HAVE THE COURAGE TO REMAIN IN 8! (3/10/2011)

                                                                                The lobby in front of Avery Fisher Hall

Open rehearsals offered by the New York Philharmonic allow the public to witness the orchestra putting the "finishing touches" for an immediately upcoming performance.  The rehearsal I attended was for the first concert in the Philharmonic's Hungarian Echoes Festival, a series of three festivals focusing on the music of Haydn, Bartok and Ligeti.  Whether this festival came about partially as a result of the Liszt year is not clear to me.  Of course, Liszt is getting his due, at least pianistically, this year with at least two all-Liszt recitals at major venues this week alone.

On this concert, the ingratiating Haydn Symphony No. 6 in D Major (Le Matin) and one of Bartok's most accessible works, the Concerto for Orchestra begin and end the program with Ligeti's challenging (from just about every perspective) Concerto for Piano and Orchestra coming in the middle.  A thorn between two roses as it were.

The rehearsal began with a read-through of the Bartok.  This work, composed when Bartok was living in the United States and was very ill, reflects Bartok's late, more accessible, style.  There is a touching story in the program notes about the commissioning of this work by Serge Koussevitsky.  When offered $1,000.00 to compose the work, Bartok was very hesitant as he was not sure he would be able to complete the work.  He was very ill (dieing) and was in desperate need of money but he would never sacrifice his honor or sense of responsibility, no matter how great the need.  Koussevitsky then wisely offered $500.00 up front and the remainder when the work was completed.  Of course, not only did Bartok complete the work but he revised it (after he was paid the remainder) to make it even more of what he intended it to be.  The musicians obviously relished every note and rehearsal repeats were mainly to shore up tempo changes and clarify aspects of texture.  While the sound was always clear and the ensemble perfect the limitations of Avery Fisher Hall could be heard. The sound just does not carry out into the hall the way it should (I was sitting the balcony near the front).

The Haydn was rehearsed next.  His music never ceases to amaze.  While he was laying the foundation for the symphony as a genre was playing with it at the same time. New to the staff at the Esterhazy court, he wanted to show the court orchestra how much he valued them so he included prominent solo parts for nearly every instrument, including the bassoon and double bass (not just the usual violin and flute). He holds the bar high for performers and offers challenges or some used to more of  supporting than starring role. Once again, the Philharmonic performers relished every note. Because of the lighter, more transparent sound required in this work, the limitations of the hall were far less problematic

The rehearsal of the Ligeti piano concerto began with the announcement that, due to illness, the expected soloist Pierre-Laurent Aimard would not be able to perform and that the pianist Marino Formenti. Obviously, finding someone to perform the Ligeti concerto would have been more of a task than finding a substitute to perform a Haydn concerto or a Bartok concerto. 

The orchestra for the Ligeti concerto is largely made up of percussion instruments (21) with individual instruments employed for color.  The piano is almost exclusively treated as a percussion instrument. The work can be considered an example of what I call "globalist" in that it makes use of techniques from several cultures, most notably central European, central African, Latin American and the United States.  Originally a three-movement work, Ligeti added two additional movements following the work's initial premiere.

Rhythm, tone color and stylistic references are definitely the most important elements in this work.  Polyrhythms pervade the work but are especially evident in the outer movements.  It was almost amusing to see the pianist stomping his foot like crazy to maintain the independent piano part. The pianist also has to sit in unconventional ways to achieve the percussive effects called forth in the score.  The term "molto ritmico" does not always carry its normal implication of a very strong, persistent pulse, but rather strong starts and stops along with changes of tempo and meter, as is especially revealed in the fourth movement.

Unusual tone colors such as the flexatone, chromatic harmonica (Chromonica), mouth siren, police whistle, ocarina, and guiro are called for for their stylistic references (such as Latin American music). Many moments evoked the tone world of Bartok, especially in his work  Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.

Style shifts (recalling in some ways the polystylism of Alfred Schnittke) come fast and furious at times.  The final movement,  "Presto luminoso," with its splotches and layers of sound reminded me of Jackson Pollock's paintings.

My guess is that Ligeti intended this work to be spirited, fun and light. Of course, with the complex rhythms, lightning quick changes in tempo, meter, tone color, style, texture, etc. it is a special challenge for  the performers to gain the level of comfort to convey much humor.   As this was the first opportunity the performers got to play with the pianist (I assume) it is no wonder the sound seemed stressed.  It would have been quite interesting to hear the actual performance and to note how the performance evolved with subsequent playings.

During the intermission I got to stroll  around the outside of the hall where programs, photos and artifacts from the Philharmonic's distinguished history are on display.  One of the displays included the final page of Mahler's 9th Symphony with markings by Leonard Bernstein, whose name is so much associated with Mahler (who was also a conductor of the Philharmonic). The final page of the score, in Mahler's characteristically detailed manner, calls for the music to slow down from an already slow tempo.  Bernstein penciled in the comment: "Have the courage to remain in 8!"  Coincidentally, as I read through the very informative program book I happened upon a column where the Philharmonic conductor Alan Gilbert talks about looking over Mr. Bernstein's marked score of the Mahler 9th in preparation for a performance of the work next season.  Mr. Gilbert made reference to this marking, noting that when he observed Mr. Bernstein conducting the work, he did not stay in 8!  For Mr. Gilbert, the implications of the marking were not so much literal as a challenge to stick with one's convictions.  The fact that Mr. Bernstein put that statement on the score indicates that he doubted he would have the courage to stay in 8!

It was a real privilege to be able to sit in on a rehearsal to witness a fine orchestra fine tuning itself for a performance and trying to note what changes occurred when the orchestra repeated a passage.  Hearing the Ligeti concerto offered me another chance to become familiar with this very interesting composer's work.  He didn't just compose piano etudes and music for Stanley Kubrik to use in his films!