LA Phil: Pictures at an Exhibition

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Haydn: Symphony No. 82; Dean: Viola Concerto; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel)
Thursday, October 12, 2006 - Walt Disney Concert Hall

Did I mention I was a sucker for big sound? Well, it seemed the rest of the audience tonight at the LA Phil was just like me because we all stood and clapped excitedly at the end of the booming, crashing, absolutely exhilarating finale to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. It's so shameless really - the piece is so literal and accessible in its charms, and the crash of an enormous orchestra is so easy to respond to... it's the easiest music to get excited about. But I love it. Every freakin' time, I love it.

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is a 30 minute piece composed as a tribute to Mussorgsky's friend, an artist. The music is a representation of ten of this friend's paintings, which at the time of the composition, were on display at an exhibition. There's the painting of an evil gnome, set to appropriate ragged, raspy and violent music; then there is the painting of dancing chicks, set to plucking strings and flighty oboes, flutes and clarinets. It's a completely delightful piece of music - jaunty, colorful, and fun.

Plus, there's the joy of hearing a bunch of different instruments in the orchestra. Deep basses get their time - and bass is just a lot of fun to hear - as do the harp, the trumpet, the oboe, the celesta... on and on. Did I mention it was FUN?

The middle portion of the evening's program, though, threatened to put me in a right depressed mood - it was a newish concerto for viola, written by Brett Dean. Dean also performed the viola solo parts. Maybe my ear is not sophisticated enough yet to fully enjoy this contemporary piece - but it sounded more like a collection of odd sounds than a piece of music; more of a soundscape than a concerto. I mean, the sounds were cool: percussionists used bows that usually string players use, and ran them along the sides of cymbals and gongs to make these really eerie whirring sounds. They banged on wooden blocks, the string sections plucked their strings and used the backsides of their bows against music stands, and cellists tapped their strings with the mallets that the percussionists would normally have used on their cymbals.

For nearly half an hour this went on. I needed more of a throughline to hold the piece together, to make it more than a mere collection of noises. Screechy viola music and thumpy sounds do not, for me, an interesting thirty minutes make.

The evening did begin, though, pleasantly enough with Haydn's Symphony No. 82. OK so first off - his EIGHTY-SECOND SYMPHONY? Beethoven only made nine symphonies, and here's Haydn on is 82nd, and not even his last? And its just as jaunty and lovely as ever?

This piece was just a joy - all the beauty and complexity I'd expect from a well formed symphony, with great melodies, and fun timpani hits for accents. I like hearing Haydn's symphonies a lot, and this one didn't fail to disappoint.

But I'm still on a high from that Mussorgsky. So much fun. I love it - nothing can get you going like the sound of a big old orchestra playing live, in your face.