Sun, Mar 22, 2009
Tabla Concert
Posted to Media category
Last night's concert by the Boulder Philharmonic was outstanding.
The opener was the Estancia suite by Ginastera: sort of an Argentinean equivalent to Copeland's Rodeo.
The symphony was Dvorak's 8th, which is inspired by Central European folk music.
In between, they performed two world premieres -- pieces that have never been performed in public before. The other pieces that have premiered at the Phil over the years have been a mixed bag, but these were both amazingly good. Both pieces got standing ovations.
The Concerto for Tabla and Orchestra was written by a local composer, Bill Douglas, who is on the music faculty at the Naropa Institute, our local Buddhist University. It included rhythms and melodic themes from Africa, Celtic music, Medieval themes and others (all different uses of 12/8 time) and included a spectacular tabala solo. Also some interesting vocal percussion performed by some of the orchestra musicians.
The second short piece, Beirut Sensations, was written by the tabla soloist, Rony Barrak. The percussion was less spectacular, but the music was beautiful.
I appreciated the diversity of rhythms in last night's concert. Formal European music evolved with a lot of melodic and harmonic complexity but was fairly bland rhythmically. Adding influences from more rhythmically complex traditions (Including European folk dances) produces a wonderful result. (I'm sure they would not have been appreciated by 19th century concert-goers whose ears have not been trained by exposure to jazz, rock, and world music.)
Ironically, the Phil announced next year's concert, and because of the recession they have had to pull back to programs of mostly standards to try to put lots of bodies in seats. Interesting programming like last night's concert and the other programs of the past couple of years is not going to happen again for a while.
It's odd to look at a schedule that includes
Night on Bald Mountain The Sorcerer's Apprentice Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique Brandenberg Concerto #3 Beethoven's Fifth Brahm's Piano Concerto 1 Ravel's Bolero Carmina Burana Chopin Piano Concerto 2
and think it looks bland. It reminds me of the Time-Life Treasury of Classical Music my parents owned, which is a little disappointing after all of the neat stuff I've been exposed to by the Phil over the years. I hope they can afford to be a little more adventurous for the 2010-2011 season.