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Film and the Arts
The Mariinsky Orchestra Performs six of Gustav Mahler's symphonies
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 29 October 2010 16:08
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Under the baton of the indefatigable Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Orchestra presented an amazingly ambitious series of six of Gustav Mahler's symphonies in five concerts spread over eight days beginning on October 17th, 2010, at Carnegie Hall. Gergiev will return in February to conduct the balance of the Mahler symphonies -- 
the Third, the Seventh, and the Ninth -- with the London Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall.
I was unable to attend the first program, Mahler's majestic Sixth Symphony, although I was fortunate to hear this work a couple of weeks before, played by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Alan Gilbert. Despite considerable unevenness in the playing, I appreciated all these concerts very much.
On Wednesday, the 20th, the Orchestra performed the monumental Second Symphony, the "Resurrection", heard at Carnegie Hall last spring in a powerful account by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas. Wednesday's performance had an astonishing opening but some subsequent roughness compromised the total impression of the first movement.
Similar difficulties diminished the second movement as well, but there were many beautiful passages. The effect of third movement was more forceful while in the fourth, I would have liked more assurance from the mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina. However, Gergiev did achieve a stupendous finale aided by the forces of two choirs, the Choral Arts Society of Washington and Orfeón Pamplonés, along with Borodina, more impressive here, and the soprano Anastasia Kalagina, also excellent. However, the deployment of offstage horns was less effective in this hall than at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine last spring, where I heard the same work played by the orchestra of the Manhattan School of Music -- improbably enough, on the day before the San Francisco Symphony performance.
On Thursday, the same two choirs returned with the Orchestra assisted by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy and eight vocal soloists to undertake the gargantuan Eighth Symphony, the "Symphony of a Thousand". Part One was played with admirable restraint and fluency while Part Two balanced robustness with grace.
Friday's concert consisted of the relatively smaller-scale Fifth Symphony and was possibly the most satisfyingly played in the series. The first movement was wrenching but controlled while the second achieved great force. After a vibrant Scherzo, the Adagietto proved haunting. The finale was perhaps too violent but not without character.
The final concert in the series was devoted to the shorter Fourth and First Symphonies.
The playing of the Fourth was inconsistent throughout with delicate accentuation periodically undercut by awkwardness; Kalagina sang with poignancy but fell short of the gorgeous renditions of the same music sung by Miah Persson and Susan Graham, both heard at Lincoln Center recently.
The First Symphony was an improvement. The first movement was less cohesive than the tuneful second, while the celebrated third movement had an admirable clarity. The boisterous finale was memorable.
I look forward to Gergiev's arrival in February.
CD Reviews: Going Back with Lennon, Collins & Cohn
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 28 October 2010 22:37
- Written by Lloyd Carroll
Rock ‘N’ Roll
John Lennon
(Capitol)
2010 marks both what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday and, tragically, the 30th anniversary of his senseless murder outside his apartment building on Manhattan’s West Side. To mark these milestones, the Weinstein Company has just released in theaters the critically acclaimed Nowhere Boy, about Lennon’s Liverpool childhood with Aaron Johnson playing the lead. BBC Films is about to release Lennon Naked on DVD, a chronicle of his peak years with the Beatles; British actor Christopher Ecclestone plays John. And Capitol Records has remastered Lennon’s entire solo career album catalog.
One album that's been reissued is Rock ‘N’ Roll which was originally released in 1975. At the time, critics hoped for fresh songs, so they panned the LP because it was comprised entirely of covers of Lennon’s personal favorite 45 rpm singles.
Rock ‘N’ Roll was far from a masterpiece. Lennon clearly phoned it his draggy renditions of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” and Larry Williams’ “Bony Moronie.” On the other hand, he clearly gave his all on Gene Vincent’s “Be Bop-A-Lulla,” Lloyd Price’s “Just Because,” and Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.” When Lennon recorded it in 1974, “Stand By Me” was just another golden oldie and had not yet become the pop chestnut it's now considered. And Lennon’s update on Ben E. King’s fine work 14 years earlier helped cement the song in the public’s mind.
Going Back
Phil Collins
(Atlantic)
Like a lot of us, Phil Collins always had an affinity for Motown songs. His take on the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” was a Top 10 hit in November 1982 and he has enjoyed throwing in a Motown song or two at most of his concerts.
Freed from the pressure of making a hit album of new songs, Collins returned to the studio for the first time in years and turned out his latest album, appropriately titled, Going Back. As expected, Collins relies quite a bit on the Berry Gordy catalog as he puts his stamp on Martha & the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave,” “Jimmy Mack,” and “In My Lonely Room;” the Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rolling Stone;” Stevie Wonder’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer” and “Uptight,” which sounds as if Phil stole the Motown Funk Brothers orchestration; the Miracles’ “Going To A Go-Go;” the Four Tops’ “Standing In The Shadow Of Love”; and Kim Weston’s “Take Me In Your Arms (And Rock Me”), a tune that the Doobie Brothers made their own. Ironically the only Supremes song here is “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone.” Just as Michael McDonald did a few years ago, Phil Collins shows why these Motown tunes are ageless.
Not every song on Going Back hails from Detroit. Collins also channels another Phil -- Spector that is -- on his faithful effort on the Ronnettes’ “Do I Love You,” and his salute to Dusty Springfield with “Some Of Your Lovin’” may be the best cut on the album. Collins' long player is a very pleasant ride on the Nostalgia Express.
Listening Booth: 1970
Marc Cohn
(Saguaro Road)
Marc Cohn is yet another victim of the “Best New Artist” Grammy Award jinx. As has happened all too many times with “Best New Artist” recipients, Cohn never had another Top 40 hit after winning the award in 1991 for his delightful song “Walking In Memphis.”
Despite his failure to come up with another big record, Cohn remained a popular concert performer over the years. But in August 2005, it was shocking to learn that he had been shot in the head as the victim of a carjacking after a concert in Denver. Happily, Cohn made a full recovery, and his new album, Listening Booth: 1970, is ample proof of that.
The first reaction when reading the song lineup is tat no way has been 40 years since these tunes debuted on AM radio. Hearing these old friends makes me think that I should be reporting to Russell Sage Junior High tomorrow!
Cohn sounds remarkably like Cat Stevens on “Wild World” while his relaxed take on “Maybe I’m Amazed” is a vast improvement on Paul McCartney’s early post-Beatles hit. Cohn’s throaty vocals mesh nicely with John Leventhal’s acoustic guitar playing on Bread’s “Make It With You,” Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” and Joe Cocker’s “The Letter.” Let’s hope that Cohn can transport his listening booth to another great year.
Elektra Records Founder Jac Holzman Honored
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 21 October 2010 12:45
- Written by Michael Sherer
On October 10th, 1950, 19-year-old Jac Holzman got the ground-breaking label Elektra Records started from his dorm room at St. John's University in Annapolis, Maryland. He and partner Paul Rickhalt invested $300 to get it rolling. On October 14th, 2010, the 92nd Y honored Holzman for having co-founded the influential company over 60 years ago.
In a face-to-face discussion between Holzman and longtime music writer Lenny Kaye (also Patti Smith Group guitarist/collaborator and record producer) as a moderator/interviewer, the thoughtful and articulate exec told his basic story through Kaye's engaging questions to the packed house. Mysteriously, Rickhalt's name never came up.
Holzman explained that until '73, he presided over the label and saw it through its expansion from an initial folk, ethnic music and blues-based thrust into far more eclectic directions. Some of Holzman's important early signings included blues singer Josh White, (who had been blacklisted as a communist sympathizer) singer/songwriters Judy Collins, Phil Ochs, Tim Buckley and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In ’64, Holzman launched subsidiary label Nonesuch, a budget-conscious company created to release unusual classical, world and ethnic musics that might be unavailable otherwise.
In 1966, Holzman's highly pivotal signing of the band Love brought the company into the rock scene and market place, which became part of its canon ever since. Rock, of course, was the biggest-selling and most pervasive genre during the '60s and that never waned.
During that decade, baby boomers gained immeasurable sway in virtually everything due to their huge numbers and buying power, and for a record company not to get into rock was tantamount to turning down millions of dollars and irrelevance.
By the late '60s, only specialized labels such as folk-oriented Vanguard Records stuck to their narrow focus. In its first 15 years, Elektra competed with Vanguard in the folk market. Had Elektra remained as limited as Vanguard -- which took a very purist posture -- it would have gone out of business or been relegated to a relatively obscure bailiwick of the music business. Quite simply, rock was where it was at for the young who spent the most money on music. But enough digression...
Holzman credited Love's leader Arthur Lee for recommending that he check out a new group that would ultimately bring Elektra into the rock arena in a big way. That band was The Doors.
But, as Holzman explained, the first three times he saw them, he wasn't that impressed. It wasn't until the fourth visit that he fully "got" them and wanted them sign to Elektra. That coup yielded more record sales and international fame than any other act Holzman signed before or since.
Holzman also outlined that he was very much hands-on in every facet of the label for its first 13 years. He noted that the most challenging and critical decision he constantly had to make was what producer to assign to an artist or act. He felt a great deal of responsibility concerning this because he held the conviction that his duty was to nurture the overall careers of everyone on his roster, and the producer had a great influence on how the music was presented and received by audiences. Ultimately, the artists had to be happy with the results as well.
This music industry legend also outlined that after a dozen or so years of being directly involved with everything from the recording to the songs' sequence to the album art and liner notes, he began to delegate an increasing amount of work to others.
By '73, Holzman was worn out; he decided to sell his company to Kinney National Services which would soon be renamed Warner-Elektra-Atlantic -- WEA for short. At the behest of its late chairman Steve Ross, Holzman stayed on as head of their technology group. The young David Geffen took over the merged Elektra/Aylsum label; Geffen had only recently founded the latter at that time. Some of Geffen's signings to Asylum would be huge successes, especially the Eagles and several singer/songwriters such as Jackson Browne, which represented a defining ethos of the '70s.
Browne was another guest to join in the conversation that started with Holzman and Kaye. Singer Natalie Merchant, who as part of 10,000 Maniacs, represented a mid '80s Asylum signing (made by then president Bob Krasnow), also took to the stage.
He and Merchant performed his tune "These Days" with Browne on acoustic guitar as Merchant sang his reflective and poignant lyrics. This was the highlight of the event. Merchant took this lovely song to another level with her exquisite vocal interpretations.
Elektra would continue to thrive until 2004, when it got closed down while being revamped. It re-emerged last year, and, hopefully, will have a long future ahead. While no one can know for sure what will happen with this revived version, Elektra's glorious past has indelibly shaped the modern era of popular music, so it was a happy diamond anniversary.
As a pioneer and true record man, Holzman received a collective thank you from all the attendees for the care, work and most of all, the music he's been responsible for.
For other 92nd St Y events go to: http://www.92y.org/
A Conversation with Jac Holzman
October 14th, 2010
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128
212-415-5500
New York Philharmonic's 1st Concert of the New Sub Season
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 30 September 2010 19:21
- Written by Jack Angstreich
New York Philharmonic
conducted by Alan Gilbert
Don Juan
coomposed by Richard Strauss
E-minor Violin Concerto
composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Métaboles
composed by Henri Dutilleux
Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes of Carl Maria von Weber
composed by Paul Hindemith
The New York Philharmonic's first subscription concert of the new season began thrillingly, under Alan Gilbert's direction, with a superb rendition of Richard Strauss's Wagnerian tone poem, Don Juan. This performance was notable for its bravura control of dynamics replete with riveting fortissimos.
Beloved violinist, Itzhak Perlman, took the stage to play Felix Mendelssohn's E-minor Violin Concerto which he did with warmth and abundant confidence -- it is impressive that such an often-played work could sound so fresh. Perlman received an enthusiastic, standing ovation.
After intermission, the orchestra returned to perform the challenging high-modernist Métaboles by Henri Dutilleux which it played with a crystalline transparency.
The concert closed triumphantly with Paul Hindemith's exciting Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes of Carl Maria von Weber, surely one of the composer's best scores. Here both the composer and the conductor successfully exploited the full resources of a modern symphony orchestra, again with powerful dynamics.
This program repeats on September 24th, 25th, and 28th.
New York Philharmonic
Avery Fisher Hall
Lincoln Center
September 23rd, 2010
