Tag: piazzolla

John Adams in Cleveland: tangos, frenzy, and a visit to Greenland

On By Sam JacobsonIn clevelandLeave a comment

The Cleveland Orchestra
John Adams, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano
Mandel Concert Hall
Severance Music Center
Cleveland, OH
February 19, 2026

Ives: From Greenland’s Icy Mountains (from Symphony No. 4)
Andres: Made of Tunes
Adams: Frenzy
Piazzolla-Adams: Three Tangos

Following the previous week’s American program with Barbara Hannigan, The Cleveland Orchestra presented a second offering of American works with the doyen of living American composers himself at the podium, John Adams. Adams has a long, fruitful history with TCO and this years marks the 35th anniversary of his local debut.

Timo Andres, John Adams, and Aaron Diehl with The Cleveland Orchestra

The evening opened with one of the most inventive of American voices in Charles Ives, selecting the third movement fugue from his Fourth Symphony. Titled From Greenland’s Icy Mountains, it’s somewhat amusing/alarming to think this program was devised well before Greenland has become central to our attention in today’s fractious political climate. The fugue’s subject was initially stated in the low strings, and the music was direct and unadorned, contrasting from the bracing, cacophonous soundscapes one might more typically associate with Ives. TCO offered sharp clarity of the contrapuntal lines, and the brassy spine of the piece was softened by touches of organ. This performance certainly made me keen to hear the complete symphony.

A new piano concerto from Timo Andres followed. Premiered in March 2024 at the LA Phil, Made of Tunes takes its title from a song by Ives and was dedicated to pianist Aaron Diehl — who served as soloist in the present performances as well. A resonant brass chorale opened, giving way to clangorous percussion in the large, colorful ensemble for which it was scored. The piano settled into a captivating rhythmic groove, colored by spiky, rather Ivesian tone clusters. Diehl delivered a commanding, energetic pianism, enhanced by an orchestral brilliance that swelled to grand climaxes.

Given the title Come, Labor On, the first movement took the titular hymn by Thomas Tertius Noble as a starting point. The second and final movement, on the other hand, was styled as American Noctural and cast in six variations on an original theme. Beginning for piano alone, a gentle presentation of the theme was made all the more beguiling by its piquant dissonances. This movement gave the pianist an opportunity to show his fluidity in textures of delicate filigree, as well as sections that asked him to improvise, a nod to his jazz training. After a segment of meditative calm, there was another crashing climax before the concerto reached a peaceful close. Certainly an exciting listen, the composer was on hand to be recognized with an enthusiastic reception. Diehl returned to the keyboard for an encore of a work by stride composer James P. Johnson, nearly setting the keys on fire with his rapid left hand leaps!

The latter half of the program was devoted to recent works by Adams himself. Frenzy: A Short Symphony was premiered by the London Symphony in 2024 and counts as Adams’ newest major orchestral work. Conceived as a single twenty-minute movement, its main thematic material comes from the second act of the composer’s opera Antony and Cleopatra. Like the Ives symphonies before him, for his symphony Adams took inspiration from both the European classics and the American vernacular.

The music was immediately recognizable as Adams with his familiar stamp in pulse, timbre, and forward propulsion. Shimmering strings and boisterous brass made for an alluring soundscape. A slower section function like a slow movement, colored by the tinsel of percussion and harp. The “frenzy” title was most appropriate for the final section, with an infectious beat that pointed towards a brilliant, frenetic coda.

The evening closed auspiciously with a premiere of a brand new work from the composer-conductor, based on three tangos by the Argentine Astor Piazzolla. Adams referred to these not as transcriptions or arrangements, but realizations, judiciously infusing them with his own style and orchestration to help give these remarkable pieces a firmer place in the concert hall. The scoring of La Mufa favored the lower range of the orchestra, countered by an elegant melody in the violins. Oblivion was gently touching, highlighted by a long-breathed oboe solo from Frank Rosenwein. The justly famous Libertango made a lasting impression with its captivating tango rhythms.

ProMusica brings lush Vaughan Williams and vibrant Piazzolla to St Mary

On By Sam JacobsonIn columbusLeave a comment

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra
David Danzmayr, conductor
Katherine McLin, violin
St. Mary Catholic Church
Columbus, OH
March 20, 2022

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (arr. Desyatnikov)

Encore:
Piazzolla: Adios Nonino

Nestled in the heart of German Village, Saint Mary Catholic Church – a structure that dates back to 1868 – recently underwent an extensive restoration, and proved to be a gorgeous setting for last weekend’s ProMusica performance. The program opened with Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, and the plaintive theme reflected the solemnity of the setting in this glance backwards in English musical history. Though the heavy reverb in a church can create acoustical challenges, here the resonance seemed to further enhance the richness of the strings – and indeed, the work’s 1910 premiere occurred at Gloucester Cathedral. The work is scored for double string orchestra with string quartet, and one was struck by the clarity of the interplay between the various subsets of the ensemble.

ProMusica at St Mary, photo credit ProMusica

The remainder of the evening was devoted to Piazzolla, continuing the celebration of his centenary begun at last month’s chamber music concert. The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, rendered in Spanish as Estaciones porteñas – porteño being the demonym for one from a port city, though it chiefly refers specifically to the Argentine capital – paints a colorful, vibrant portrait of the composer’s homeland. The work was presented in its arrangement by Leonid Desyatnikov, recast so as to highlight connections with its Vivaldian predecessor, including some direct quotations from Vivaldi, and scoring for string orchestra with violin soloist, a role undertaken with aplomb and verve by concertmaster Katherine McLin.

A sultry energy began the opening Otoño porteño, and a series of glissandos showed the composer to be a master of effect. A languid lyricism offered some pointed contrast. Invierno porteño was noted for its substantial passage for cello (Marc Moskovitz), thorny at first but melting into the songful. Given the concert’s coincidence with the vernal equinox, Primavera porteña was certainly the most topical – and perhaps the most ardently lyrical of the set, though not without some sprightly violin acrobatics. Verano porteño made for a vigorous finale with some particularly striking timbres achieved through sul ponticello playing from the soloist. Danzmayr and the orchestra offered a further Piazzolla work as an encore, Adios Nonino. Touchingly lyrical and with rich chromatic harmonies, it burgeoned into a big-boned, almost Hollywood-esque sumptuousness. The performance was billed as “a delightful evening” – a promise amply delivered upon.

ProMusica musicians delight in folk-inspired chamber works

On By Sam JacobsonIn columbus1 Comment

Victoria Moreira, violin
Joel Becktell, cello
Renee Keller, marimba & percussion
The Fives
Columbus, OH
February 18, 2022

Piazzolla: Fugata
Piazzolla: Mumuki
Barilari: The Mysteries
Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7
Diz: Poema Bachiano
Granados: Danzas españolas, Op. 37 – No. 2 “Orientale”
Bartók/arr. Kraeuter – Selected Hungarian Folk Melodies
Piazzolla: Milonga del Angel
Piazzolla: Lo que vendrá

Friday evening saw the first of a series of three chamber music performances featuring various combinations of players from ProMuscia. The venue of choice was The Fives, ProMusica’s home last season wherein they found a way to perform even in the midst of the pandemic. Friday brought forth Victoria Moreira, Joel Becktell, and Renee Keller in music for violin, cello, and marimba – an intriguing if unusual combination. There’s a paucity of repertoire for these forces as one might expect; most of the selections were thus presented in arrangements or adaptations to fit the ensemble at hand. The program was refreshingly offbeat, with the common thread being each composers’ engagement with the folk music traditions of their respective homelands. Additionally, there was acknowledgement of Astor Piazzolla’s centenary (last year) with two pairs of the Argentine’s works framing the recital.

L-R: Victoria Moreira, Renee Keller, and Joel Becktell, photo credit ProMusica

Piazzolla’s Fugata opened the program, its contrapuntal intricacies tinged with a distinctive Latin flavor. From the onset, we were introduced to the appealing sound of this novel instrumentation and the fluid chemistry of the three musicians on stage. Mumuki was touchingly lyrical, and the scoring put the often stratospherically high cello in the spotlight. A world premiere followed, namely a three movement suite titled The Mysteries by Uruguayan composer Elbio Barilari, currently on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Barilari was on hand to introduce the work and noted his inspiration from ancient Greece, which he aptly called the “cradle of civilization.” The opening “Delphic Dance” featured an incessant, pulsating dance rhythm, and some passing references to Greek scales. “Adonic Dance” was marked by a busy part for the violin, while the closing “Eleusinian Dance” was grounded by the beating drum and pizzicato cello. I wasn’t convinced the work probed as deep as the title suggested, but the music was as good-natured as the composer himself.

The first half closed with the most substantial work on the program, Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello. Cast in three movements, the first was commanding and big-boned, making much of the resources of the duo. One was taken by the resonant cello in the middle movement, often blending with high register of the violin for striking combinations, and the rapid-fire finale showcased the consummate virtuosity of these two string players. The most interesting discovery of the evening to my ears opened the latter half: Poema Bachiano, a 2008 work by Argentine composer Ezequiel Diz. A duet for marimba and violin, the work alludes to Bach’s D minor keyboard concerto in gesture and inflection. The complexities of the work were delivered with aplomb in this compelling reimagining of its Bachian influences, and perhaps something of a response to Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras. A second work of the same title was composed in 2020, a piece I suspect would be worth exploring on a future chamber music program.

A series of short pieces by Granados and Bartók followed, presented in arrangements for cello and percussion – thereby exhausting all combinatorial possibilities of the instruments available. A pulsating accompaniment in the marimba made a touching backdrop for the wistful cello melody of Granados’ “Orientale.” The three Bartók arrangements employed the vibraphone as the percussion of choice – its metallic brilliance was quite striking, further encouraging a piquant, folksy charm. Two Piazzolla selections reunited all members of the trio and brought us back full circle. Milonga del Angel was dreamy and evocative, while Lo que vendrá (“What is to come,” suggesting a sense of possibility after the composer’s formative studies with Boulanger) made for a rousing finish.