LA Phil: Stravinsky & Mozart

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa Pekka Salonen, conductor
with the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms, Mozart: Mass in C
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Thursday, October 5, 2006, 8pm

Enjoyable, though with the memory of last weekend's thrilling Mahler still lingering, its tough to say much about this one.

The Stravinsky wasn't perhaps what I was expecting. Symphony of Psalms is a setting of three biblical psalms in three movements. My previous exposure to Stravinsky is his ballet scores - Rite of Spring, The Firebird - and some orchestral works, like his Violin Concerto and Capriccio for Orchestra. What attracts me most to his music is the intense, complex rhythms that are completely fascinating. They ride underneath a melody that is both unexpected yet completely right for that moment in the music.

Symphony of Psalms wasn't that different, but I came to the piece completely cold. There was cool instrumentation: a total absence of violin and violas (usually par for the course in an orchestra piece), with only cello and bass representing the strings, lots of percussion, two pianos, and a bunch of woodwinds (though sans the clarinet). Orchestral thuds accented the piece - the strings played a pizzicato and the percussion hit - those sounded cool. But the music came to me in shards... multiple musical moments that didn't immediately form an overall arc to me. Perhaps it will on a second listen - it often does with 20th century music - but until now that hasn't happened for me with other Stravinsky music. The violin concerto, for example, was immediately fascinating to me. So this was an interesting exercise in expanding my Stravinsky horizons. He's still one of my favorite composers, but perhaps this won't be my favorite piece.

The Mozart Mazz in C was lovely, as expected. But oh my lord, I nearly hit the ceiling when soprano Miah Persson started the solo in the Kyrie - what a gorgeous, expressive voice! Clear, bright and sparkling. Her phrasing sounded like the way a crescent moon looks: it starts out small, then grows into a bright luminescent arc, then fades away - all the while with a smooth, steady white light. The rest of the vocal soloists were in fine form as well. Their initial appearance was amusing - it looked like the Nordic invasion: two tall white guys, followed by two stunningly blonde women, one with long platinum blonde hair.

Looking forward to next week's concerts, which include Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Did I mention I'm a sucker for the sound of a ginormous orchestra?

Photo: A view of downtown, through the folds of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Taken during intermission from the walkway that goes up through the upper sides of the building.