Berkeley Symphony Orchestra at Zellerbach Hall Auditorium, December 3, 2015

Mystical featuring Berkeley Symphony Orchestra with special guest, Geir Draugsvoll
2015-12-03
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305
8:00 PM, Thursday, December 3, 2015

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• Gabrieli: Canzon septimi et octavi toni
• Gabrieli: Sonata pian e forte
• Gubaidulina: Fachwerk (U.S. Premiere, featuring Geir Draugsvoll)
• Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

[8:04 PM lights down, announcements by Rene Mandel; comments by Joana Carneiro]

Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 1550-1612)

1. [8:07 PM] Canzon septimi et octavi toni
2. [8:10 PM] Sonata pian e forte
   [pair ends 8:13 PM, performance continues with hardly a pause into next work]

Sofia Gubaidulina (b.1931): Fachwerk (U.S. Premiere), featuring Geir Draugsvoll

1. [8:13 PM] Fachwerk
   [set ends 8:47 PM; applause to about to 8:50]

[9:10 PM lights down]

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881): Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel, 1921)

1. [9:11 PM] Promenade
2. [9:13 PM] the Gnome
3. [9:15 PM] Promenade
4. [9:16 PM] the Old Castle
5. [9:21 PM] Promenade
6. [9:22 PM] the Tuileries Gardens
7. [9:23 PM] Bydlo
8. [9:26 PM] Promenade
9. [9:27 PM] Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells
10. [9:28 PM] Samuel Goldenberg & Schmüyle
11. [9:31 PM] Promenade
12. [9:32 PM] the Market at Limoges (the Great News)
13. [9:34 PM] Catacombae
14. [9:37 PM] the Great Gate at Kiev
    [show ends 9:46 PM]

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra

• Joana Carneiro: conductor, music director; others vary by program, see http://www.berkeleysymphony.org/about/musicians/.

• Geir Draugsvoll: bayan.

The show began with two very short pieces by Gabrieli and segued almost seamlessly into Sofia Gubaidulina's new work, Fachwerk, composed specifically for Geir Draugsvoll and the bayan – a Russian button accordion having a range somewhat larger than a standard grand piano. I really enjoyed hearing this piece, and thought Gubaidulina did a good job of balancing the sound and textural options available via the orchestra against the miniature world offered by the bayan. It's hard to know whether I'll ever get a chance to listen to this piece again, but I certainly hope to get a chance!

Having heard the San Francisco Symphony play Pictures at an Exhibition last spring, I wasn't all that psyched to hear it again so soon, but the Berkeley Symphony did a creditable job of covering this massive work, and in the end, I am glad to have heard it again. It's funny how a piece can seep into your unconscious knowledge … in my case, probably from many listens to the work in various forms throughout my childhood. Hard to resist the urge to dance along to the Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells!

Jeff Dunn posted a review of the show on SFCV.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!