On an earlier thread (Beethoven's 9th) I got sidetracked on comments about a concert I went to that I didn't like much. I didn't want to leave that as my last word on my concert experiences, because I'm really not that hard to please.
Well, last night I went to another in the season's series, and it was easily the best of the year so far. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) played three pieces by two Russian composers:
Sergei Prokofiev - 1st Symphony in D major
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Sergei Prokofiev - 6th Symphony in E flat minor
A guest performer, Lukas Vondracek, played the piano part in the Rachmaninoff piece.
The first piece was an attempt by Prokofiev to show that he could do Neoclassical music even though he was a young man. His earlier work was intensely modern, and his 1st symphony was delightful. It was an appetizer for the rest of the night.
The Rachmaninoff piece was spectacular. The concert hall was sold out, and I wondered if it was because Lukas Vondracek has a rep as a hot performer. That would be right. His playing electrified the crowd. The BSO wasn't too shabby either.
After the intermission, the BSO played Prokofiev's 6th symphony. Done after the end of the WWII, it was much darker and serious. Apparently Prokofiev also fell into disfavor with the Soviets (who didn't?) and he was in failing health at the time. Still I enjoyed it. Compared to other dark and serious pieces I've heard, such as Mahler's 9th symphony, there was plenty to listen to and follow in the sense that classical music is an exploration into new territory where I've never been before. It wasn't all happy bunny-land music, but it didn't loose me as Mahler 9 did.
So I heard a spectacular Rachmaninoff piano piece, and two very different Prokofiev pieces in one night
. I may have to hunt for CDs of the first two pieces.
