Nashville, Tennesse, Schermerhorn Hall, January 11, 2025: 7:30 p.m.
Concert Program:
Preconcert Lecture: Giancarlo Guerrero
Mozart: Overture to the opera “Cosi fan tutte”
Mozart: Piano Concert No. 20 – Emanuel Ax, Pianist
Intermission
Ravel: Daphis et Chloe: Entire Ballet
The great thing about downtown Music City USA you feel like the music is all around you and while sometimes the crowds can be downright crushing, on this winter’s night it was simply fun. Going to the world class The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is an event all its own but to witness an absolutely sublime evening of great music is something you don’t want to miss.
We attended the pre-concert lecture by Giancarlo Guerrero who poured his heart and soul into is well prepared lecture on the music chosen for the concert. His description about overtures and Mozart overtures were entertaining but he missed a couple of points about it.
While I have to say that Cosi fan tutte is a ‘comedy’ when you have done it as many times as I have you realize that it isn’t just a comedy and that the overture literally spells out “Co si fan tut te in bold letters with 5 massive power chords which are repeated at the end of the opera by the singers. Cosi fan tutte directly translated means “Like that do all women” Cosi (like that) fan (verb meaning to do or make) tutte (all feminine plural)( All women do it like this or all women are like that.)
If Mozart was anything he was a believer in the power of women. The female characters in his operas are strong willed women. The title Cosi fan tutte is often seen as calling out the fickle nature of women but the truth is that it empowers women by saying that women have the power to choose for themselves and they should use this power. This opera is a prime example of the comic ego of males versus the sovereignty of a woman’s right to choose who they give their hearts to. This is a brilliant opera and much more than just a comedy. It is a testimony to the question of fidelity and choosing the right partner and sticking with them.
What we did learn was that Da Ponte, the librettist for Mozart’s operas Cosi fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, and Don Giovanni, played a vital role in American musical history. I had never heard this before and was surprised to learn that he brought opera to New York and the United States as early as the 1830s.
Maestro Guerrero’s discussion on the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 was no less fascinating. I was not aware that Beethoven often played this concerto and that later in life he composed cadenzas for them. Hearing Beethoven’s cadenzas played by Emanuel Ax was very moving. Upon reflection of this I recall often thinking that some cadenzas in Mozart’s piano concerto sound more advanced than I would have expected from Mozart. Upon listening to these cadenzas I couldn’t help but imagine hearing Beethoven play these pieces. By all accounts, Beethoven’s ability to improvise and his brilliant keyboard skills were unparalleled in his time.
The Maestro’s discussion of Ravel’s Daphis et Chole was equally as entertaining but the topic is very large and he told us to read the surtitles in order to know what the music was representing. This did change the experience as everyone was able to understand what they were hearing while they were hearting it.
Guerrero is an inspiration and a very energetic ambassador for the arts. I have enjoyed every concert at the Nashville Symphony and can only say….”Go to the symphony!”
The ‘tricky’ part of the overture to Cosi fan tutte is the interaction of the woodwinds. Passing the solo lines from instrument to instrument in this florid music as if played by one person is the real trick. I’ve heard orchestras struggle to get those virtuosic passages falling together without a break. The Nashville players did this masterfully and if you didn’t know just how difficult that is you wouldn’t appreciate just how skilled these musicians are. When you go from flute to clarinet to oboe each instrument has a different speaking ability, meaning it takes somewhat different timing for each player to adjust in their playing to get this to work. It’s brilliant!
Emanuel Ax is one of the names in piano music that you have always heard. His skills are at this point in his storied career not only expressive and powerful, but also effortless. Mozart is one composer that challenges musicians the most. While being delicate and fine you must play with strength and confidence. This balance of grace and passion is what challenges musicians about Mozart and I would have to admit that I’m not sure how many piano concertos I’ve heard over the years. The play between the orchestra and piano displayed music making in a palpable way. The orchestra never overpowered the piano and the pianist was never seduced into being a showman but rather a thoughtful and inspired interpreter of that glorious music.
One of the things about Mozart’s music is that people don’t really understand just what they are hearing. When you go to a concert like this all you hear is Mozart. You don’t have anything to compare it to so it is understandable for people to not recognize that if you put a different composer of lesser stature out there next to Mozart, you would immediately get why Mozart is considered in such high esteem…it is because his music is unassumingly divine. It seems so simple yet is so complex and beautifully melodic. If they are playing Mozart … GO!
Daphnis et Chole by Maurice Ravel is a cornerstone in music. It is required in every Music Appreciation and Orchestration class. It is on every drop the needle quiz. So, while this piece is well known to me I had never heard it live and LIVE is where it belongs. I hope to see the piece in Ballet form someday. It must be something to behold.
What is so special about Daphnis et Chloe? Well it is impressionism at its height. It is an exploration of orchestral colors created by a composer. The Nashville Symphony played with a full contingent of musicians for this massive piece and the chorus effects were not only gorgeous but also chilling. The orgasmic singing at the end of the piece is probably what makes this piece controversial but brings the hours worth of music to its due climax. The fact that they sing no words is actually a relief because 99% of the time you can never understand what singers are saying anyway. With this piece it all about sound and so sound is what it gives in spades.
I’m going to have to alter my symphonic habits. I must start going on Thursdays and write before the run is over so that it inspires people to come hear it.
I had been looking forward to hearing this monumental piece for years and can only say that it is something you have to hear live to appreciate. There are no stereos or headphones that can represent the sound of a full symphonic orchestra in space and time. There is so much to say about this performance but no matter how much I write could I get to every detail that was done so masterfully. From the luscious ocean of string sounds to the brilliant and crushing brass eruptions to the sublime soaring sounds of the solo flute through the space of that hall everything was performed with passion and control so that the full splendor of the music could be revealed.
This was a truly profound evening. So if you missed it…get to the next one!
