CD Review: A Far Cry Golijov Last Round Handel Concerto Grosso No.6 in G Minor, Op.6 Tchaikovsky String Serenade in C Major, Op.48

Like a lot of accidental discoveries, I first heard about A Far Cry (AFC) on YouTube. From their website, we find that they are a small chamber orchestra comprised of 17 young professional musicians (self-named Criers) who seek "the freedom and flexibility of a string quartet as well as the power and beauty of an orchestra." To achieve this total democracy, they utilize a rotating leadership model with no conductor. After listening to their recording, I was won over by how cohesive and passionate the group performs, which is undoubtedly benefited by them limiting themselves to a select few of the highest caliber. Here is the video of AFC performing the finale to Bartok's Divertimento for Strings that first caught my attention.

The first work on the recording is Osvaldo Golijov's (GALL-e-ov) Last Round. Written as a requiem for Astor Piazzolla, this piece is composed in the style of a boxing match (an homage to Piazzolla's pugilistic aspirations when he was younger). The ensemble, a string octet plus bass, is set up such that the two quartets are on opposite sides, like two boxers in a boxing ring. The bassist stands in between the two groups, separating them like a referee. The only other recording I've heard is the great recording made by the St. Lawrence and Ying String Quartet. I have listened to that recording many times so I was interested to see how I would take in AFC's reading. Much to my surprise, I love their interpretation. By no means do I say this to detract from AFC's talents. I say this because once you listen to the same recording many times, you unconsciously assume accept that that is how the piece should be played. These two groups focus on different aspects of the piece, both make convincing arguments for their case. The two most important skills for a boxer are speed and strength. The SLSQ and YSQ represent the speed, "boxing" with unwavering momentum and precision. AFC represents the strength, bringing the characteristic swagger of a boxer and making every stinging accent and forceful gesture count. Both are very different, yet wholly persuasive. However, it is in the second movement that AFC distinguishes itself from SLSQ/YSQ. In this movement, the ensemble as a whole are unified; gone are the testy confrontations and machismo of the first movement. While the SLSQ/YSQ plays beautifully, they still sound like two separate entities trying to say the same thing. AFC has no trouble in this respect, playing as an organic whole rather than individual constituents. The heighten emotional vein created by this cohesion is carried throughout the duration of the movement, never sounding wary or overdone. The result is a reading that far surpasses the popular SLSQ/YSQ recording.

The second piece offered is the G Minor Concerto Grosso from Handel Op.6 set. Here, AFC plays in a romantically Baroque fashion. They observe certain Baroque practices, such as limited vibrato and clipped staccatos, but are not afraid to extend the melodic line or delve into the more romantic aspects of the music when appropriate. Their playing is always respectful and respectable, making sure they never let their emotions egregiously overstep the boundaries of what is proper in Baroque playing. I especially enjoyed their performance of the second movement's baby fugue where their pinpoint articulation sparkles.

To round out this eclectic program, the AFC records one of the best Tchaikovsky String Serenade recordings I have heard. This comes as no surprise since I have already noted their precision and cohesion as a group. Their playing entices you to sway along in the waltz and reflect introspectively in the muted climax in the elegy. The finale to is high-spirited, exciting, and a great way to finish the recording.

With their great performances and acoustic quality, this recording is highly recommended. I look forward to their next release.

CD Review: Simón Bolívar YO, Gustavo Dudamel Stravinsky The Rite of Spring Revueltas La Noche de los Mayas Suite

Like most people, I was first introduced and swept up by the phenomenon that is Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar YO back in August of 2007. I remember everyone suddenly started talking about them and videos of their performance at the BBC Proms (specifically, their performance of Shosti 10, Second Movement and Bernstein's Mambo)  spreading like wildfire on my Facebook Newsfeed. It wasn't hard to see why the orchestra became so popular so quickly. Resembling an army of young musicians (at least 150 strong), they played with a combination of precision, raw emotions, and ebullient enthusiasm. So imagine my excitement then when I heard their new album includes Stravinsky's Rite of Spring; with the primal nature of the music and its infamously difficult rhythms, this piece should fit SBYO's like a glove.

After listening through the whole recording, including the Revueltas, it felt as if I listened to two different orchestras perform. For the Stravinsky, I was disappointed. Dudamel said that "rhythm is in [their] blood", and there is no argument about that. The orchestra handles the rhythms in the three trickiest sections of the piece (Danse de la Terre, Glorification de l'Élue, and Danse Sacrale) with incredibly tight ensemble; it is as if they are all mentally connected with one another and knew exactly when and how to attack the music. However, as the cliché goes, their greatest strength is also their great weakness. The majority of this piece is characterized by rhythmic tension and vulgarity, representing the primal contortions and snapping of the limbs and neck during dance. The SBYO are too clean and loses the rhythmic stresses and releases that defines the piece. While the rhythms should not be difficult for the musician to play, it should sound difficult.  Even during one of the slowest and simpler moments of the piece, such as in the Rondes Printanières, there is still a driving, rhythmic force in the music.

In this moment in the recording, their playing becomes vertical at the sacrifice of the horizontal. The orchestra seems to place so much attention on starting the notes together that they come in on the back end of the beats, which causes the music loses all sense of forward motion.

The other aspect of The Rite of Spring that appeals to today's audiences is the score's evocative imagery and colors, which Stravinsky achieves through individual solos and orchestrally. By having certain instruments to play solos beyond their intended range, a unique and exotic color is attained. The soloists of SBYO hold their own very well in this respect, especially the bassoonist in the opening L'Adoration de la Terre and the violas in La Sacrifice. It is as a collective whole that Dudamel's direction falls short. A picture of a gorgeous natural landscape is only good if the photographer knows how to capture the magic through the lens. The opening of La Sacrifice should be mysterious and the trumpet chorale should be holy during the Action Rituelle des Ancêtres. The orchestra's playing here is technically perfect, but the music is missing something meaningful behind the perfection. This adherence to perfection is especially disadvantageous during moments when the orchestra should be striving for the guttural effect. An example is in this moment in the brasses during the Rondes Printanières. 

This collective groan in the brasses and woodwinds on the fifth beat should be overwhelming, like a century-old tree being felled. Ideally, the instruments would achieve this by sliding down from the top note. While this is not physically possible for some of the instruments, this was Stravinsky's intention, as noted by the glissando in the trombones. Instead, the SBYO at this moment opts to play these two eighth notes more or less straight, with the glissando barely heard.

The SBYO sounds completely different for the companion piece on this album. The Revueltas is far more successful; their joy for this music, with its alluring Latin rhythms and colors, completely shines through in this reading. The music feels much freer than the Stravinsky, as if they were not worried about being exactly correct all the time. I enjoyed the Noche de Yucatan in particular, its voluptuous nature well handled in the hands of SBYO's impassioned string section. Noche de Jaranas sparkles with its instrumentation and scoring, the rhythms inviting you to dance.

For the Stravinsky, I would recommend the recording made by Valery Gergiev with the Kirov Theater Orchestra. It is still the best recording I've heard of the Rite of Spring. Gergiev is daring and not afraid to push the boundaries of the score. This devotion obviously rubbed off on the orchestra too, who were willing to turn the music into noise. The sound engineering is great in this recording, with the range from the low bass drum to the high piccolo crystal clear and very well balanced.

Also, if you wish to learn the history and analysis of the music in layman's terms, San Francisco Symphony's Keeping Score: The Rite of Spring with Michael Tilson Thomas is a resource you cannot do without. I wish I had watched this before I performed The Rite of Spring with the UC Berkeley Symphony because the way MTT deconstructs and highlight interesting moments in the music is insightful and made me appreciate the music much more. The musicians of the symphony also provide their thoughts to the piece and demonstrate passages to reinforce the central ideas of what was being said.




I would like to end with a SBYO clip I love. It is similar to their BBC Proms performance of the Mambo, but better. Ridiculously fun, incredibly infectious.