Contemporary Reflections on Music of the Past

Alexi Kenney with his violin (from the SFS Web page for the concert being discussed)

Yesterday afternoon violinist Alexi Kenney returned to Davies Symphony Hall to lead the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) on an adventurous journey of music from the past given interpretations from the immediate present. Most of the program was devoted to the two leading composers of instrumental music in the eighteenth century, Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. These were preceded by a brief venture into the seventeenth century with Kenney leading his own arrangement of music by Barbara Strozzi. The only recent composition on the program was the opener, the second nonet that Olli Mustonen composed for strings.

The second half of the program was devoted to some of the most familiar works by Vivaldi. This was The Four Seasons, the first four violin concertos from the twelve collected in Opus 8, given the overall title Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (the contest between harmony and invention). Whether or not these pieces should be viewed as a “contest” can be left to the reader to decide; but the performance of this familiar music was as dynamic as I had ever encountered.

More importantly, while Kenney had to deal with most of the solo work while leading the ensemble, he was not shy in sharing the spotlight, so to speak. I was particularly interested in the generous amount of duo work he performed with Anne Richardson, Associate Principal of the cello section. More frustrating was the rich continuo work by a musician alternating between theorbo and period guitar, much of which was subdued but engaging improvisation. Sadly, that performer was never identified! Nevertheless, the chemistry of Kenney and the SFS ensemble significantly outweighed any of the annoyances.

The Bach selection was BWV 1050, the fifth of the six compositions usually given the title “Brandenburg Concerto.” Kenny led as violin soloist performing with Principal Flute Yubeen Kim and Jonathan Dimmock on harpsichord. Because I know this music so well, I have to confess that there were some significant balance problems, primarily because the resources of the harpsichord were too limited to take on both the soloists and the accompanying string ensemble. This was more than a pity since Dimmock’s solo work was as engaging as the contributions from the other two musicians.

The program began with two SFS debut performances. The Bach concerto was preceded by “Che si può fare,” the sixth of the compositions in Barbara Strozzi’s Opus 8 collection of twelve diverse compositions: five cantatas, six arias, and one serenata. Kenney provided his own instrumental arrangement of one of the arias. The full resources of the string section began the program with a three-movement nonet composed by Olli Mustonen. This was originally composed in 2000 for two string quartets and bass, but the composer himself provided the revised version for full string orchestra. I must confess that this music made little impression on “first contact;” but, to be fair, Mustonen was competing with three highly adventurous composers from the past!

Nevertheless, Mustonen’s nonet did get the “little grey cells” going in attending to the act of listening. If it provided a “warm-up” for music from two earlier centuries, then at least it served a purpose! The deeper impression of the afternoon, however, was how Kenney could take so much familiar Bach and Vivaldi and turn out a thoroughly refreshing experience!