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August 2007Verbier Festival Online: Joshua Bell, Hilary HahnAugust 17, 2007 12:21Just a heads up: performances from this year's Verbier Festival are available online at www.medici-arts.tv until the end of the month. Highlights on the violin side of things include Joshua Bell in the Tchaikovsky concerto and Hilary Hahn with Josh Ritter (yes, you read that correctly) in a programme featuring the Sonata No. 2 by Bach, the Ysaÿe Ballade, and Paganini's 24 caprice.
Smiling Through TearsAugust 8, 2007 11:48
I have two rare recordings of Korean violinist Jinjoo Cho performing the Violin Concerto No. 1 of Shostakovich at the finals of the 2006 Concours Musical International de Montréal. Last week, I posted one of them; this is the other. Muhai Tang conducts the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in both recordings. On the surface, the two recordings are very similar. One meets all the criteria to be considered a convincing performance: from the chilling Nocturne to the devilish Burlesque finale, the soloist continually brings out moments of raw emotion. Introspection, bitterness, and darkness pervade the interpretation. The other is just as inspired, if not more inspiring. There is one glaringly obvious difference, however. One recording is eighty-nine seconds longer than the other. The missing segment concerns a memory slip and false start at the beginning of the Scherzo second movement. Cho starts at a brisk but controlled tempo; less than a minute into the movement, however, one of a series of glissandi goes wrong, and the soloist drops out. She attempts to reenter several bars later but proves unsuccessful, and Tang brings the orchestra to a complete stop. Excruciating silence follows. The movement is restarted. Hours after Cho's performance, jury president André Bourbeau takes the stage to announce the jury's decision. After a lengthy speech—I consider any speech preceeding the results of a competition lengthy—he mixes up Cho's last name with that of second prizewinner and compatriot Ye-Eun Choi in announcing the latter's prize: "… awarded to Ye-Eun Cho. Choi! Choi! Ye-Eun Choi!" Cho's name follows in earnest moments later. Did he give it away early? Perhaps. But with all due respect to the three non-prizewinning finalists, I'm not sure anybody would have been particularly surprised that of the four competitors yet to be called, Cho was crowned the winner. On the other hand, plenty were surprised that the jury would award her the grand prize despite an incident which had surely already knocked her out of contention. Enough people whose opinions I value quite highly have said that Tang's conducting was less than stellar throughout the competition finals. "He makes the Montreal Symphony sound like the Calgary Symphony," complained a friend. (The Calgary Symphony, as far as I know, has not existed for over fifty years now, having merged into the Calgary Philharmonic in 1955.) But regardless of the conducting—which all nine finalists had to deal with—the question arising from Cho's placement remains: should a major memory slip bar without question one from receiving a music competition's grand prize? If not, then the line must be drawn somewhere; what about two slips? What about three—or more? But then again, might this question not miss the point altogether? Performances are to be heard, not simply evaluated; they are to be listened to as a whole, not merely judged by the number of errors committed. Those slips that occur, therefore, are only detrimental to the performance insofar as they direct the listener's attention away from the enjoyment of the music. And that applies especially in the competitive sphere, which at times has been guilty of neglecting the concert in favour of the placements. Emily Liz writes in last week's comments: Her recovery was just magnificent; the ending is just electric, and is probably one of the most overtly exciting and emotional versions I've heard … Even though the performance unraveled during the second movement and momentarily took my mind away from the music, she more than made up for it afterward. I'll admit: when I heard about Cho's performance, the first thing I wanted to do was fast-forward the tape right to where the slip occurred. It was much like rushing as a spectator to the scene of a train wreck, or as was observed just this past week, a bridge collapse. But hearing the performance as a whole now, I note another difference between the two recordings. And this one is more significant than any difference in track length. You see, one recording sounds like one of the most inspiring Shostakovich performances I've heard done live. The other actually is. Trivia Name the composer: wrote one piano concerto, one cello concerto, and one violin concerto. All have no break between their respective second and third movements. (For bonus points: why?) Moving with the music "This is the Happy Hour Programme. Make your work a pleasure. Move with the rhythm of music. Our next selection: Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5." syndicated from Don't Shoot the Pianist. The pianist is participating in an international competition next month and will resume writing in late September.
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