An Evening of Beethoven

As part of the Great Performers Series, the Mutter-Bashmet-Harrell Trio took the stage at Davies last night and gave a memorable performance of three of the five Beethoven trios. In a sense there's little I can say about the evening. It was accepted as a given that this trio, comprised of Anne-Sophie Mutter on violin, Yuri Bashmet on viola and Lynn Harrell on cello would deliver a world-class performance of this material and that's precisely what they did. The two hour concert featured the String Trio in C minor, Opus 9, No. 3; the Serenade in D major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Opus 8 and the String Trio in E-flat major, Opus 3.

Bashmet/Mutter/Harrell

Mutter, looking ravishing as usual in black slacks and an orange top (I'd like to think that's a nod to the world series champs, though I have a difficult time seeing Anne-Sophie as a baseball fan), performed with her usual exquisite control and tone, with a willingness to give it a rough edge where it needed one. She performs with such precision it becomes a task to watch and listen to her at the same time. I actually found it easier at points to close my eyes in order to focus on her playing.

Bashmet is the opposite- sitting almost motionless in his chair throughout the evening, he made his smooth but lush style of playing look not only effortless, but he gave off an air of serenity while performing. Harrell, seated in the middle, was the genial center, at times shooting a playful glance over at Mutter, waiting for her cues, or sometimes just smiling for no reason at all, except that he too, was listening to all of this. Harrell's approach at times mirrored Mutter's aggression, especially in the scherzo of the Op. 8 trio. There was a definite playfulness between Harrell and Mutter, both in demeanor and playing, to the extent the audience tittered more than once during the performance. Charmers, indeed.

Some members of the audience were exceedingly ill-behaved as far as talking, zipping purses, unzipping those same purses and talking some more. Yes, I'm about you in orchestra row O, seat 15- peasant! Other than these annoying people, this was a splendid evening of music- as was to be expected. Now isn't nice to know that there are some things you can always count on? Come back soon Anne-Sophie.

The best of 2009

This past year I saw over 70 different performances, most of which I wrote about, though some were so uninspiring they didn't even merit the time it would have taken to criticize them. However, a number of them were so terrific for one reason or another that I'll probably never forget them.

Listed below, in chronological order, are ten performances I attended this year that in my mind were the best:
LA Opera's Das Rheingold: Director Achim Freyer's first installment of Wagner's Ring cycle was nothing less than a revelation and it was easily the best opera I saw this year. In fact, it's probably one of the five best opera productions I've ever seen. This is opera for the 21st Century: bold, innovative and unafraid of risk, while keeping true to the spirit of Wagner's intentions. While Die Walkure and Siegfried didn't thrill me as much (probably because Rheingold is my favorite opera above all others), LAO's Ring is not to be missed. When they do the entire cycle this summer, the naysayers will surely have their comeuppance.

Anne-Sophie Mutter performing Gubaidulina's Violin Concerto No. 2: What can you say, one of the world's premier violinist's performing a challenging contemporary work dedicated to her. It was enthralling. The Ravel in the second half didn't quite measure up, but really, what could have?

Martha Argerich and Ligeti's Requiem at San Francisco Symphony: Thrilling in every sense of the word. Ligeti's Requiem had both the orchestra and the SFS chorus performing at their absolute peak in a haunting work that heard live is an unforgettable experience. Argerich actually showed up for once, and gave the audience a bravura performance of the Ravel concerto that was loaded with emotion and skill, meriting perhaps the longest ovation I've ever heard in that hall. You should have been there.

Leila Josefowicz and Esa-Pekka Salonen at LA Phil: Josefowicz is the most fascinating violinist on Earth. There is nothing she can't play to perfection and she constantly challenges herself. This concert, part of Salonen's swan song as he departed the LA Phil after one of the most influential and successful tenures ever in the history of American orchestras, was a primer on what classical music is and where it's going. Salonen's Violin Concerto, dedicated to Josefowicz, Ligeti's Clocks and Beethoven's 5th Symphony were flawlessly performed with gusto and meaning. Two artists that should not be missed when they hit your town.

Urban Opera's Dido and Aeneas: The little company that could, and did. This new company rising out of the ashes of San Francisco Lyric Opera, took everyone by surprise this summer by giving us something different, unique, and indigenous to the City. We can only hope for more from Chip Grant and the incredible team he put together for what was one of the most delightful surprises of the year. Come on, Urban Opera- do it again!

August: Osage County: Three hours of the most theatrical dysfunctional family values since Who's Afraid of Virgina Wolff? By turns uproariously funny and frightening. Estelle Parsons can come to a party at my house anytime- hopefully in character, because I love that kind of drama though I always feel bad the next morning. Tracy Letts' play lived up to the Tony hype and then some.

San Francisco Opera's Il Trovatore : For my money, Trovatore is 2nd rate Verdi, but when it's done like this there is nothing to complain about. Sondra Radvanovsky gave a star turn in a production that was perfect at every turn, bringing this tired warhorse to life in a way I thought couldn't be done. The rest of the all-star cast and the superb sets by Charles Edwards made the conservative era of SFO under Gockley more than palatable. If this is what the future looks like for SFO, so be it.

Paulina Rubio at the Fox Theater: Paulina in a great venue, up close and very personal touring in support of Gran City Pop- one of the year's most delighful records. Pure pop bliss.

San Francisco Opera's La Fille du Regiment: Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Florez made me realize I actually do like Donizetti, at least when he's done like this. The pair combined to deliver an evening of vocal beauty and comedic timing in one of the most perfect bel canto evenings I've ever experienced. It left me wanting more, more, more.

La Damnation de Faust at the Met: Robert Lepage's production is a thrilling spectacle. He and Freyer are taking opera in an entirely new direction. The singing on the night I went didn't quite measure up to the production values at hand, but if this is the future, I want to be seated up front. Give kudos to Peter Gelb and the Met for putting on an audacious and thrilling Faust. Lepage's upcoming Ring cycle, like LAO's, is not to be missed based on the sheer brilliance of invention and imagination on display here.

Other performances that gave these a run for their money:

SFO's Porgy and Bess
KISS's Alive 35
Nadja Michael in SFO's Salome
Nino Machaidze in LAO's Elixir of Love
Fela!
With appreciation to Deborah Voigt, a very gracious and talented singer:

And finally, to KD- who would have guessed this moment would lead to so many others...

Anne-Sophie Mutter and SFS perform Gubaidulina's Violin Concerto No. 2- "In Present Time"

Anne-Sophie Mutter is here in San Francisco for the weekend and on Friday night she performed Sofia Gubaidulina's second violin concerto, In tempus Praesens. The piece, dedicated to Mutter, lasts for a slightly more than half an hour and has five sections played as a single movement. It's the final work of Gubaidulina's presented during her two-week artist in residency gig with the SF Symphony and it made me wish I'd attended some of the other performances.

For those of you not familiar with her, Anne-Sophie Mutter is a simply a goddess. She's an incredibly talented violinist who just happens to look (and dress) like a screen siren from the golden age of Hollywood. She's had numerous works for the violin dedicated to her and tours world-wide performing them for audiences who might otherwise be reluctant to listen to the music of contemporary composers. At the same time, she is also a superb interpreter of the classical canon. Her performances of the Beethoven sonatas at Davies a few years ago is something I'll never forget. She also has a foundation to support young musicians and is an active philanthropist. Did I mention she's hot? Gorgeous.

Anyway, enough of my Mutter-blather.

Michael Tilson Thomas came out on stage and told the audience how excited he and the orchestra were to playing this particular piece and to have Anne-Sophie there with them. He then gave one of his little lectures and using a harpsichord, demonstrated the motives in the piece. Yes, the score includes a harpsichord and even though it was amplified it could hardly be heard, thankfully. I hate the sound produced by a harpsichord. Burn them all. Please.

Then Anne-Sophie came onstage in a gorgeous dress that made her look like a mermaid. Her hair is now shoulder-length (sigh). If she wasn't armed with a violin she'd look like a woman ready for the red carpet, not the concert stage.

She begins with the motives MTT previously demonstrated for us and them the orchestra comes in behind her. Some sections sound like a Bernard Hermann film score, others like cicadas on an August night in Alabama. There is one part that has three repeating dark notes that build and build like gunfire into a thrilling climax. She has the only violin onstage and can still be heard clearly even with the large orchestra going full-bore behind her. The score has some thunderous parts for brass and lots of great percussive moments. The moments where the snare drum lead with brisk rolls were particularly exciting. There's a cadenza 2/3 of the way through giving A-SM a couple of minutes to display the score's contradicting brawn and beauty. This was my first encounter with the piece and I would gladly hear it again. I've heard the one recording available, with A-SM and Gergiev conducting is very good. At the conclusion the audience gave a hearty standing ovation for both Gubaidulina and Mutter, who took three curtain calls.

After the intermission, MTT gave us two Ravel pieces, Valses nobles et ssentimentales and La Valse. Valses, a series of waltzes, is pleasant enough music and it was performed nicely, but it was a mistake to program such traditional and pedestrian pieces to follow up Gubaidulina's. In other words it was boring. The same can be said for La Valse, which is wonderful to hear at the ballet, but in a concert setting ultimately made me feel like I should have left at intermission- like the couple beside me did.

Did I mention how hot Anne-Sophie looked?