David Finckel & Wu Han at Zellerbach Hall Auditorium, November 14, 2021

Cal Performances presents David Finckel & Wu Han Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305 USA
3:00 PM, Sunday, November 14, 2021

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2021 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2021 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

• BACH: Viola da gamba Sonata in G major, BWV 1027
• MENDELSSOHN: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
• DEBUSSY: Cello Sonata in D minor
• BRITTEN: Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 65

[3:00 PM] {lights down, announcements} [3:01 PM] {Wu Han out for a detailed pre-show talk}
[3:13 PM] {Wu Han returns with David Finckel to perform the first set}

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Sonata No. 1 in G major for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1027 (ca. 1736–1741)

1. [3:14 PM] Adagio
2. [3:17 PM] Allegro ma non tanto
3. [3:21 PM] Andante
4. [3:23 PM] Allegro moderato
   [3:26 PM] {work ends; pause for a minute}

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847): Sonata No. 2 in D major for Cello and Piano, Op. 58 (1843)

1. [3:26 PM] Allegro assai vivace
2. [3:35 PM] Allegretto scherzando
3. [3:40 PM] Adagio
4. [3:45 PM] Molto allegro e vivace
   [3:51 PM] {set ends; applause for minute or so; then both off for set break}

[4:07 PM] {lights down; performers out after a minute or so}

Claude Debussy (1862–1918): Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915)

1. [4:08 PM] Prologue
2. [4:13 PM] Sérénade
3. [4:17 PM] Final
   [4:20 PM] {work ends; pause for a minute}

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976): Sonata in C for Cello and Piano, Op. 65 (1960–1961)

1. [4:20 PM] Dialogo
2. [4:n PM] Scherzo-Pizzicato
3. [4:n PM] Elegia
4. [4:n PM] Marcia
5. [4:n PM] Moto Perpetuo
   [4:m PM] {set ends; much applause; back and forth, then out for an encore}

01. [4:40 PM] ?
[4:44 PM] {show ends; bows and last ovation, then off for good}

• David Finckel: cello;
• Wu Han: piano.

Much smaller turn-out for tonight's show than yesterday – guess that's what happens when you don't have the star-making machinery turning the publicity crank for you.

I thought today's show was super good – much more satisfying than last night. It helped a lot that Wu Han started the event with a thorough review of the program, pointing out several different ways that it might be analyzed and enjoyed. I tried to pay close attention, but I admit that by the time we got to Britten at the end of set two, some of her comments eluded my memory. Or more particularly, I can remember them now, sitting at my desk, but not while listening during the show. Funny how memory works, eh?

I expect that Cal Performances will eventually clarify which Rachmaninoff prelude was performed for the today's encore, but for now, it's the always-indeterminate TBD.

Program Notes or program notes

Joshua Kosman posted a polemic wallop against the views expressed by Finckel & Han in a recent New York Times interview. As much as I often disagree with Kosman, I can agree that his comments are cogent and on-point. I think part of the issue is that as masters of traditional repertoire, Finckel sees the push to branch out programmatically as an attack on his mastery rather than an opportunity to grow… He doesn't perceive the need to change. And flipping sides, I can see that side of the coin: if your purview is to present classical works that have stood the test of time, why should you be concerned with modern day talk about equity in allotting programming to modern composers who haven't managed to break through to those ranks? That's a wholly different field of entertainment.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2021 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2021 event list! ☸ On to the next event!