It was the day before Passover, and nostalgia wafted through the wonderful acoustics of the Granada Theatre. It comes in the form of Mozart overtures, Mahler symphonies and some new music for clarinet (David Krakauer’s klezmer clarinet). (NB Klezmer is a playstyle common among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and Russia).
Maestro Cabaletti’s carefully crafted program blends non-Western vernacular (folk) music into a Western classical style. Incorporating the popular music of an era into newly composed concert music of that era is a longstanding tradition in music history.
Today’s concert will feature Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s exotic imitation (for a Viennese audience) of the music of the Janissaries in the overture to his opera “The Abduction of the Harem” for features. The play tells the story of a Turkish pasha who kidnaps the protagonist’s lover. (Spoiler: He saves her).
The first opera record I ever bought was a cheap recording of the opera conducted by Joseph Cripps, which gave me a personal sense of nostalgia. The overture quotes some music from the opera and imitates Turkish music to set the exotic mood.
Mozart also imitated the relative exoticism of Turkish music in his Violin Concerto No. 5, subtitled “Turkish.” Listeners may recall the parody of Turkish military music in the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (just after the cherub stands before God). Mozart’s inclusion of piccolo, triangle, bass drum, and cymbals (rarely seen in orchestras of the classical era) represented a European imitation of this national music.
Mozart’s overture works well as a stand-alone piece, while Cabaletti’s “Santa Barbara” at least inspires a sense of nostalgia in the listener in a well-crafted musical reading. From its familiar opening notes, this overture lulls the listener into a nostalgic reverie while being captivated by an energetic reading of the work. It’s a delightful balance between nostalgia and the opportunity to hear the work again.
Next, a delightful overture brings featured performer David Krakauer on stage to perform the New Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet (2018). But before that, we were treated to what Krakauer calls an “arrangement” of the classic klezmer wedding tune. The affable, talkative Kracauer clearly possesses real humility here, for this is actually a mini-concerto for clarinet and string orchestra, in a style that bears some resemblance to the Mahler symphonies programmed after the intermission.
Kracauer was an accomplished musician, composer, musicologist and teacher. His technical and interpretive skills are of Olympic caliber and his ability to connect with other musicians and the audience is a joy to watch. Readers of this blog may recall an earlier review of another klezmer concerto also supported by Kracauer. You can read the blog post here.
What follows is the youngest music by the youngest composer in the program. Wlad Marhulets (1986-) is a Polish composer born and educated. His name is unfamiliar to me, but a quick look at his website and a few listens on YouTube reveal that the man is a skilled and creative composer. Put this person’s name on your audience’s radar.
There is no doubt that our soloists had some input into the performance of this concerto, but Mahuret seemed to have a deep knowledge of klezmer’s playing and a solid grounding in Western classical music, and was very good at arranging Amazingly detailed skills. This is a rich concerto and a great addition to the repertoire.
As with the Mahler symphonies in the second half of the concert, Mr. Mahulet displayed a range of compositional skills. He can evoke humor, horror, nostalgia, joy. He conducts a large orchestra augmented by electric bass and drums. He has a subtle yet effective sense of orchestral color. The soloist has a lot to do, and his clarinet meanders through passages, paired with full orchestras and duets, sometimes briefly, evoking scenes of pubs, dance halls and street concerts. All of these are natural environments for klezmer music.
The concerto begins loud, raspy and confident. The soloist masters complex rhythms and delicate textural balances that only master musicians can achieve. Cabaretti and his excellent orchestra were clearly up to the significant challenges of this music and clearly enjoyed their work.
The sonorous, statement-making opening gives way to a lovely and lyrical slow movement, followed by a long and captivating cadenza, sometimes briefly interrupted by the orchestra. It then segues into a very interesting (though not corny) ending.
After a standing ovation, Krakauer and the orchestra treated the audience to an encore. The echoes of klezmer in the multitude of emotions evoked by this afternoon’s musical production allowed this listener to reflect on the chaos of our world, in this beautiful hall, in this beautiful city, on the eve of Passover. I think there’s a gentle activism here, where sharing the beauty of a culture’s revered artists (composers and performers) is a proud display of some of the best that culture has to offer. The quality of music and music-making cannot solve the world’s problems, but they can bring us hope and joy. Great art lifts the soul. At least that’s what this reviewer thinks.
The intermission is to replenish the audience’s emotional reserves for the second half. No doubt musicians need to recharge too.
Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (1888) elicits more personal nostalgia for two reasons. First, the first Mahler works I bought were this symphony and Symphony No. 9 read by Bruno Wouter. Secondly, I will always associate it with the opening of the first movement, which depicts the dawn. Astute listeners may recognize TV and film composer Alexander Courage’s appropriation of this song in his iconic theme song for the original Star Trek series (which debuted in 1964 when the humble critic was just 9 years old) music. A few years later I would meet Mahler.
More than a hundred years after the symphony’s premiere, it is difficult to understand how radical this music was for both performers and listeners. Its premiere in Budapest has been described as a disaster caused by uncooperative musicians in the orchestra and an unsympathetic audience. After Mahler’s death in 1911, the late, great Leonard Bernstein championed Mahler’s work throughout his long and fruitful career, even reintroducing Mahler’s music to Vienna, where he ‘s songwriting star rose to new heights. This is Vienna where Master Cabaletti trained. He has a deep understanding of this music.
To be fair, this piece presents many challenges to performers and conductors, but when done well it can thrill audiences. Maestro Cabaletti and his Santa Barbarans gave the best performance of this symphony that this reviewer has ever heard. It was very exciting, and unlike the musicians who played on the disastrous debut, the Santa Barbara Symphony clearly enjoyed their hard work and respected their leader.
This is an exciting and energetic concert experience. The hometown orchestra delivers world-class performances, with the expertise of our esteemed soloists matched by their skill. The nearly full house was clearly delighted, and so was this reviewer.
