Gathering Note

Also published at Seen and Heard International

After an arguably slow start to its 2023-24 season, the Seattle Symphony is gearing up for a packed schedule of concerts in November and December highlighting works by Brahms, Beethoven, Sibelius, Elgar, and Mahler.  For the first concert of this ramp-up, the orchestra deftly tackled two major works with guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth’s first turn at the podium: Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto — featuring soloist Stephen Hough — and Elgar’s Second Symphony..

Hough has frequently performed in Benaroya Hall over the years, often playing crowd-pleasing works by Rachmaninov.  This time, he traded in Rachmaninov for Brahms, taking on challenging work composed during a productive time in Brahms’ life, which also yielded his Second Symphony and Violin Concerto.  Brahms’ First Piano Concerto dazzles with youthful bravura.  But in contrast, the composer fills his Second Concerto with a varied and lyrical journey: The first two movements feature bracing moments, the somber third movement includes longing paragraphs of music and affecting cello and horn solos. And if that wasn’t enough, the piece concludes with a playful, catchy closing movement.  

After a successful run of Wagner’s Das Rheingold in August, Seattle Opera is back with Handel’s Alcina.  From its premiere at Covent Garden in 1735, Alcina was one of Handel’s most successful operas, with a record 18 subsequent performances.  But Alcina’s early success wasn’t enough to keep it on stage. Performances were scarce until it emerged in the 1950s as a vehicle for soprano Joan Sutherland.  This marks the first time the Seattle Opera has staged Alcina.  Despite the Emerald City’s vibrant early-music community, Alcina’s arrival also marks one of only a handful of times the company has attempted an opera by one of the Baroque masters. 

Along with Ariodante and Orlando, Alcina is based on Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando Furioso.  Stocked with magical elements, chivalry and sometimes raw emotion, it is ideal source material for Baroque opera.  Alcina begins with Melissa and Bradamante (disguised as her brother Ricciardo) arriving on Alcina’s enchanted island looking for Bradamante’s lover Ruggiero, who has gone missing.  Ruggiero appears soon enough, bewitched by one of Alcina’s spells.  From this point forward, the six principal characters weave their numerous plights together through multiple da capo arias and vocal acrobatics.  Eventually, Ruggiero is freed from Alcina’s spell and returns to Bradamente – and in the end Alcina accepts losing Ruggiero as her powers fade.         

In late 2020, I decided to listen to Beethoven’s 32 sonatas in chronological order.  Consider it my take on one of those pandemic-era “deep dives” – sourdough bread, birding – that we all took.

My love for Beethoven dates back to 1996, when a dear friend introduced me to classical music for the first time.  In the years that followed, I listened to individual sonatas on and off, but never in order. But my pandemic-era exploration showed them in a new light.  Over the course of two weeks, and with the help of a dozen different pianists, I listened to them all.  As a body of work, they are profound, humorous, elegant, and, of course, transformatively inventive.

Now in its sixth year, Music on the Strait has become a cherished event for music enthusiasts on the Olympic Peninsula. This hidden gem of a music festival may not receive as much attention as some of its counterparts, but it certainly deserves recognition for the incredible performances it brings to this part of the Pacific Northwest year after year.

Review published on Seen and Heard International

Not long ago, staging Das Rheingold at the Seattle Opera usually meant that the other three operas in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle would soon follow.  The company was once a Wagnerian destination in the U.S., though not on the same level as the renowned Bayreuth.  For decades, when the lights dimmed and the famous chord of E-flat major emerged from the orchestra, slowly at first and then transforming into the flowing Rhine, Seattle audiences and visitors from around the world settled in for a cycle-full of leitmotifs.

That was then. Seattle audiences have not seen Rheingold in ten years.  This concise story of power, hubris and consequence is a fanciful two-and-a-half hours of gods and giants; castles and contracts; and of course a subterranean bad guy with an ax to grind.  Rheingold sets the whole Ring Cycle in motion, its story serving as the seed of the original sin growing through Wagner’s ambitious four-part drama.  But even staged alone – as it was here – there is much to enjoy in this tale of mythic gods with human failings.

Review published at Seen and Heard International

Mahler performances run the gamut interpretatively.  Leonard Bernstein famously pushed an approach that was cosmic in scale, yet also probed the human condition.  Rafael Kubelik’s approach was rustic and humane. He grounded his performances in Mahler’s abundant references to nature.  There are also the modernists interpretations: Conductors who see Mahler the same way they might think of Schoenberg or Webern — as harbingers of music’s new path in the 20th century.  Boulez fits this category well. 

Review published on Seen and Heard International

The Seattle Symphony’s penultimate program of the 2022-23 season embraced the notion of music as a medium for artistic expression – with Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” at the center. This timeless tale has inspired many a composer, and guest conductor Marin Alsop led the orchestra in three of the most iconic interpretations of the star-crossed lovers and their sword-crossed clans.  For the first half of the program, Alsop drew from the oeuvre of Tchaikovsky and her mentor Leonard Bernstein.  But the zenith of artistic expression and enjoyment was doubtlessly the second half, with a captivating rendition of selections from Prokofiev’s celebrated ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Alsop made her debut with the Seattle Symphony back in 2005, a performance I recall fondly for a vibrant rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony.  Back then, after earning notoriety in the conducting world at Tanglewood and leading orchestras in Eugene and Denver, Alsop was just entering the public eye. Alsop was establishing herself as a leading interpreter of the music of Barber, Bernstein, and other American composers.  And the performance came just a few months before she became the first conductor to receive a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation.  Several years later she would take the podium as music director of the Baltimore Symphony, joining JoAnn Falletta as one of a few women to lead a major American orchestra.  And her reputation since then has rightly soared.  But back then, it was her expert knowledge and swaying presence that seemed to delight the audience and orchestra alike, and what I looked forward to with her return.

Review originally published at Seen and Heard International

Verdi’s La traviata is one of the handful of operas that is instantly recognizable by the wider public. Since its premiere in 1853, it has never left the repertoire. Its legendary arias, such as “Sempre libra,” and its tragically realistic portrayal of a doomed love story captivate audiences to this day. From Maria Callas onward, every great soprano has tried to master the complex character of Violetta. Yet La traviata’s rich history and traditions pose a challenge to opera companies: how can you make this classic opera fresh and engaging for an audience that knows it by heart, even if they have never seen it live?

Fortunately for Pacific Northwest opera-goers, the Seattle Opera has risen to the challenge.  Its current production of La traviata creates a grand experience by focusing on the work’s most intimate moments.  The three main characters — Violetta, Alfredo and Germont — live in a world of decadence, privilege, and hierarchy, where lavish parties and balls contrast with country estates.  The production’s sets reach from floor to ceiling, giving an imposing sense of scale.  Though the sets at first glance might give the impression that this is a more traditional production, sharp lines and clean margins give it a modern touch and introduces an uneasy sense of isolation.  Seattle Opera’s blithe chorus and crisp playing from the orchestra underscore the social atmosphere and the drama of the story.  The lively atmosphere they create, makes it seem possible that anyone, especially Violetta and Alfredo, could ignore their troubles in the name of love.