Shariq’s Département

Berlioz’s brief, yet piercing Roman Carnival Overture, Op.9, was the opening piece at yesterday’s season opening night concert at the New York Philharmonic.

I have to say that I was surprised at how the music transported me to different meditative and emotional states.  It was as if my whole body was vibrating.  Definitely look into buying this piece if you are in to classical music.  This has also piqued my interest in Berlioz, a composer whose work I do not know very well.  I’ll certainly by listening to more.

Also, for those of you in New York, consider going to one of the Philharmonic concerts.  There is something very special about hearing over 50 live instruments played in unison by some of the best musicians in the world.  It is heart-opening and profoundly healing.

I saw the Met Opera “The First Emperor”, about the first emperor of China, Qin, over the weekend - and, with the disclaimer that I am no opera expert, I must say the the overall feeling was one of disappointment.  Not at the sets, which were fantastic, but at the singers themselves.  Placido Domingo, the famous opera star’s voice seemed strained and low-key.  He was not helped by lyrics that were full of strange similes and metaphors.  The emperor’s daughter complains that the lips of her future lover, Jianli, are sealed like a stubborn oyster.  And so it goes. 

The daughter, played by soprano, Sarah Coburn, however, had a wonderful, soaring voice.  The moment in the opera when she exclaims “I can walk”, after she is miraculously healed, pierces one, as her voice trembles with excitement and breathlessness.

The other aspect of the opera I liked was a large bell on the side which was bonged periodically in an Asian style to cue off the other instruments, each bong reverberating through the audience and registering the uniquely Asian and eternal aspects of spiritual percussion.

The Chamber Music Society’s tribute to the music of Joan Tower last night was book-ended by short pieces composed by Beethoven, Haydn and Antonin Dvorak.

Although the NY Times found the starting Beethoven piece simple and not representative of his magnificent output, for me this simple piece was the standout of the evening.

Beethoven’s Opus 44, Variations in E-flat major for Piano, Violin and Cello depends on the intimate interplay between the 3 instruments as they cue off each other.  The plaintive violins sears one’s heart, the piano pacifies it and the cello finds the middle-ground vibration.  The venue, at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, was small, perfect for a plain, yet melodious piece that actually soars with intense emotion.  The violinist, Cho-Liang Lin was amazing, his facial expressions rendering the emotions we all were feeling as he made his violin express true, deep feelings that reverberate deep inside.  The cellist, Gary Hoffman and pianist, Andre-Michel Schub were also excellent.

I am going to try and find this piece on DVD - it really moved me.