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Last chance to hear Guarneri
September 26, 1999
This fall, Orange County listeners will have what is likely to be their
last chance to hear the Guarneri String Quartet in its pristine,
unadulterated state. After touring with the ensemble for 36 years,
cellist David Soyer will relinquish his position at the end of the
1999-2000 season and appear with the group only on the East
Coast. Cellist Peter Wiley, a member of the Beaux Arts Trio from
1987 to 1998, will take his place.
The Guarneri Quartet is the oldest string quartet in existence that
still has its original members in place. Founded in 1964 by violinists
Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree and
Soyer, the Guarneri developed into one of the premier chamber
ensembles in the world and fashioned its own distinctive sound.
(The nuts and bolts and philosophy of that sound is the subject of a
fascinating book, "The Art of Quartet Playing: the Guarneri in
Conversation With David Blum.")
You can hear the longevity of the group in its performances, which
are remarkable for their precision and flexibility as well as for their
accumulation of interpretive detail. Like an old married couple, the
Guarneri members seem to be able to complete one another's
thoughts. And a performance of a Beethoven quartet by these
players is not something hot off the press, but rather like a fine,
aged wine, full of character and patina, and better — richer — than
it was when new.
The Guarneri plays at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Oct. 18. The
program (which has been changed) lists quartets by Mozart,
Kodaly and Schumann. You've been warned.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the members of the
orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 have
announced that a new six-year contract has been ratified by the
orchestra, through Sept. 18, 2005. The orchestra and management
have long enjoyed chipper relations and the new deal should keep
them that way. The news release provided no description but I
imagine that, after signing the contract, the musicians must have
been giggling uncontrollably while popping the corks on expensive
bottles of champagne. I know I would have been.
Under terms of the agreement, the musicians' base wages will
increase by an average of 4 percent each year, topping out at
$2,025 per week (in a 52-week season) by the 2004-05 season.
Do the math. Even if you play third fiddle or bass triangle, by
October of 2004 you'll be making $105,300, plus benefits.
Principals and veterans make more. The maximum annual pension
for musicians who retire at the end of the agreement will be
$59,000. The total compensation package is similar to those of the
New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony, which, of
course, is as it should be, given the caliber of the orchestra. But
still, don't you wish you had listened to your mother and practiced
more?
In what will surely prove to be one of the more charged musical
events of the millennium season, conductor Sir Simon Rattle will
perform with the Vienna Philharmonic in the quarry of the
Mauthausen concentration camp. Their program will consist of one
work, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The concert, free to the
public, will take place May 7 and will be televised worldwide.
Announced in a buff-page brochure illustrated with photos of
internees working the camp's quarry, the event is meant as a
twofold statement, according to the press release. It "remembers
and acknowledges the past and builds a bridge to a peaceful and
positive 21st century." Says Rattle: "In bearing witness to the
terrible history of Mauthausen, this is at once remembrance,
repentance and homage." The concert is co-presented by the
Vienna ensemble (which appears without fee), the Jewish Welcome
Service of Vienna and the Austrian government.
Dr. Leon Zelman, executive director of the Jewish Welcome
Service and also a survivor of Mauthausen, initiated the project.
One hundred thousand listeners are expected to attend, the same
number of people who died there.
I've sung the praises of Jorge Mester, music director of the
Pasadena Symphony, many times in the past, but the 1999-2000
season schedule he has put together forces my hand again. The
eight-concert slate puts special emphasis on music of this century,
with a three-concert "Explorer Series 2000" embedded within. For
all that, however, the season is by no means overzealous or
reckless; it strikes a nice balance between audience-friendly (but
important) modern works, little-known gems and bona fide
standards.
The French use the term chef d'orchestre to denote a conductor,
and Mester deserves the title. He assembles his programs like a
gourmet cook, the pieces complementing one other, setting one
another off, staying out of one another's way. Even on the page
they are delectable. Take his Feb. 26 program, for instance. It
features Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony, Berwald's "Sinfonie
singuliere" and Schubert's Symphony No. 2, a trio of works with so
many crosscurrents between them as to send one's head spinning. I
love his April 1 program, too (C.P.E. Bach's First Orchestral
Symphony, Britten's "Les Illuminations" and Tchaikovsky's
"Souvenir de Florence") and his May 6 program (William
Schuman's "New England Triptych," Chopin's Piano Concerto No.
1 and Revueltas' "La Noche de los Mayas"). They are so
unexpected yet, ultimately, make strange sense.
And how about this one for a season closer, on June 10?
Debussy's "Jeux," Respighi's "Rossiniana" and — wait for it —
Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon" Suite — a playful anti-climax of an
event.
The Pasadena Symphony and Jorge Mester open their season at
the Civic Auditorium, incidentally, with the help of the Pacific
Chorale, in a program that pairs Weill's Suite from the "Threepenny
Opera" with Orff's "Carmina Burana." For a season brochure call
(626) 793-7172.
Timothy Magan |
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