This morning the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) released its second video of the year for on-demand streaming through the SFSymphony+ Web site. Readers may recall that last month’s release, LIGETI: PARADIGMS was an ambitious production in which the music itself was supplemented by highly creative video techniques, some of which depended on imaginatively-designed software technology. The result was a 40-minute experience of three of Ligeti’s compositions that may have left some viewers concerned about sensory overload.
Today’s release was decidedly more modest in nature. Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen led an ensemble of fourteen string players: six violinists (probably divided evenly into firsts and seconds), three violas, four cellos, and one bass. These were the resources for a performance of Carl Nielsen’s Opus 1, a suite for string orchestra often known as the “little” suite.
That adjective is definitely “on the money.” The suite consists of three movements, each one somewhat longer than its predecessor. The movements are identified only by genre: “Präludium,” “Intermezzo,” and “Finale.”
The score itself is an impressive one, particularly when one takes into account that the composer was 22 years old when it was completed. Mind you, all of the richly interleaved polyphony that the listener encounters in this suite may have been the deliberate effort of a young composer seeking out just the right moves to attract attention. In that context the suite benefits from Salonen’s non-nonsense approach to conducting the score, bringing clarity to all of that polyphony without conveying the impression that the composer was merely preening.
screen shot from the video being discussed
My own guideline for assessing polyphonic composition for strings involves the amount of attention allotted to the violas. The three violists were led by Assistant Principal Katie Kadarauch (in the above screen shot). By way of disclaimer, I should note that I have had a soft spot for her after I experienced a solo recital she presented for San Francisco Performances at the Hotel Rex. Nevertheless, in this case, she was very much the leader of the three violas with several generous expressive passages, providing just the right balance among those playing violin, cello, and bass.
Most important is that Salonen established a straightforward delivery of Nielsen’s score, which I found highly preferable to all of that technology that did little more than get in the way during the Ligeti performances.
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