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Rating: TEATRO MUNICIPALE "ROMOLO VALLI" IN REGGIO EMILIA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008, 9:00 PM.
Wolfgang RIHM:
Hölderlin-Fragmente. 9 Lieder for voice and piano on texts by Friedrich Hölderlin (1977).
Arnold SCHÖNBERG:
Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte on text by George Byron for reciting voice, strings, and piano, Op41 (1942).
Verklärte Nacht. Symphonic poem (paraphrase) in D minor on a text by Richard Dehmel, Op4 (1899).
Nicholas Isherwood, baritone and reciting voice.
FontanaMix Ensemble.
Francesco La Licata, conductor.
Concert performed as part of the "REC Festival" Contemporary Music series, proving to be very interesting for the excellent combination between the different pieces presented. At the beginning, baritone Nicholas Isherwood, accompanied on the piano by Stefano Malferrari, performed the 9 Hölderlin-Fragmente by Rihm. The Neoromanticism (or Neoexpressionism, if you will) of the German composer emerged especially in the almost tonal moments of the piano accompaniment, characterized also by extreme dynamics and extensive use of the keyboard's extremes. The vocal writing, dry and constantly suspended between true singing and sprechgesang, perfectly accompanies the fragmented and anguished character of Hölderlin's verses, and the 'sung recitation' by the American baritone was fitting for the situation, though perhaps a bit too theatrical.
The Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte by George Byron may have been read by Schönberg as an ante-litteram critique of Nazi dictatorship: certain verses almost seem to speak of Hitler (Ill-minded man! why scourge thy kind / Who bow'd so low the knee?). We find Isherwood again (this time as a reciting voice) and Malferrari, joined by Paolo Chiavacci and Violetta Mesoraca (violins), Corrado Carnevali (viola), and Sebastiano Severi (cello). The conductor, Francesco La Licata, perfectly grasped the approach to the score, aiming to enhance on one side the influences from Wagner (tonal dictations increasingly weakened and, at this point, now 'exploded,' and greater integration between Music and Theater, reaching a point such that now the 'recitar cantando' existing since the times of Monteverdi is replaced by Sprechgesang, in fact a 'cantar recitando') and on the other, the avant-garde perspectives (reduction of the ensemble to chamber levels). Less theatrical, but no less effective, was Isherwood's recitation.
Lastly, the beautiful Verklärte Nacht to conclude the program. Olga Arzilli (viola) and Viola Mattioni (cello) were added to the previously mentioned string quartet. Appropriately, it was decided to perform the original version for string sextet, more cryptic and 'raw' than the version for string orchestra but more incisive and 'futuristic,' both due to the reduced ensemble and the bold use of all the timbral and technical resources of the instruments.
Very original idea by the organizers to seat both the musicians and the audience on stage: the approach to an unusually frequent repertoire resulted in being more engaging and stimulating. In short, an excellent concert.
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