BPO serves up haunting fare
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra added to Halloween night with a double bill of two dreamy and haunting pieces: Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, preceded by Arnold Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night.”
Attendance took a hit because of Halloween festivities, which was a pity, because there is nothing like music like this to take you into the realm of the unknown and unimagined. For folks who want to prolong that supernatural feeling, the concert repeats this afternoon at Kleinhans Music Hall.
“Transfigured Night” is a long wash of sound. I found myself thinking it is not so much a piece of music as a state of mind. You lose yourself in it, give yourself over to it.
The music unfolded in waves. Concertmaster Michael Ludwig did some beautiful solo work. There was a rapturous moment when the cellos came in, warm and ardent.
It must be hard to shape a piece as nebulous as this, but the music had a good rhythmic sense and built gradually and admirably to the high point near the end.
Mahler’s Fourth was the piece everyone was waiting for. This is the Mahler symphony everyone loves, with its tender and exquisite slow movement, the thrilling dance of death — and then, at the end, that beautiful little song about heaven and everything that awaits you there.
The first movement emerged as robust and noble. Its classical themes and embellishments make me think of Mozart, which I do not think Mahler would mind. BPO Music Director JoAnn Falletta let the music breathe, with fluid tempos and a fine awareness of the music’s subtleties. The woodwinds were clipped and evocative.
Whispering in the audience centered on the two violins that Michael Ludwig had emerged carrying. One of them was tuned slightly higher, to be used in the second movement (the violin was supposed to sound like a rustic fiddle).
That movement was a lot of fun. Ludwig brought a good spirit to the piece. Kleinhans’ acoustics heightened the music’s grotesque thrill. The instruments jumped out at you sharply, from odd angles. The effect could be starling. The trumpets bit at you, and once, the timpani sounded so dramatic that I thought it came from outside.
The last movement introduced soprano Mary Wilson, singing Mahler’s little song about heaven. Her voice was appropriately bell-like, childlike. The down side of being childlike, especially in this hall, is that she was often drowned out and her syllables were not easy to catch. She radiated joy, though, and she brought the right feel to this music — a sense of ease and sweetness.
Concert Review
Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra
Classics concert featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Saturday and today at 2:30 p. m. in Kleinhans Music Hall.
For information: 885-5000, www.bpo.org.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments