Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra--Theofanidis, Beethoven (Bronfman), and Mahler's First
Anjali and I went to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this Friday after a delicious dinner of Thai food--Andrew was our server. I heard my second Theofanidis performance of the season, this time of Rainbow Body, a spiritual piece that reminded me of music from the Cosmos TV series of the 1980's. Chris Theofanidis is the PSO's Composer of the Year in residence, and images from the Hubble Spacecraft were provided by Mario Livio. Anjali and I enjoyed the gently changing variety of themes in the piece.
Next was Yefim Bronfman at the piano for Beethoven's Concerto No.1 in C Major, Op. 15. He was, as usual, dynamic at the piano and played one of my favorite pieces, Chopin's Revolutionary Etude, as an encore. This is the second time that I have heard Bronfman perform with the PSO. The first was at last year's Mozart's 250th birthday concert at the PSO.
After intermission was the Mahler piece--I've found previous symphonies by Mahler to be rather dark and foreboding, but this particular performance of his Symphony No.1 in D Major was rather emotive, moving, with distinct themes that differ enough from each other to provide interest. Okay, okay, I admit it--I actually ENJOYED this particular performance of Mahler's First! Peter Oundjian conducted, and Anjali and I both enjoyed his animated direction of the orchestra.
After the long evening, we stood at the bus stop and discussed leg wear in the sub-zero temperatures while waiting for the bus. Meanwhile, we decided against attending the Lunar New Year Party in Squirrel Hill after the concert.
Labels: Bronfman, Mahler, PSO, Theofanidis
Mozart's (*not* Shostakovich's) 250th Birthday
Yesterday was Mozart's 250th birthday celebration. There was a concert at Chatham College, as well as a big celebration at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
After work, I took a short nap, paid my Kaufmann's bill, and met Marissa, William, and Marissa's parents, Les and Cherie for dinner at the Oyster House in Market Square. We enjoyed many of the house specialties "family style:" fish and chips, oysters, crabby cakes, and their chowder. Marissa noted that when she left from work that there were hundreds of people in black and gold pouring into Heinz field, and we turned our eyes to the TV screens positioned at either side of the restaurant, as the Steelers pep rally began. It was enough to briefly interrupt Les's story about disseminating correspondence across a school district.
I met up with Anjali for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's celebration of Mozart's birthday. We were entertained in the lobby by young Michael Tseng, who played various piano works (including some lesser-known pieces) with technical skill and emotional aplomb. We found our seats, Pinchas Zukerman conducted, and we were treated to Exsultate, jubilate, a motet by a teen-aged Mozart for soprano and orchestra, K. 165 (K.158a), sung by Arianna Zukerman. The motet took easy flight with Ms. Zukerman's deft handling of the vocal and emotional range, from the beginning exsultate, jubilate to the glorious alleluja at the end. Mozart's concerto #22 in E-flat major for piano and orchestra, K. 482, with Yefim Bronfman at the piano, was a delight for the ears and the soul.
At intermission, we had a chance to meet some of the artists. I obtained a Shostakovich CD with Mr. Bronfman at piano (see photo below).
The evening concluded with a performance of Mozart's symphony #41 in C Major K. 551--his "Jupiter" Symphony. What a remarkable way to end an evening with Mozart!
Labels: Bronfman, Mozart, PSO
