San Francisco Performances presents Homage to Pablo Casals featuring Amit Peled and Noreen Cassidy-Polera
2016-03-22
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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[7:33 PM lights down, announcements]

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Sonata in G minor, (ca. 1704) (arr. August Lindner (1820-1878), after Oboe Concerto in G minor, HWV 287, published 1879)

1. [7:33 PM] Grave
2. [7:36 PM] Allegro
3. [7:38 PM] Largo: Sarabande
4. [7:40 PM] Allegro
   [work ends 7:42 PM; pause for applause; the performers leave, AP returns alone]

J.S. Bach (1685-1750): Suite No. 3 in C Major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1009 (ca. 1720)

1. [7:42 PM] Prélude
2. [7:46 PM] Allemande
3. [7:49 PM] Courante
4. [7:53 PM] Sarabande
5. [7:56 PM] Bourrée I
6. [7:57 PM] Bourrée II
7. [8:00 PM] Gigue
   [set ends 8:03 PM; applause for a few minutes, then offstage]

[8:m PM lights down, comments on the program by Amit]

1. [8:36 PM] Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): 7 Variations on Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen, WoO 46 (1801) (from Mozart's Magic Flute)
2. [8:41 PM] Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Élégie, Op. 24 (1883)
3. [8:47 PM] Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Sicilienne, Op. 78 (1893)
4. [8:51 PM] Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Papillon, Op. 77 (ca. 1885)
5. [8:54 PM] J.S. Bach (1685-1750): Aria from Organ Pastorale in F Major, BWV 590 (ca. 1720) (arr. Pablo Casals)
6. [8:58 PM] Camile Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Allegro appasionato, Op. 43 (ca. 1873)
   [Amit introduces the final section(s)]
7. [9:04 PM] (traditional Catalan tune): El cant dels ocells (The Song of the Birds)
8. [9:07 PM] Lera Auerbach (b. 1973): La Suite dels Ocells (The Suite of the Birds) for solo cello, (2015) [West Coast Premiere]
   [show ends 9:21 PM; a couple minutes for bows and applause, then off]

• Noreen Cassidy-Polera: piano;
• Amit Peled: cello.

Amit proved himself to be an amiable dude, taking a bit of time here and there to try and develop a personal connection with the audience. Seems like a good idea to me, it's a wonder more performers don't agree!

Stephen Smoliar posted a typically grumpy know-it-all review for the Examiner. If you're curious, plenty of other reviewers have weighed in on this program, which has been touring since last fall. Personally, I didn't really have a problem with any of the things Smoliar whined about.

I enjoyed the opening piece, and it didn't seem to me that there was anything lost translating the melody line from oboe to cello – I agreed with Amit's assertion that the work was a nice aperitif – a good way to set the mood for the evening.

And as far as the Bach selection not being danceable, I'm fairly certain that no one present expected to be dancing to solo cello. Moreover, having read plenty of Smoliar's reviews over the years, this critique by now is a tired old trope. Nobody plays Bach as if he was writing dance music anymore; tastes have changed quite a bit over the intervening 300 odd years. So yeah. I dug it. Peled seemed to do a fine job here… I didn't hear him drop any fat clams, and if the music didn't quite dance as Bach originally intended, at least it boogied along well enough to impress me.

Filling the second half with trifles – musical dessert – is a trait that I associate with Zuckerman and other older classical performers. Amit commented that this was normal 100 years ago. I didn't mind it for a change of pace, but I think there's a lot to be argued for modern concert-making: I like it when they sock it to us with the top shelf repertoire! Bartender, gimme a double!

Anyways, for me, the Beethoven Variations on Bei Mannern fall into that group of works that conjure classic cartoons in my mind's eye – without checking, I'm gonna say Elmer Fudd and Bug's Bunny – good memories, even if I'm wrong agin (ahh, the perils of old age!) A fun piece to hear again, even if it hasn't been that long since the last time.

I feel like the Fauré Élégie is another recent repeat (though nothing turns up in a cursory search of my setlist posts) – must be high on the favorites list that cellists pass around to one another. Papillon didn't work so well for me as a characterization of insect nature: the melody line was entirely too busy and fast, completely lacking any of languid appearance of floating on air shown my most butterfly flights. Maybe the piece should have been named after the bumble bee instead (cf. Sara Sant'Ambrogio's rendition of the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov work posted at YouTube)?

Beefing up the program with something brand new was a good idea in several ways. First of all, it evoked the spirit of Casals inclusion of three Fauré pieces in the original program of 1916. Secondly, it reinforced the notion that classical music is alive and growing. The audience might be greying a bit, but that could be remedied by reintroducing music appreciation to public education. And in the meantime, it's good to know that clever people, like Lera Auerbach, are still pursuing the muse in this arena. Fame and fortune? Must not be all that important, eh?

Anyways, I really appreciated Amit's commentary before playing this piece, and most especially, his inclusion of El cant dels ocells as a performance prelude to Lera's new work. (As an aside, here's a YouTube link to Pablo Casals playing the piece) Having more context is a good thing! Listening to the new piece, it was clear that it was conceived episodically, and I agree with Smoliar that it would have been nice for Auerbach to provide more information about the compositional structure. Despite that nit-picking, I didn't have any trouble deciding which sections were composed under the influence of Bach. Unmentioned in the notes was that prominence of bird calls or bird-like sounds in the work. I'm willing to guess that Messiaen was another compositional influence. And at the end, there was a very obvious “off she goes” invocation of bird flight to close the piece. Way cool!

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