Cal Performances presents an Open Rehearsal featuring the St. Louis Symphony performing Olivier Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Étoiles…
2016-01-31
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94720
9:30 AM, Sunday, January 31, 2016

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Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Des Canyons aux Étoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars…) for Piano, Horn, and Orchestra (1971–74)

[9:40 AM welcome in the lobby by Matias Tarnopolsky while we drink coffee and enjoy breakfast pastries]

1. [10:04 AM] Le Désert (The Desert)
2. [10:09 AM] Les Orioles (The orioles)
3. [10:18 AM] Ce qui est Écrit sur les Étoiles… (What is Written in the Stars…)
4. [10:35 AM] Le Cossyphe d’Heuglin (The White-Browed Robin) (piano solo)
5. [10:38 AM] Cedar Breaks et le Don de Crainte (Cedar Breaks and the Gift of Awe)
6. [10:52 AM] Appel Interstellaire (Interstellar Call) (horn solo)
   [rehearsal break at 10:55 AM … union rules?]

1. [11:10 AM] Bryce Canyon et les Rochers Rouge-orange (Bryce Canyon and the Red-orange Rocks)
2. [11:28 AM] Les Ressuscités et le Chant de l’Étoile Aldébaran (The Resurrected and the Song of the Star Aldebaran)
3. [11:33 AM] Le Moqueur Polyglotte (The Mockingbird) (piano solo)
4. [11:35 AM] La Grive des Bois (The Wood Thrush)
5. [11:40 AM] Omao, Leiothrix, Elepaio, Shama (Hawaiian Thrush, old World Babbler, Monarch Flycatcher, Magpie-Robin)
6. [11:51 AM] Zion Park et la Cité Céleste (Zion Park and the Celestial City)
   [rehearsal ends 12:00 PM]
   

St. Louis Symphony

• Kristin Ahlstrom: associate principal violin II;
• Scott Andrews: principal clarinet;
• Cally Banham: English horn;
• Karin Bliznik: principal trumpet;
• Melissa Brooks: associate principal cello;
• Ann Choomack: piccolo;
• Henry Claude: percussion;
• Ellen Connors: contrabassoon;
• Andrew Cuneo: principal bassoon;
• Jelena Dirks: principal oboe;
• Thomas Drake: associate principal trumpet;
• Michelle Duskey: oboe;
• Christopher Dwyer: horn;
• Felicia Foland: bassoon;
• David Halen: violin I, concertmaster;
• Alison Harney: principal violin II;
• Erik Harris: contrabass;
• Heidi Harris: violin I, associate concertmaster;
• Diana Haskell: E-flat clarinet;
• Peter Henderson: piano;
• Tzuying Huang: bass clarinet;
• William James: xylorimba, principal percussion;
• Thomas Jöstlein: associate principal horn;
• Andrea Kaplan: associate principal flute;
• John Kasica: percussion;
• Roger Kaza: principal horn;
• David Kim: associate principal cello;
• Helen Kim: violin I;
• Brian Kushmaul: percussion;
• Daniel Lee: principal cello;
• Kathleen Mattis: associate principal viola;
• Timothy Myers: principal trombone;
• Jennifer Nitchman: flute;
• Gerald Pagano: trombone;
• Jonathan Reycraft: trombone;
• David Robertson: conductor, music director;
• Erin Schreiber: violin I, assistant concertmaster;
• Mark Sparks: principal flute;
• Jeffrey Strong: trumpet;
• Thomas Stubbs: glockenspiel, associate principal timpani;
• Chris Tantillo: viola;
• Tina Ward: clarinet;
• Shannon Wood: principal timpani;
• Xi Zhang: viola.

• Cath Brittan: production manager;
• Jon Else: cinematography and time lapse photography;
• Adam Larsen: video design consultant;
• Deborah O’Grady: production director, photographer;
• Seth Reiser: set and lighting designer.

It was a little tough psyching myself up to leave the warm bed this morning, but the thought of a free show (with coffee and pastries too) eventually got me moving. Happily, there was hardly any traffic out this Sunday, and I sailed on into Berkeley without too much trouble. After a brief welcome from Matias Tarnopolsky and an overview of the piece and the genesis of this particular performance, the thirty-odd folks present were let inside with instructions to sit in the back of the orchestra on house left.

Shortly thereafter, and with nary a word to us, or even acknowledgment of our presence, the rehearsal began. David Robertson led the ensemble through multiple takes within each movement, stopping now and then to make comments on the performance. Deborah O’Grady (and an unidentified assistant?) seemed to be running the visuals live, and once or twice, Robertson and O’Grady talked about the correlation (or lack thereof) between the audio and visual realms. For the most part, I appreciated the visual element. It certainly added to the dimensionality of the work. Yet given that Messiaen's piece wasn't conceived with this accompaniment in mind, the work also reminded me a bit of Mystery Science Theater: offering sometimes unwanted commentary on a masterpiece. Certainly the visuals from Zion, Bryce and Cedar Breaks were arresting and majestic, but the inclusion of other elements (a beach scene? California farmlands?), baffling framing choices, and strange visual effects made for a performance that didn't always serve the music, especially in sequences showing people, or when multiple images were superimposed on one another. I was also kind of annoyed with the jump cut sections… The timing was great, (hey, the pictures are changing with the notes of the bird song!) but the images on display didn't grab my imagination. Bird song doesn't normally make me think of rocks and asphalt, for example. I suppose it comes down to artistic vision – mine obviously differs from O’Grady's!

Anyways, I'm grateful that Cal Performances invited me to attend this rehearsal, especially since I wasn't going to be attending the main event this afternoon. Hopefully it will end up on YouTube or a commercial release – at the very least, you can expect an NPR story on it sometime soon!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2016 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2016 event list! ☸ On to the next event!