The LA Philharmonic is at the approximate midpoint of its five year
Shostakovitch cycle.  Up this past weekend: The ninth string quartet
performed pre-concert with the ninth Symphony and Matthias Goerne
singing some Wunderhorn pieces of Mahler.

The pre-concert performance of the quartet was by Phil members Akiko
Tarumoto and Jonathan Wei (violins,) Meredith Snow (viola,) and Gloria
Lum (cello.) Snow quickly highlighted the salient points of the piece
before sitting down to play and it was much as advertised; full of mood
swings and nervous energy with a Hieronymous Bosch conclusion.  Open
seating allowed me to sit within the first few rows of the main section
for the first time.  Despite the overall size of the auditorium, the
intimacy required for chamber music was definitely present.

I obtained seats for this performance off of my normal subscription and
was seated in the upper nosebleed of the balcony for the main concert.
I'm getting up-to-speed on Shostakovich, never having cared for his music
before.  Whether it is due to the current political climate and/or the
quality of the Hall, I'm beginning to see and hear why the fuss.  Having
heard a couple of his chamber pieces in the acoustically sweet Zipper
Hall of the Colburn School across the street has undoubtedly helped.

Salonen led the proceedings having returned from some composing crisis
or the other that kept him away the week before.  Of the main program,
mark me down as most impressed with the symphonic work.  At the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion, I've mostly heard the midrange.  In the new Hall, the
topnotes and especially a bass line are much more evident.  The effect
on the experience is hard to describe.  While I was farther than usual
from the musicians, the precision of the playing and the dynamic range
of the sound were in no way diminished.  The flutes and horns rang clear
and concertmaster Martin Chalifour's solos, likewise.  When all hands
piled on, the impact was impressive both in the amount of sound percolating
to the rafters but without compromising or blurring the contributions
of the individual sections.

I'm not a big vocal music buff so I can't say too much about Goerne's
Wunderhorn selections.  He performed eleven songs; it appeared as if he
were singing down at the floor for the first two and consequently he was
hard to hear.  He then adjusted for the remainder facing the audience
more and thereby becoming much more clear in the cheap seats.  Three
through seven were nicely delivered.  After that, everything began to
sound like everything else and I lost interest.  We got an encore although
the level of applause did not appear to merit it relative to other
performances this season.  Many people streaming for the exits had to
stop and stand when the encore was apparent after one or two routine
curtain calls.  I believe Salonen/Goerne did not want to end the evening
on a gloomy note and therefore they picked some relatively chipper piece
to end the evening.

I've renewed my current subscription for next year and requested two
more including the Green Umbrella new music series.  Not sure if I'll
get the add-ons but I'd like to reassess my negative opinion of new music
given the ambience and sound in the new building.

Ravi Narasimhan
http://www.rettacs.org