{"id":13099,"date":"2013-12-06T22:28:36","date_gmt":"2013-12-07T06:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=13099"},"modified":"2014-05-29T16:34:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-29T23:34:47","slug":"amorous-oranges-ecstatic-finns-and-brooding-russians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/12\/06\/amorous-oranges-ecstatic-finns-and-brooding-russians\/","title":{"rendered":"amorous oranges, ecstatic finns, and brooding russians"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekend’s Oregon Symphony concerts bring with them a wide range of music, all of which is appealing – from old to new. First things first. Our guest conductor this week is the music director of the Utah Symphony, Thierry Fischer. He’s an athletic, precise, and genteel Swiss man who seems to have that special knack for cajoling what he wants from the hometown band (which can often be difficult to do with some orchestras – however, the Oregon Symphony takes direction easily, and sometimes even eagerly, depending upon who is asking). He’s patient and works in a way that I like – from broad strokes down to fine details, as the rehearsals unfold.<\/p>\n

The opening work on the program is one of those pieces that you’ve likely never heard – until you realize that you have<\/em> heard it! Well, part of it, at least. It’s the Suite from the opera Love for Three Oranges<\/em> by Sergei Prokofiev. It happens to be fiendishly tricky for many of the sections of the orchestra. There have been grumblings from the ranks of the viola section in the past few weeks over its quick like a flash last movement “The Flight”. And boy, does it fly! It is the third movement March that will bring that “ah, ha!” moment – it was used as the theme song for the 700 episode ABC radio show “The FBI in Peace and War”, which dramatized true life FBI cases (much like today’s lamentable Dateline<\/em>). In any event, it’s a stunning set of six pieces for full orchestra, meticulously orchestrated, and full of that sardonic wit that would later be appropriated to its fullest by Dmitri Shostakovich.<\/p>\n

\"Elina<\/a>
Elina V\u00e4h\u00e4l\u00e4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Violin Concerto<\/em> of Magnus Lindberg is the second work on the program. By many accounts, Lindberg is Finland’s leading contemporary composer of the moment. We’ve done at least one work of his before, at the Oregon Symphony, Feria<\/em>, which was complicated and extremely dense, but with a clearly defined ‘Nordic’ point of view. The Violin Concerto<\/em> is a it of a different animal. To my ears it’s much more in the vein of what Sibelius might have composed if he were alive today. There are lots of little ‘cells’ of musical material that are repeated throughout the orchestral and solo violin parts – as well as periodic intrusions (much like the calving of an enormous iceberg from the head wall of a glacier) of static, block harmonic passages that would sound right at home in the midst of a Sibelius symphony or tone poem. It is a phenomenally difficult part for the violinist, but, as she has done before in her previous visits, Elina V\u00e4h\u00e4l\u00e4 is more than equal to the task. It’s always thrilling to watch her rehearse, as she has so internalized every aspect of the music, and her technique is so assured, that it is just phenomenal. I look forward to her every visit here in Portland.<\/p>\n

The final work on the program is Tchakovsky’s Symphony No. 4. It’s not my favorite piece to play, I must admit. It is my least favorite of the final three of Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies. I have a hard time with the exaggerated pathos that most conductors try to wring out of this already overwrought music. So, Thierry’s interpretation is something of a pleasant surprise. He has taken away much of the tradition that’s been heaped on the performance practice of this symphony, and has worked diligently to ensure that it is what Tchaikovsky actually wrote on the page that the orchestra plays. And the piece is finally starting to make a bit more sense to me. Yes, there is the Fate motif played at the beginning by the French horns, and all sorts of things happen and all that, but it flows in a way that makes the climaxes really effective, rather than each one trying to outdo the other. Refreshing!<\/p>\n

For tickets and information, click the links in the ‘Upcoming Events’ section of the sidebar to the right.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weekend’s Oregon Symphony concerts bring with them a wide range of music, all of which is appealing – from old to new. First things first. Our guest conductor this week is the music director of the Utah Symphony, Thierry Fischer. He’s an athletic, precise, and genteel Swiss man who seems to have that special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[2809,3477,1516,3668,3478,3476],"class_list":["post-13099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-elina-vahala","tag-love-for-three-oranges","tag-magnus-lindberg","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-tchaikovsky-fourth-symphony","tag-thierry-fischer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-3ph","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6042,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/03\/23\/michael-francis-returns-to-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":0},"title":"michael francis returns to oregon symphony!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Our upcoming guest conductor Gunter Herbig has cancelled his engagement with the Oregon Symphony, and the orchestra's loss quickly became its gain when young British conductor Michael Francis, who electrified both the orchestra and audiences last month, was engaged to replace Maestro Herbig. The concert, entitled \"A Pair of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/MichaelFrancis-credit-chris-christodoulou-400x265.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3319,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/11\/04\/oregon-symphony-looking-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":1},"title":"oregon symphony – looking good","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Here it is, in a worldwide-exclusive, you-saw-it-here-first preview: the new full portrait of the 2009-2010 Oregon Symphony: Photo: Oregon Symphony\/Leah Nash [click photo to enlarge] Leah Nash, the photographer commissioned by the symphony to produce the portrait, won the PDN\/Billboard award in 2009 for best Live Music photo, of Antony\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "photography"","block_context":{"text":"photography","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"full_orch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/full_orch-400x263.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":724,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/01\/31\/oso-cellist-wins-big-gig\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":2},"title":"oso cellist wins big gig","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo credit: Charles Noble Oregon Symphony cellist Adam Esbensen, a native of Corvallis, and a member of the Oregon Symphony since 2004 (he's also the cellist with local new music ensemble fEARnoMUSIC), has won what is considered the Holy Grail of orchestral jobs, a position in a Big Five orchestra,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cello"","block_context":{"text":"cello","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/instruments\/cello\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fnm08_CRW_9776","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/2191092936_face7c2344_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3875,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/01\/24\/flutist-makes-impression-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":3},"title":"flutist makes impression in pittsburgh","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"If you came to tonight's Oregon Symphony concert (and given the modest numbers in attendance, you most likely did not), you might have noticed that our principal flutist, David Buck, was not on stage.\u00a0 (He was capably covered for by assistant principal flutist Alicia DiDonato Paulsen in many solo turns\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19059,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/08\/oregon-symphony-announcement\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":4},"title":"oregon symphony announcement","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon Symphony | Photo: \u00a9 Charles Noble We musicians got word yesterday afternoon that the Oregon Symphony would be canceling all scheduled services (concerts and rehearsals) until January 2021. It's not unexpected. In fact, it's probably the best-case scenario. It all depends upon when a vaccine is widely available, when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "administration"","block_context":{"text":"administration","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/administration-the-orchestra-world-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12634,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/05\/04\/can-someone-find-the-oregon-symphony-board\/","url_meta":{"origin":13099,"position":5},"title":"can someone find the oregon symphony board?","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Please help us! The Oregon Symphony's board seems to be missing! The Oregon Symphony played in Benaroya Hall in Seattle for the first time in its history, and not a single current board member seems to have showed up. Clearly, something must have happened to the board members, they must\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}