Emily Ho and Kristin Ahlstrom showed varying degrees of weariness, exhilaration, anxiety and happiness following the rehearsal for Schnittke’s Concerto grosso No. 3. We agreed that in an early section of the piece, when the violins sound like angry bees, it was reminiscent of an X-Files episode.
Then came the Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras, 20th-century Bach via Brazil, with eight cellos on stage. “Mortality like eight cellos inside of him,” or something like that. The cellos do so many amazing things in this piece: sing high, sing low, propel the work along on an incessant near-minimalist rhythm and then shifting to a dancing Latin rhythm. And there’s something very compelling about the sight of eight cellos in a semi-circle on stage, guest conductor Nic McGegan looking so very happy at the center of them all.
Afterward in the Green Room, Jonathan Vinocour and Katy Mattis were rehearsing their viola solo for next week’s Brandenburgs. There’s been a lot of fantastic string playing in the hall this week, including Angie Smart playing the Bruch Scottish Fantasy for the Detours concert.
Week one of the Brandenburg Concertos Saturday and Sunday. A great opportunity to hear the orchestra at its most intimate, chamber-like scale, yet making big, indelible sounds. Go!
