I recently was in the Philharmonie again, this time to listen to the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin perform a quintessential "Americana" program. However, for someone who leans toward the post-WWII avant-garde (Xenakis, Grisey, Lachenmann) and the "Hard Minimalism" of Reich and Andriessen, this program presented me with an interesting tension. It balanced the "Great American" populist sound with high-octane virtuosity and contemporary living voices. While I didn't enjoy all four pieces equally, I still had a great time that evening.
The first piece was Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town" – Three Dance Episodes (1944). This suite (comprising "The Great Lover," "Lonely Town," and "Times Square: 1944") is a distillation of Bernstein’s 1944 musical. The orchestration is brassy and jazz-inflected, utilizing a large orchestra to capture the frantic energy of WWII-era New York. It’s rhythmically jagged, featuring shifting meters and "blue" notes. I sort of liked this one. I previously enjoyed Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", which is a more "serious" and post-WWII (1949) work. These dance episodes are technically pre-1945 and lean heavily into the "music for the masses" category I often avoid. However, given my appreciation for Gershwin’s Piano Concerto and Bernstein’s 2nd, I don't mind symphonic jazz when it’s executed with high craft. It did feel a bit "light" for my tastes, but the rhythmic complexity was slightly engaging.
Then there was Cindy McTee's Adagio for String Orchestra (2002). McTee is a living composer (born 1953). Originally the second movement of her Symphony No. 1: Ballet for Orchestra, this piece for strings is a modern reflection on mourning, composed just after the events of 9/11. It is neo-romantic but with a "glassy," contemporary edge. The harmonies are denser and more searching than the 19th-century traditions. It was moving, and while it was not necessarily visceral, I still found myself liking it.
The final piece before the intermission was Samuel Barber's Toccata festiva for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 36 (1960). This is a late-Barber powerhouse. Written for the inauguration of the organ at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, it is a single-movement, bravura display for the "King of Instruments." It features a massive organ cadenza played entirely on the pedals (which was amazing to watch, actually) and a motoric, driving energy that avoids the "sentimental" trap Barber is sometimes accused of. I enjoyed the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, and this piece sounds like that, but is something with more mid-century aggression and 20th-century harmonic bite. It was complex, loud, and intellectually stimulating.
After the intermission, the orchestra performed Aaron Copland's Symphony Nr. 3 (1946). This is the "Great American Symphony" as they say. It was written at the end of WWII to capture the spirit of the era. The orchestration is massive, including four of every woodwind, a large percussion battery, and two harps. It culminates in the famous Fanfare for the Common Man. Its structure is traditional (four movements), but the harmonic language uses "pandiatonicism", i.e., using the notes of a major scale without traditional functional harmony. This was the piece I enjoyed the least. I almost wanted to call like it was what a Bruckner symphony would sound like if Brucker were alive in the mid-20th century. It was sprawling, but otherwise not very engaging, at least for me.
Overall, it was a rewarding evening, nevertheless. I definitely liked the first half over the second half, but obviously that was not an issue.
