April 20th, 2013: Stravinsky's 'Firebird' Suite

This was an exquisite and exciting concert. It was one that I passed over for a long time due to the lack of pre-20th century music on the program, but as the date got closer, I realized that I couldn't miss out on seeing HK Gruber live. HK Gruber is one of the most extraordinary human beings alive, and he conducted last night's concert. He is a composer/conductor who is most well known for his work "Frankenstein," which he performs with orchestras around the world.

Last night's program opened with A Jazz Symphony by George Antheil, which was followed by Rough Music, a concerto for percussion and orchestra composed by HK Gruber himself. The second half contained Bernstein's Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

Seeing HK Gruber live was everything I had hoped it would be. From the minute he first came on stage to conduct the Antheil, he was emanating an incredible passion and zest for life. Every glance, every motion of his, seemed to suggest that he felt this night was the highlight of his career. Everything seemed the most exciting thing ever to him. It was very inspirational to observe.

He led the orchestra through A Jazz Symphony with unbounded exuberance, clearly in love with every single note. The orchestra, inspired by his enlightened presence, seemed to take flight in their performance, matching the brilliant intensity brought forth by their leader. Even having never heard Antheil's work before, I was entranced from beginning to end. When it was over, Gruber did something extraordinary. After he had the orchestra stand up, and after individual acknowledgments were over, he held up high the score of the work so that the audience could directly applaud Antheil as well. It was the first time I'd ever seen that done, and I thought it was wonderful.

Michael A. Werner, the Seattle Symphony's principal percussionist, was the soloist for Gruber's concerto. And as the stage was reset for the second piece, Gruber and Werner took up microphones to address the audience. I was very excited to get to hear Gruber speak. He was out of breath from conducting the Antheil, but he spoke very highly of Werner, and then passed the spotlight to him to explain to the audience what it's like performing Gruber's work. Werner spoke for a little while, very engagingly and humorously, about the roles of the various percussion instruments in the piece. He even asked Gruber why he included cow bells in the work, to which Gruber replied that he was inspired by Spike Jones.

The work was very enjoyable to hear and observe. Werner frequently had to travel quickly between the various sets of instruments, but he always stayed on top of it. The piece was at times loud and violent sounding, and at others very lyrical and beautiful. During some particularly thorny (rhythmically) passages for the strings, many of the violins, including the concertmaster, were unable to keep up perfectly, and shortly after a "yikes" look passed over Velinzon's face, a complete discombobulation of the bowing was noticeable throughout the first violin section. Not long after that, Velinzon again found himself falling off the horse slightly, and after grimacing, he looked cautiously over at Gruber on the podium, to see if he had noticed.

Intermission followed the percussion concerto. Something interesting that I noticed last night (even from before the concert began) was that the dress code was considerably better than average. There were a handful of ties visible throughout the audience, which is normally not the case. Also, in Box F on the left side of the tier, there was a pair of older gentlemen who looked exactly like psychologists from the 19th or early 20th century. One of them had a top hat, a three piece suit and a pair of spectacles, and the other had a similar appearance. They looked like Freud and Jung sitting together at the symphony. It was really great.

After intermission Gruber conducted the Bernstein and the Stravinsky. I was never bored throughout the works, courtesy of Gruber's intense presence and the orchestra's excellent playing, but regrettably I am extremely unfamiliar with both compositions, so I cannot comment on any particularities of Gruber's interpretation of them. After each in turn, he again held up the scores for the audience to applaud, this time kissing both the Bernstein and Stravinsky, something he had not done with the Antheil. The Stravinsky in particular got a roaring applause when he held up the score. Perhaps I should get to know it better.

This coming Thursday we go to hear Hilary Hahn perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto!

____________________________

http://www.seattlesymphony.org/symphony/buy/single/production.aspx?id=12283&src=t&dateid=12283