Klarinet Archive - Posting 000053.txt from 2005/03

From: ormo2ndtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] China Philharmonic
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 02:54:56 -0500

If you have the opportunity to hear the China Philharmonic while they're
touring the US, I strongly recommend it. Their program includes quite
a variety of music:

Rimsky-Korsakov, Overture to Tsar's Bride

Yanjun, Moon Reflected on the Erquan Fountain

Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Mahler, Songs From the Earth (not "Of" the Earth !, see below)

Bartok, Miraculous Mandarin Suite

The highlight was unquestionably the Rachmaninoff, performed by a
21-yr-old pianist named Lang Lang. Live performance is always better
than "recorded", but this performance was in a class by itself even for
live performance. During the standing ovations, the entire orchestra
laid down their instruments (including the double bassist, the
bassoonist, etc) and applauded him with both hands along with the
audience. 'Bow-waving' was inadequate for the pianist tonight. The
orchestra received (and deserved) their own standing ovations as well.
Everything about the performance was magnificent.

"Songs From the Earth" was interesting because it was a
newly-commissioned version of Mahler's "Songs Of the Earth" (hence the
slightly different title). I paid special attention because of the
recent Klarinet discussions about transcriptions, arrangements, etc.
I've never been a fan of these songs, but I did enjoy this particular
performance. The soprano (named Luwa Ke) and the China Philharmonic
gave it a more oriental character than I remember hearing previously,
which fitted the music better than what I remember from other recordings
and recitals that I've heard. It 'worked', and therefore it qualified
as a 'proper' performance, imo. The orchestration may have been
identical to Mahler's score (I'm only guessing), but the lyrics were
different (see below) and the different sounds made the music a pleasure
for someone who normally doesn't thrill to this music (such as myself).

Among other details, the soprano never once tried to overpower the
orchestra, and she varied her voice much more than I remember hearing in
the past.

The program explained that Mahler's lyrics were adapted from a German's
paraphrasing of yet another person's "loose translation" from the
original Chinese poems. This newest version is once again translated
back into Chinese. I don't speak either Chinese or German, but the
sounds of the Chinese syllables improved the music (imo).

The Bartok was "okay", but everything else in the concert made it a
'must hear' as far as I'm concerned. I enjoy most concerts, but it's
been several years since a concert has turned me on this way.

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