{"id":1506,"date":"2008-12-09T01:13:46","date_gmt":"2008-12-09T09:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2008-12-09T01:18:49","modified_gmt":"2008-12-09T09:18:49","slug":"hough-blows-down-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/12\/09\/hough-blows-down-the-house\/","title":{"rendered":"hough blows down the house"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nPhoto: Oregon Symphony<\/p>\n

While it was great to hear the entire second act of The Nutcracker<\/em> with the orchestra front and center (and sans dancers), and to hear the seldom-heard Coronation March<\/em>, the main focus of our just concluded classical series devoted to Tchaikovsky was his mammoth Second Piano Concerto with Stephen Hough as soloist.\u00c2\u00a0 This was the uncut version, with the major solo parts (for what amounts to a piano trio within a piano concerto) for violin and cello restored to the second movement (played with great skill and panache by concertmaster Jun Iwasaki and principal cellist Nancy Ives).<\/p>\n

Hough is an astonishing artist.\u00c2\u00a0 Every time he comes to perform with the orchestra he is always bringing either new repertoire played impeccably, or bringing new insight into established masterworks.\u00c2\u00a0 His pedal work is surely some of the most miraculous stuff I’ve ever heard, with such a control of line and blending of one note into another with the most amazing legato – it makes one forget that the piano is actually a percussion instrument.<\/p>\n

Even more amazing than the powerful and virtuosic performances of the Tchaik 2 were the three encores that he played over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Saturday evening it was Debussy’s The Girl with the Flaxen Hair<\/em> from his Preludes, Book One<\/em>; played with such delicacy and subtle coloring that it took the gathered assemblage’s collective breath away.<\/p>\n

Sunday night brought the Waltz in c-sharp minor, Op. 64 no. 2 of Chopin, one that everyone has heard countless times, but which was played with such freshness and novelty that it was as if we’d never heard the piece before.<\/p>\n

Monday’s encore was a lovely work from Frederick Mompou (1893-1987), Jeunes filles et jardin<\/em> from Sc\u00c3\u00a8nes d’enfants<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 [This composer was a revelation to me – I must explore more of his remarkably intimate music!]\u00c2\u00a0 What was most remarkable was the supreme control that Hough had in these very intimate and often very softly vivid pieces after playing nearly 40 minutes of extremely taxing and loud Tchaikovsky.<\/p>\n

I think I can safely speak for th entire orchestra when I say that we can’t wait for Stephen Hough’s next visit!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: Oregon Symphony While it was great to hear the entire second act of The Nutcracker with the orchestra front and center (and sans dancers), and to hear the seldom-heard Coronation March, the main focus of our just concluded classical series devoted to Tchaikovsky was his mammoth Second Piano Concerto with Stephen Hough as soloist.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[148,115,1027,135,2],"tags":[3668,1166],"class_list":["post-1506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-music","category-piano-music","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-stephen-hough"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-oi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5587,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/11\/20\/stephen-hough-loves-chocolate-in-portland\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":0},"title":"stephen hough loves chocolate in portland","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Stephen Hough, our piano soloist this weekend (in the Liszt First Piano Concerto), arrived in Portland yesterday, and he quickly discovered the amazing chocolate shop (Cacao) which is conveniently located between the lobby of the Heathman Hotel (where most of our soloists stay) and the stage door of the hall.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "piano"","block_context":{"text":"piano","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/instruments\/piano-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Stephen-Hough-High-Res-3-credit-Grant-Hiroshima-267x400.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12486,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/21\/angry-symphony-guy-strikes-again-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":1},"title":"angry symphony guy strikes again!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"From Angry Symphony Guy (aka Classical Beaver, Brian Horay, Huffington Post guest blogger) posting at the Portland Mercury arts listing pages: STEPHEN HOUGH, OREGON SYMPHONY (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Chief cultural blogger for the Telegraph of London.\u00a0Prodigious recorder of more than 50 albums.\u00a0MacArthur genius.\u00a0Theologian. Poet. Queer activist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":299,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/04\/29\/post-concert-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":2},"title":"post-concert thoughts","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Tonight we did our first of two concerts of this classical subscription set. The works were Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra, and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Stephen Hough. As you might guess, the theme of the concert is that all of\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":"Igor Stravinsky","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/436px-igor_stravinsky_loc_32392u.thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13712,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/08\/2014-2105-a-retrospective-part-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":3},"title":"2014-2105: a retrospective, part two","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"And now, for the big list - the stuff I played with the Oregon Symphony this past season*. Lots of variety, and some holes in repertoire that I really couldn't believe when I looked at the list - only one work by Brahms, for example? Hm... Barber - Adagio for\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":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/noble-oso-pic-e1408736178252.jpg?fit=451%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/02\/01\/osos-2010-2011-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":4},"title":"OSO’s 2010-2011 Season","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday evening, the Oregon Symphony unveiled its 2010-2011 season programming.\u00a0 I was giving the pre-concert talk that night, so I couldn't be at the unveiling reception, but I suspect that there must have been a fair amount of applause and the sound of jaws hitting the floor as the specifics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "programming"","block_context":{"text":"programming","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/programming-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Joshua-Bell-photo-002-250x313.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6966,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/10\/08\/guests-and-replacements\/","url_meta":{"origin":1506,"position":5},"title":"guests and replacements","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems that we're continuing our run, here at the Oregon Symphony, of last-minute replacements. Last season, we had two visits from conductor Michael Francis, who replaced Gunther Herbig and Alondra de la Parra last year when they were forced to withdraw from their engagements here. Ironically, our last-minute replacement\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\/10\/NatashaParemski_1_orig_credit_Andrea_Joynt-e1318119395526.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506","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=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}