In a two-day concert series, ending this Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. at Kleinhans Music Hall, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra present two works. One is the North American premier of a piano concerto inspired by fragments and sketches left behind by the popular 19th century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. It’s called the “Piano Concerto in B minor” and is by Norwegian pianist/entertainer/educator Helge Evju and is played by Swedish pianist Carl Petersson who has performed this in Europe and recorded it, too, along with the famous Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor.
It’s not Grieg, but it is very listenable, and Mr. Petersson certainly has command of the keyboard.
This being the Veteran’s Day weekend, the concert on Friday did open with John Williams’ very moving “Hymn to the Fallen” from the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and I believe it will this Saturday night, as well.
You can’t “get it” through ear buds. You must experience it live.
We don’t always review BPO performances in this space, but felt compelled to do so to let readers know about something truly special, magical, mystical, spiritual that takes place in the second half of the concert, and that’s a performance of the Symphony No 4 in E-flat (the “Romantic” symphony) by 19th century Austrian composer, Anton Bruckner. We don’t hear a lot of Bruckner these days, mostly because his compositions are so big, so long, and so completely opposite our current culture of quick sound bites, playlists, and lo-fi .mp3 downloads. This is big wall-of-sound music like that of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. You can’t “get it” through ear buds. You must experience it live. And that’s just not going to happen all that often, but it will happen tonight. This symphony is scored for large orchestra (including four trumpets and five French horns) and, in this day and age of cost-cutting, that’s a musical rarity.
Bruckner symphonies can last up to an hour and a half. Former BPO Music Director Lukas Foss is quoted in the program as saying: “One should never wear a wristwatch when listening to Anton Bruckner.” For this, the BPO’s current Music Director, JoAnn Falletta, keeps it moving and it comes in at just one hour. Not everyone can conduct these big, sweeping works and keep them organized, but Falletta can. This kind of music is her thing. And she makes it very, very easy to listen to.
So, go. It’s so beautiful and, as young as you are, you might never get to hear it again. Tickets start at $29. www.bpo.org (885-5000)
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (e.g. you are the parent of someone who is performing), give this concert a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the performance is pretty far off base, or the music itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to hear live music, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good music making. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the performance and the music are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!