola and then became fast, reminding me of Berlioz's Harold in Italy - although this was very much "Harold in Pasadena" and pure Schickele. The third movement is a romance with an Eastern European sound that reminded me of the Martinu concerto.
The Schubert Sixth Symphony is not performed that much, but should be heard more often since it is such a playful work, loaded with memorable melodies. It is known as "the little C major symphony" as contrasted to Schubert's "Great C Major Symphony", no. 9. Mester's interpretation was bouncy and snappy - just as the music demands.
Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings" is a warhorse, but the strings of the Pasadena Symphony splendidly performed it with a gloriously warm string tone. It was pure joy to be reminded of how violins should sound. This kind of warm tone is unfortunately not possible in the LA Philharmonic's Disney Hall because of the harsh acoustics there.
It would not be an overstatement to claim that *Southern California rivals (and perhaps even surpasses) New York City as a center for classical music in the United States - an observation that The New York Times only recently concluded (January 12, 2006) but with far too much an exclusive emphasis on the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its music director. After all, it was the Pasadena Symphony - not the LA Phil - that premiered Schickele's major new viola concerto.
Recommended recordings:
There is a delightful recording of the Schubert Sixth Symphony by Michael Halász and the Failoni Orchestra on the Naxos label and also an equally excellent performance by Claudio Abbado conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on the Deutsche Gramophone label. My favorite recording of the Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings is by Yuli Turovsky conducting the I Musici de Montreal on the Chandos label.