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Drums to waken Wagner, and Stokowski too
Philadelphia Orchestra's percussion virtuoso
Steve Cohen
Last weekend's concerts weren't billed as part of the Philadelphia Orchestra's year-long "Stokowski Celebration," but they should have been. The evening came closer to the spirit of the Stokowski era than any literal replica of the legendary conductor's programs.
Percussionist Colin Currie starred in a noisy and outrageous performance of Christopher Rouse's Der gerettete Alberich ("Alberich Saved") that a musician friend of mine called "scandalous, disgraceful." That's exactly what the old Main Line dowagers used to say about new pieces Stokowski introduced at Friday afternoon concerts at the Academy of Music in the 1920s.
That era was famous for the Philadelphia Orchestra's rich sound quality and for many notable premieres, but it also was notorious for harsh-sounding modernistic pieces that conservative listeners felt were being shoved down their throats. "They hissed," Stokowski once told me, "and I used to say to them, "'Thank you for hissing. I am happy that you are reacting to the music.'''
Like molding pizza dough
The Orchestra flanked the Rouse piece with the finale of Wagner's Das Rheingold and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Both pieces were staples during Stokowski's Philadelphia years (1912-1941).
Guest conductor Andrey Boreyko led the Tchaikovsky symphony with bare hands, seeming to mold the sound as if it was pizza dough, or as if he were massaging someone's scalp. Stokowski did that, too, to my great fascination. His old-time players explained to me that each of Stokowski's fingers indicated a different instrument, and the musicians needed to watch them for cues for volume and expression.
Actually, Boreyko's interpretation of the Tchaikovsky was more like Stokowski's successor, Eugene Ormandy: throbbing and romantic. He eschewed the famous/infamous cut in the final movement that Stokowski used to make.
The concert's opening selection, Wagner's "Entrance of the Gods Into Valhalla," seemed perfunctory. Perhaps it needs the two hours of the introductory story that Wagner wrote in order to make its impact. Still, it was a sensible choice for introduction to Rouse's parody on Wagner's Ring saga.
Wagner's sole survivor
Der gerettete Alberich is based on the fact that the evil dwarf Alberich is the only character who isn't drowned at the end of the four "Ring" operas. Rouse imagines what Alberich might feel or do at that point. The composer has written that Alberich is his "hero," but those quotation marks suggest he was being facetious.
To be sure, you can feel sympathy for Alberich because he was driven to villainy by others: The Rhine Maidens mocked his looks, and Wotan tricked and robbed him until Alberich put that curse on the gold ring.
Rouse's 21-minute work was partly an insiders' joke (it repeats some Wagnerian leitmotifs) and mainly a display of spectacular drumming virtuosity: This composition sounds closer to rock than to Bayreuth. Three sets of percussion instruments were splayed across the front of the stage, and Currie scurried among them, playing wood blocks, log drums, bongos, timbales, chimes, marimba, snare drums, steel drum and bass drum.
Thursday night's audience responded with enthusiastic applause, leavened by very few grumblings. We're not in the '20s any more.
Percussionist Colin Currie starred in a noisy and outrageous performance of Christopher Rouse's Der gerettete Alberich ("Alberich Saved") that a musician friend of mine called "scandalous, disgraceful." That's exactly what the old Main Line dowagers used to say about new pieces Stokowski introduced at Friday afternoon concerts at the Academy of Music in the 1920s.
That era was famous for the Philadelphia Orchestra's rich sound quality and for many notable premieres, but it also was notorious for harsh-sounding modernistic pieces that conservative listeners felt were being shoved down their throats. "They hissed," Stokowski once told me, "and I used to say to them, "'Thank you for hissing. I am happy that you are reacting to the music.'''
Like molding pizza dough
The Orchestra flanked the Rouse piece with the finale of Wagner's Das Rheingold and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Both pieces were staples during Stokowski's Philadelphia years (1912-1941).
Guest conductor Andrey Boreyko led the Tchaikovsky symphony with bare hands, seeming to mold the sound as if it was pizza dough, or as if he were massaging someone's scalp. Stokowski did that, too, to my great fascination. His old-time players explained to me that each of Stokowski's fingers indicated a different instrument, and the musicians needed to watch them for cues for volume and expression.
Actually, Boreyko's interpretation of the Tchaikovsky was more like Stokowski's successor, Eugene Ormandy: throbbing and romantic. He eschewed the famous/infamous cut in the final movement that Stokowski used to make.
The concert's opening selection, Wagner's "Entrance of the Gods Into Valhalla," seemed perfunctory. Perhaps it needs the two hours of the introductory story that Wagner wrote in order to make its impact. Still, it was a sensible choice for introduction to Rouse's parody on Wagner's Ring saga.
Wagner's sole survivor
Der gerettete Alberich is based on the fact that the evil dwarf Alberich is the only character who isn't drowned at the end of the four "Ring" operas. Rouse imagines what Alberich might feel or do at that point. The composer has written that Alberich is his "hero," but those quotation marks suggest he was being facetious.
To be sure, you can feel sympathy for Alberich because he was driven to villainy by others: The Rhine Maidens mocked his looks, and Wotan tricked and robbed him until Alberich put that curse on the gold ring.
Rouse's 21-minute work was partly an insiders' joke (it repeats some Wagnerian leitmotifs) and mainly a display of spectacular drumming virtuosity: This composition sounds closer to rock than to Bayreuth. Three sets of percussion instruments were splayed across the front of the stage, and Currie scurried among them, playing wood blocks, log drums, bongos, timbales, chimes, marimba, snare drums, steel drum and bass drum.
Thursday night's audience responded with enthusiastic applause, leavened by very few grumblings. We're not in the '20s any more.
What, When, Where
Philadelphia Orchestra: Wagner, "Entrance of the Gods Into Valhalla" from Das Rheingold; Rouse, Der gerettete Alberich ("Alberich Saved"); Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5. Colin Currie, percussionist; Andrey Boreyko, conductor. March 21-23, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or philorch.org.
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