Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with special guest soloist, Steven Isserlis
2014-10-08
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Wednesday, October 8, 2014
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[8:00 PM tuning; lights down]
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 57 in D major; Hob.I:57 (1774)
[8:34 PM tuning]
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788): Concerto in A Major for Violoncello, Wq. 172, H. 439 (ca. 1753)
[9:22 PM lights down, announcements]
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805): Concerto No. 7 in G Major for Violoncello, G. 480
[9:49 PM; tuning]
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 67 in F major (ca. 1776)
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Tonight's show reinforced for me what a top-notch ensemble the PBO is. Not that there was any doubt in my mind – I'm only expressing my satisfaction with tonight's exquisitelyp performed program.
As often happens, the opening symphony from Haydn offered many surprising stops, twists and turns, for such is the nature of Haydn's compositional skill. Just when you think you've latched on to his plan, he modulates to a different key, or breaks the rhythm, or tosses off some other unexpexted change. Wonderful! I'm tempted to say this first work was my favorite from tonight's concert, but really, each piece was rewarding in it's own way.
Second on tonight's program was the C.P.E. Bach cello concerto, featuring Stephen Isserlis. Like the opening work, thbis piece was full of pleasing surprises, and hearing it tonight compells me to survey CPE's compositional catalog further – that the apple fell from the same tree as his immortal father suggests that I will find many more tasty musical morsels!
For the second half of the program I moved downstairs to sit next to my mom and her friend Monique in row G towards stage right – a far better spot to watch Isserlis, and much more engaging than my original seat in the balcony. I noticed that while Isserlis had music open on a stand before him, he hardly glanced at it, playing mostly with his eyes closed, or casting his head back and eyes heavenward as if to pull the score into memory and through his fingers as they flew across the fretboard of the violincello. Sublime! If I had to pick nits, I'd say that the Boccherini concerto was a bit light-weight compared to the Bach, and probably ought to have remained in the first set rather than being swapped into the second, but no one asked for my opinion before making that switch.
The final symphonic work was also quite good, though without Isserlis, my ears naturally shifted back to listening to the sonority of the PBO and trying to follow the various melodic lines that danced through Haydn's composition. Hearing two of his compositions on the same evening gave me a good appreciation for his genius – both seemed fresh and interesting, and made me interested in hearing more!
Stephen Ledbetter's program notes.
Stephen Smoliar posted an informative review for the Examiner.
The Opera Tattler added their $0.02.
Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event! ☸