David Itkin's Blog

Chopin: Fad vs Fabulous

Some music is temporary and some music is permanent. Although everyone may not agree about which is which, we all sense it. And we know when we are hearing or seeing something that is timeless. Truly great music, like all great art, is timeless because it speaks to us in a language that transcends a particular decade or century, and because it engages us with matters that are uniquely human.

Such is the music of Chopin.

Chopin’s rich emotional fabric, brilliant melodies, and unique pianistic and orchestral textures are icons within our musical literature. Within his music Chopin creates entire universes of sound, expression, and emotion in ways that most composers of his generation could only dream. And he does all this, not surprisingly, with the simplest of musical tools.

Some composers, often those that qualify more as “fad” than “fabulous”, acquire, and try to keep, our attention with a series of tricks: louder, faster, bigger orchestra, more controversial, street talk, pop culture, etc., etc. But a composer like Chopin strips music down to its essence, showing that a great mind and great talent can create unique beauty and meaning without bringing every bell and whistle into play. Why are we still playing Chopin’s music so many years after it was written, when so much other music has come, gone, and been forgotten in the meantime? This is why: because Chopin offers us with every luscious sonority, with every elegant melody, and with every virtuosic flourish a peek into the wonder and fragility of being human. And, unlike so much of what bombards us every day, that is a thing that does not change with the decades or centuries.

I'll look forward to sharing all of this with all of you next week.

What's new in Christmas Celebration III?

As many of you know, each year I like to keep the specifics about our Christmas Celebration performances somewhat "hush hush" until the concert begins. But since, as usual, I've been asked often lately what you can expect, here are some exclusive hints.

You'll hear:
--One of the beautiful, dramatic arias from "Messiah" (a first in the Christmas Celebration).
--A brilliant arrangement of holiday favorites by the late, great Robert Shaw sung by the Las Vegas Mastersingers.
--Music by Leonard Bernstein.
--Music of Mannheim Steamroller.
--Soloists from Phantom & UNLV.
--Las Vegas favorite, tenor Matt Newman returns to sing the song that brought down the house last year.
--Favorite contemporary Christian hits of the season.

Bartok's Magical Mystery Tour

There are many ways to think about the wondrous creation that is Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra". Principally, we tend to think of it as we were taught to in undergraduate music history, as one of the pinnacle creations of the 20th Century in which the composer brings the possibilities of the modern orchestra to an entirely new plateau. All of that, and more, is certainly true. But there is so much more to this great work, and so much more that is so much more important.

When Bartok was commissioned to write a new work for the Boston Symphony he was, we are told, so ill that he was hardly able to drag himself from one room to another. And yet, in the space of only a few months, he was able to rally himself to bring to life this stunning new creation. We might imagine that the work would be somber, funereal, being written by a man that knew is own death was quite near. And although the tone of the work is often serious, and occasionally dark, it is, overall, a work of stunning vitality and hopefulness. With the exceptions already mentioned (and brilliant, awe-inspiring exceptions they are), the Concerto for Orchestra is an exceptionally positive and spiritually uplifting work that is laced with athletic good spirits and even considerable humor.

As though Bartok's incredible orchestral, spiritual, and emotional canvas was not amazing enough on its own, we must always keep in mind that this astonishing creation was the dying gift of an artist who loved life too much to have his final musical thoughts dwell in darkness.

Some thoughts on the 20th Century

Even though we're now nearly a decade into the 21st century, there are still quite a few among us who are 20th-century-music-phobic.

This is, by the way, not entirely unreasonable. For those who grew up on Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky, some music of the last 100 years can be difficult to listen to.

This is one of many reasons that the Philharmonic will play the stunning repertoire from the 20th century that comes up in November. Pairing two highly accessible composers who take very different approaches to harmony, orchestral sound, and nearly everything else, you will get a fantastic set of contrasts in our next concert.

Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, his final and greatest orchestral work, brings orchestral brilliance and spiritual mystery to the broadest possible canvas of sound.

Gershwin, on the other hand, weds jazz, tin-pan alley, and Broadway with a traditional orchestral sound and the piano concerto form to create on of the most entertaining and unique hybrid works in our repertoire.

Exclusive hints for the movie trivia game

Movie music concerts come and go, but you've never experienced movie music like you will on Oct. 3, when you can choose to participate in our audience movie trivia quiz game on-stage with the Philharmonic. Come early and sign up so that you can be chosen to play the game, or you can elect stay in your seat and enjoy the game and the music from there.

If you decide to play (or even if you don't), here are a few hints only for our blog readers. I can't give you the answers here, but I can tell you where to look.

Someone other than Harrison Ford almost played the role of Indiana Jones, and while you're figuring that out, you might want to consider what killed the monkey.

"Schindler's List" is in black and white, but not entirely.

A particular brand of candy plays a pivotal role in "ET". Oddly enough, our family cat is named after it.

Have fun, and I'll see you all on Saturday.

To clap or not to clap...this is the question.

Last Saturday night, at the Philharmonic's opening concert of the season, a sizable portion of the audience was so excited after the first movement Giora Schmidt's performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that not only did they applaud, but they gave Giora and the orchestra a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. Of course, it's considered "bad manners" to applaud between the movements of a multi-movement work, but, especially in cases like this one, I'm not sure that I agree. While I'm still a traditionalist who would probably prefer quiet between movements, what sometimes happens, and what happened this past Saturday, is a sincere expression of excitement and appreciation for the performance and the music, so it's very hard for me, personally, to think that's bad. Presented with a choice of an audience that is uninvolved in the music and scared to make a mistake of "manners" and an audience that has come to the concert hall to be inspired and thrilled, and cannot, at times, restrain their honest enthusiasm, I'll take the latter every time.

ONLY 5 DAYS TO GO!

Hello, Friends. There are only 5 days to go until opening night of the Philharmonic's 11th season. Sibelius' patriotic masterpiece "Finlandia" awaits us, as well as the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Giora Schmidt on the first half of the program. After intermission it's Beethoven's 7th Symphony, a crossroads between the Classical tradition and a Romantic point of no return. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you there, and I'll see you at 7:15 for our pre-concert talk.
Best,
David.

Making cuts in Tchaikovsky...You cannot be serious!!

We usually take the notes written by great composers very seriously. By that I mean that, although we are the living interpreters, we generally don't change things, or worse, make cuts. There is one notable exception, however, among the most important and often performed concerti. Contrary to the theory that we "never" make cuts in works by our greatest composers, the last movement of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, as you'll hear it on opening night, almost always has some very small cuts in it. There are approximately a half dozen small cuts that are nearly always taken in this movement, and they are so minor as to make almost no difference at all to the length of the movement. Nonetheless, most violinists do observe them because this is how they learned the concerto from their own teachers, those teachers from their teachers, and so on. Our soloist on Sept. 12, Giora Schmidt, takes a middle road. Speaking with Giora on the phone just a few days ago, he told me that he observes some of the cuts, but not all. Will you be able to tell the difference between this and other performances of this great concerto that you've heard in the past?...Join us on Sept. 12 and find out.

GIORA!!

Hello, all. I spoke with Giora Schmidt earlier this week, and he is very excited about his visit to Las Vegas. Giora and I have performed together many times for Brahms Double Concerto, Ravel's Tzigane, Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, the Beethoven Triple Concerto, and others. Ironically, we have never before been onstage together for this repertoire staple, the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. There are only 26 days to go, so I hope everyone has their tickets. Best, David.

Giora Schmidt's coming to Las Vegas!!

Hello everyone. It's hard to believe there are only 38 days left until opening night of the new Philharmonic season. On opening night we're going to be joined by the extraordinary violinist that wowed our Soiree audience last Spring. Giora Schmidt is a dear friend that I've worked with many times, and hearing him play will be a truly remarkable experience for everyone in Las Vegas. Major newspapers have called his playing "like the young Perlman", and this is more than deserved. If you don't have tickets to hear Giora with the Philharmonic, I hope you'll get them soon. See you all in 38 days.
David.

The LVP's new website!

Dear Friends,
As you can see, the Philharmonic's new website is up and running. We are all very excited about this new way of getting information about the Philharmonic's concerts and education programs to all of you. Each week I'll be adding a new blog entry about events at the Philharmonic, artistic matters, upcoming performances, and much more. I'll see you all in September. Best,
David.