This season András Schiff is visiting San Francisco as both pianist and conductor. Indeed, yesterday afternoon he began the first of the three San Francisco Symphony (SFS) performances he is giving in Davies Symphony Hall this week from the keyboard of his (probably not, strictly speaking “his”) Bösendorfer. He led a reduced string section (eight first violins, eight second violins, six violas, four cellos, and two basses) in performances of two keyboard concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 1054 in D major and BWV 1055 in A major. He then moved to the podium to conduct Bach’s BWV 1068 orchestral suite in D major, with the same string ensemble augmented with two oboes, three trumpets, timpani, and harpsichord continuo (played by Jonathan Dimmock). Following the intermission, he conducted the full SFS resources, the SFS Chorus (Ragnar Bohlin, director), and three soloists from the Chorus, soprano Jennifer Mitchell, mezzo Margaret (Peg) Lisi, and tenor Michael Jankosky, in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 52 Lobgesang (song of praise). The entire evening was thus one of increasing resources, first gradually and then radically.
Johann Georg Schreiber’s 1720 engraving of Katherinenstrasse with Gottfried Zimmermann’s coffee house in the center (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Both of the concertos survive in an autograph score, which is generally dated around 1738, when Bach was living in Leipzig. In all probability they were written for the Collegium Musicum to which he belonged (and sometimes directed), which gave weekly concerts at Gottfried Zimmermann’s coffee house. On the basis of an engraving of the Katherinenstrasse in Leipzig where the coffee house was located, it is reasonable to assume that the string section for those performances was even more reduced! In spite of the much larger dimensions of Davies, however, Schiff was able to convey at least a sense of the intimate setting in which this music had first been performed.
Most importantly, he brought a convincing sense of spontaneity to his keyboard work, generously seasoned with embellishments most likely of his own invention. This is consistent with my own opinion that the spirit of jam sessions as we now known them was already alive and thriving in the middle of the eighteenth century in Leipzig. Even in the manuscript itself, much of the solo writing anticipates the artistry we now enjoy in solo jazz licks, while continuo was simply an earlier approach to a rhythm section. Even in the absence of “period” instruments, these were performances very much in a jazzy spirit, which positively thrived through Schiff’s direction and stimulating solo work.
BWV 1068 was a more formal affair with Schiff now entirely focused on conducting, rather than performing. Unless I am mistaken, this is the first time I heard the Overture movement performed with both of its two sections repeated, which is the way it is indicated in Johann Ludwig Krebs’ manuscript of the full score. (Krebs was one of Bach’s students.) Here, again, the instruments may have been “modern;” but there was no arguing with the spirit that Schiff brought to his interpretation of the score.
For the second half of the program Schiff turned to one of his favorite nineteenth-century composers, who was also a serious admirer of Bach. The Lobgesang was composed for a three-day festival planned in Leipzig to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of printing with moveable type. Mendelssohn also composed a Festgesang for this occasion, which is best known because one of its themes was appropriated to set the words of Charles Wesley’s Christmas carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” The full title of the Lobgesang translated into English is “A Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible, for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra.”
Following the structure of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 125 (symphony) in D minor, Mendelssohn’s Opus 52 begins with three “symphonic” movements followed by a ten-movement cantata. Texts come primarily from the Book of Psalms along with a few other selections from the Old and New Testaments, as well as Martin Rinkart’s text for the hymn “Nun danket alle Gott” (now thank we all our God) in a four-part a cappella harmonization that has now become standard for most Christian church services.
Sadly, the most salient feature of Opus 52 is its duration, which borders on (if not crosses) the limits of endurability. Mendelssohn could invent any number of engaging themes; but his ability to develop them was, at best, uneven. Even before the cantata begins, the listener realizes that there are two many moments that grow paler the more that they are simply repeated. As a result, even the most sensitive listener will probably approach the cantata with the sense that fatigue has already sunk its roots during the opening movements.
The good news was that, yesterday afternoon, the vocal resources could not have been more stimulating, even when they were bogged down by clunky text settings. Soprano Mitchell came off in splendid style, particularly since she had the luxury of singing duets with both mezzo Lisi and tenor Jankosky. The choral singers were always right on the money; and their a cappella account of “Nun danket” came off as what was probably the most profound gesture of the entire undertaking.
As to Schiff’s leadership, I have to say that, for almost the entirety of the performance, I never had an urge to look at my watch. He knew how to keep things moving, even when the activity of those “things” was on the sparse side. Nevertheless, when I did check my watch at the conclusion, I realized that entire concert had taken two hours and 40 minutes! Mendelssohn clearly had a lot to say. I just wish he had found a bit more depth in his utterances!
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