On Oct. 25 at Zipper Hall at the Colburn School, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performed two works—the Symphony No. 2 in D major by the French composer Louise Farrenc and the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor by Brahms with Marc-André Hamelin as soloist.
Once the orchestra was seated and tuned, Jaime Martín, the music director of LACO, came out and introduced Louise Farrenc to those who were not familiar with her. He informed the audience that LACO had just finished recording all three symphonies by Farrenc. It was thus a real treat for the audience to hear a great chamber orchestra perform works with which the musicians were already fluent.
Farrenc lived from 1804 to 1875, a pretty good lifespan for someone at that time. In addition to being a formidable composer, she was also a concert pianist and professor at the Paris Conservatoire. There were, of course, many women throughout history who were musically as talented as most men. Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna; Mendelssohn’s sister, Fanny; and Clara Schumann, among several others, come to mind. But given the nature of society at that time, although these women achieved some level of success, in particular, Clara Schumann as perhaps the finest pianist of her generation, none achieved the level of success or popularity that their more famous brothers and husbands did.
Louise Farrenc, was, in a way, perhaps an exception in France. Martín told the audience that several times during her professorship she sent letters requesting equal pay with the male professors, and only when her second symphony became so popular was she granted her request.
Martín also relayed the fact that at that time in France there were very few if any symphonists. Of course, when Farrenc was born, Beethoven and Schubert, two great symphonists, were still alive, and they followed in the giant footsteps of Haydn and Mozart before them.
Although Farrenc’s Symphony No. 2. is refreshing and lively, one could hear snippets of Haydn and Mozart, and even Beethoven. Still, one can understand why it was received so well in France. The orchestration is first rate, and there is even a catchy fugue in the fourth movement.
The LACO musicians under the direction of Martín were in top form, and it was a treat to hear them in the intimate setting of Zipper Hall.
The second half was devoted to the behemoth Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor by Brahms with the eminent Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin as soloist.
When the audience returned after intermission, one could not help but be struck by the full-size grand piano on the stage. It seemed to dwarf everything else. This reviewer was curious as to how it would sound with a small chamber orchestra with, for example, only four cellos and two double basses. As expected, the piano sound was projected much louder than it would’ve been if the same concert had been performed by the LA Phil in Disney Hall.
The upside is that the piano was never overwhelmed by the orchestra; and Hamelin knew when to let the small orchestra take over. The result was a unique experience of hearing what usually comes across as a massive symphonic-like work for piano and orchestra performed by a chamber symphony with a world-renowned soloist in a relatively small and intimate venue.
Hamelin, who frequently performs and composes contemporary music for solo piano, tackled this romantic warhorse with finesse and aplomb. In particular, his playing in the gut-wrenching slow movement was delicate but self-assured. The orchestral accompaniment by Martín and the LACO musicians was understated when needed to support Hamelin, but also powerful in the more dramatic part of the concerto, for example, in the opening D minor chords.
Hamelin rewarded the audience’s appreciation of his performance with a delicate and shimmering encore of Reflets Dans L’eau from Images Book I by Debussy.
While the Dodgers were winning Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto and showing why they are a world-class sports team, LACO was winning over the audience in Zipper Hall with a home run of a concert.
—Henry Schlinger, Culture Spot LA
For information about upcoming concerts, visit https://www.laco.org.
Photo credit: Elizabeth Asher