Berkeley Symphony Orchestra featuring Jennifer Koh
2014-10-02
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA
7:00 PM, Thursday, October 2, 2014

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• Oscar Bettison: Sea Shaped (World Premiere Commission)
• Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
• Elgar: Enigma Variations

[6:56 PM, seated and ready to rock!]
[7:10 PM lights down, announcements from RM]
[7:14 PM remarks from JC and OB]

Oscar Bettison (b. 1975): Sea Shaped (2014) (World Premiere Commission)

1. [7:17 PM] Opus
   [work ends 7:29 PM; applause to 7:31 PM, then pause to rearrange things onstage]

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (1904, revised 1905)

[7:32 PM, tuning, ready]

1. [7:33 PM] Allegro moderato
2. [7:51 PM] Adagio di molto
3. [8:00 PM] Allegro, ma non tanto
   [work ends 8:07 PM; all off at 8:09 PM to end the set]

[8:32 PM lights down]

Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Variations on an Original Theme for Orchestra, Op. 36 (1899) AKA Enigma Variations

1. [8:33 PM] Theme (Enigma: Andante)
2. [8:34 PM] Variation I (L'istesso tempo) “C.A.E.”
3. [8:36 PM] Variation II (Allegro) “H.D.S-P.”
4. [8:37 PM] Variation III (Allegretto) “R.B.T.”
5. [8:39 PM] Variation IV (Allegro di molto) “W.M.B.”
6. [8:39 PM] Variation V (Moderato) “R.P.A.”
7. [8:41 PM] Variation VI (Andantino) “Ysobel”
8. [8:42 PM] Variation VII (Presto) “Troyte”
9. [8:43 PM] Variation VIII (Allegretto) “W.N.”
10. [8:45 PM] Variation IX (Adagio) “Nimrod”
11. [8:49 PM] Variation X (Intermezzo: Allegretto) “Dorabella”
12. [8:51 PM] Variation XI (Allegro di molto) “G.R.S.”
13. [8:53 PM] Variation XII (Andante) “B.G.N.”
14. [8:55 PM] Variation XIII (Romanza: Moderato) “ * * * ”
15. [8:59 PM] Variation XIV (Finale: Allegro Presto) “E.D.U.”
    [set ends 9:04, applause to 9:07 PM]

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra

• Joana Carneiro: conductor, music director;
  others vary by program, see http://www.berkeleysymphony.org/about/musicians/.

• Jennifer Koh: violin.

So to start things off, Sea Shaped was reasonably interesting, though not especially memorable. Lots of slow wave swells in imitation of a calm but ever-shifting sea, occasionally punctuated by instrumental flourishes from the brass and woodwinds. Nice to have the composer out to offer some introductory remarks – hopefully he heard what he was writing!

The Sibelius Violin Concerto was quite a bit more compelling, but ultimately, it wore on a bit too long for my attention span. Happily, my new subscription seat – two seats to stage right of center in the fifth row – puts me perfectly in line with the normal location for guest soloists, so I enjoyed a grand view of Jennifer Koh's exuberant exposition of the piece. The Sibelius work certainly calls for virtuoso skills, and Koh topped that requirement by playing the piece from memory, rocking to and fro as she spun melodic lines out into the dry acoustic of Zellerbach Hall. It was interesting to note how much back and forth or call and response there was between the soloist and orchestral parts – as though the work was conceived as a dialog between the solo violin and the orchestra as an entity. Fun!

The Britten piece presented after break was good as contrast to the Sebelius – and a much more rewarding listen to my taste. The enigma part was opaque to me, but I like hearing variations – the puzzle of recognizing a theme as it changes costume for each section is an enjoyable one – and tonight's presentation kept me more challenged than usual, given the absence of a strong, simple theme statement at the start. Good stuff!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!