Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
2013-12-05
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA
8:00 PM, Thursday, December 5, 2013

[8:02 PM go; ensemble onstage and tuning; 8:04 PM lights down, announcements by René Mandel, then Joana Carneiro]

1. [8:11 PM] Brett Dean (b.1961): Carlo (1997)
   [work ends 8:31 PM]

[8:34 PM tuning, go!]

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIb/1 (ca. 1761), featuring Peter Wyrick

1. [8:36 PM] Moderato
2. [8:46 PM] Adagio
3. [8:55 PM] Allegro molto
   [set ends 9:02 PM]

[9:21 PM lights down, tuning]

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877)

1. [9:24 PM] Allegro non troppo (D major)
2. [9:45 PM] Adagio non troppo (B major)
3. [9:56 PM] Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) (G major)
4. [10:02 PM] Allegro con spirito (D major)
   [show ends 10:12 PM]

• Joana Carneiro: conductor;
• Peter Wyrick: cello;
• Members of the BSO TBD.

Dean's piece was good and weird. As it began, with sampled chorus, I wondered how hard it would be to substitute live performers… more expensive, but probably more interesting, especially if the chorus was split or moved about to introduce spatial effects. I enjoyed the weird contribution from the strings – lots of skittering and scratching – but I never really got the sense that it was a work for an agregation of soloists – perhaps the individual lines were not strong enough to grab my ear? In any case, it was fun, and I wouldn't mind hearing it again sometime.

The following Haydn concerto was certainly quite a different beast, and while it was both elegant and well-performed, I don't really have that much to say about it. Having only been rescued from long storage in an east European library, I agree that this work deserves attention as a “new” classic!

Following intermission, JC aand co served up Brahms' Symphony #2. I've been trying to keep an open mind (and ears) regarding his works, what I heard tonight did not do much to sway my opinion. I think the BSO performed pretty admirably, but as with past gigs, I thout the performance suffered a bit during the busier sections – a lack of crispness in timing and delivery giving the work a bit of loud, mushy tone rather than rousing brilliance. Oh well, I'm sure that it's hard work getting things exactly perfect, and with a constraint on paying for practice time, well, I guess I should just feel happy with what I get!

BSO promo video on Youtube

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