Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Mason Bates: Rusty Air in Carolina (2006)
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Air from Suite No. 3 (performed in memory of Lorin Maazel)
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
Bates: Rusty Air in Carolina
My main interest in this concert was the work of Mason Bates. Bates, the Pittsburgh Symphony Composer of the Year for their 2012-2013 season, has been brought back in that same role for the 2014-2015 season. What I admire about Mason Bates is his commitment to and passion for merging electronically generated sounds with the acoustic sounds of a symphony orchestra. In Bates’ composition, Rusty Air in Carolina, field recordings of insects (katydids and cicadas) are employed as ambient textures along with static orchestra textures. Often, I have found problems with including electronic music in orchestral works – in comparison, the electronic sounds appear two dimensional, lacking the depth and naturalness of the acoustic sounds of the orchestra. That was the case with Rusty Air in Carolina. Not only did the “insect” textures lack depth, they frequently were too loud and out of balance with the orchestra – they were a distraction.
Bates does have a wonderful melodic and rhythmic sense, however, and there is much to like about Rusty Air in Carolina. The central portion of the work contains some lovely, blues inspired moments which I found very attractive. Interestingly, the electronic sounds of nature (I’m unclear whether these were field recordings or electronically generated) that led into the final section of the work blended very well with the orchestra – they sounded very natural and merged nicely with the orchestral texture.
Reservations regarding the piece’s electronic sounds aside, Rusty Air in Carolina displayed a problem I hear in many new works, that of a flawed sense of drama. By “drama” I don’t mean to imply every musical work should make a dramatic statement. In an introductory video, Mason Bates describes the work as a tone poem, implying, I believe, the work has no “dramatic” intent – its reason for being is to conjure up a sense of being in a North Carolina Summer. But described within the program notes is an implied plot, timeline, or flow – North Carolina from dusk through night to dawn. There’s ambient music and there’s concert music and I don’t attend the symphony to hear ambient music, which is by its nature formless. I expect concert music to have form and direction – to take me on a journey of some kind – maybe a short, sweet or melancholy one; perhaps a longer one, seriously profound. What may seem to be an effective organizational structure in theory, may fall short in reality and require some adjustments to make the work as a successful concert piece. This was the case, for me, with Rusty Air in Carolina. The work clearly followed an intended form, but the ending of the work disappointed – in part because it utilized the same sounds I found problematic at its beginning, and in part because I felt the timing – the flow – of the work just seemed off and lacked the necessary adjustments.
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
The soloist for the Rachmaninoff, Valentina Lisitsa, played with both precision and passion, both power and sensitivity. The orchestra did as well…except for the precision part. On several occasions throughout the work, the orchestra and soloist were out of sync. A concerto (or other work for virtuoso and orchestra) is not a democratic endeavor; it is a dictatorship with the soloist as the dictator. Unfortunately, in this performance, there was too much debate over tempo between soloist and orchestra.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is a long work that can strain the audience’s attention during the best of performances. I’ve heard the work performed numerous times over the years and while the first three movements of this performance were unremarkable, the last two were spectacular. Manfred Honeck’s tempi were brilliant, providing the most exciting finish to the work that I have ever heard.