December-born composers and random music-related musings

1)  As I write this, I'm listening to various tunes and incidental music by Jean Sibelius, whose violin concerto I especially adore.  Today I say it's my favorite, but I'm awfully fickle in these sort of matters.  It was, however, one of those rare pieces of music (like Bach's Chaconne) that I liked from the first listen, and from the very first bar.

Anyway, what makes Sibelius of particular interest to me is that his birthday is one day before mine.

Indeed, I was listening to Berlioz on Friday for a similar reason--his birthday is two days after mine.

And then there's Beethoven, whose birthday is a week later.

In general, I don't believe in astrology and psychics and all that, but it is fun to think that we Sagittarii have something in common. ^_^

2) I've always been curious how orchestras find/pick substitutes when a particular artist cancels a concert.

Last week, Julia Fischer played the Brahms violin concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Madrid.  However, a quick glance at the Orchestra's schedule reveals Janine Jansen was originally scheduled as the soloist.  Interesting.

This little incident reminds me of it's inverse--earlier this year I was extremely excited to be able to see Ms. Fischer play the Bach solo partitas and sonatas in Carnegie Hall, but about a month before the concert the tour was canceled.  I suppose it was a good thing that Carnegie Hall simply refunded my money instead of substituting another violinist--it would not have been the same at all!

I truly hope that Julia Fischer will play her solo Bach in New York some time soon!  Or else I really might have to try to travel to see her play...

3) Speaking of Julia Fischer, will her next recording be of  Joseph Suk’s Fantasy for Violin and Ottorino Respighi’s Poema Autunnale?  A press release about Monaco's Philharmonic Orchestra reveals this tidbit:

Julia Fischer, a young 26-year-old violinist, will be the artist in residence.  Julia Fischer is an internationally renowned violinist, one of the most brilliant of her generation, and one of Yakov Kreizberg’s closest musical partners.  She will perform in two concerts, interpreting Joseph Suk’s Fantasy for Violin and Ottorino Respighi’s Poema Autunnale on 20 November, and Brahms’ Double Concerto on 4 March.  She will also tour in Spain with the Orchestra, and will make a recording, conducted by Yakov Kreizberg.

I'm not familiar with these pieces, but I welcome any recordings with Julia Fischer!

4) A few weeks ago I happened to find a link detailing the audition process for NYCB's orchestra.  (I have no idea how I stumbled upon this.) According to the site, a violinist needs to play the first movement of the Tchaikovsky or Sibelius violin concertos as part of the audition!  I admit I'm not very familiar with the level of skill among your average professional violinist, but that seems awfully difficult--it's a ballet orchestra, after all, not the NY Philharmonic!!

Then again, NYCB does have all those violin concertos in its repertoire--Barber and Stravinsky, to name a few, so it would probably be useful to have a number of violinists who can tackle the solo.

Or perhaps the rigorous audition process simply speaks to the high level of skill of the NYCB orchestra.  I have to admit, one of my major qualms with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra is that they can sound embarrassingly amateurish--the violin solo in the White Swan pas de deux from "Swan Lake" always seems to go out of tune on the high runs, and the horns are absolutely dreadful in "Romeo & Juliet."

Yes, if I had the money to be a major donor at ABT, that's definitely one thing I would change--beef up the orchestra into one that is worthy of Tchaikovsky's or Prokofiev's scores, and also, perhaps, premiere new scores for new ballets.

The Russian-est dancer at NYCB

So, let's be honest.  I have some serious Russian fetish when it comes to the arts.

My three heroines of the moment all have a connection to Russia.  My favorite ballerina, Diana Vishneva, is of course, Russian--she was born in St. Petersburg, trained at the illustrious Vaganova Academy and is the star of the Kirov/Mariinsky ballet.

My favorite violinist, Julia Fischer, is German/Slovakian, yes, but she has been heavily influenced by Russia. One of her important early teachers was Russian-born Lydia Dubrovskaya, and her current teacher is Ana Chumachenco, also of Russian origin.

According to this article:

While working with the Russian-born Dubrovskaya, “everything Russian” flooded into Fischer’s life, adding to the love she already had from her Prague-trained mother of such great musicians as Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Oistrakh, and Zinaida Gilels. Oistrakh was special, and she soon found herself buying all his recordings.

So it should come as no surprise that a recent Czech review (via GoogleTranslate) noted that "Julia Fischer has an extra round and full tone, reminiscent of the Russian violinist school."

And then, of course, there is the fact that Julia Fischer's first CD release was of Russian violin concertos and with the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of (Russian-born) Yakov Kriezberg.

And let us not forget that her parents grew up in communist countries:

“Both my parents came from communist countries. I was brought up knowing all the faults of that system”—faults, she says, that find their way into her interpretations.

So I think it's safe to say that Russia/the Soviet Union was a major influence on Julia Fischer as well.

What about my favorite skater, Mao Asada?  She is Japanese, yet her two foreign coaches, Rafael Artunian and Tatiana Tarasova, were Russian.  Her mother wanted her to work with Tarasova because she believed that the Russians were the best.  And Mao even began learning Russian so she could communicate better with her (former) coach.

So clearly I like the artists/athletes that have been heavily influenced by Russia.  Why is that?

Well, I think it has something to do with what a young American dancer training at the Bolshoi said:

“The standards are such and the work ethic is such in Russia that there is no room for failure, there is no room for laziness, there is no room to be nice when it is not appropriate to be nice,” Joy said. “Russia is the best because there is this demand for excellence that there isn’t in any other part of the world.”

***
So that brings me to the title of this post.

In general, I am not a huge fan of New York City Ballet (NYCB).  They are, on the whole, too American for me.  I much prefer the Russian style (and Russian dancers).

But there is one ballerina that I really do like--Sterling Hyltin.  I saw her in early 2009 in "Coppelia" and found her quite charming, and I was also impressed with her technique when I saw the PBS broadcast of Peter Martins' "Romeo + Juliet." (Though the production as a whole pales in comparison the to MacMillan version.)

So I was quite tickled to find this quote about her in a review (emphasis added):

Hyltin is one of the company’s most exciting and well-rounded ballerinas: crystalline technique, warmth in spades, a delightful skittishness, silvery jumps, total engagement with her partners. In addition, her use of épaulement—the expressive coordination of the shoulders, back, and head so characteristic of Russian dancers—stands out in a company where full-bodied movement competes with speed and attack.

 Yep, I should've known!  Leave it to me to pick the Russian-est dancer at NYCB as my favorite!

Haglund, my favorite dance blogger, also had some nice things to say about Ms. Hyltin:

The final piece on the program was Danses Concertantes lead by Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia. These days it's very hard not to adore Hyltin in anything she dances.  But for some funky fingers and excessive wrist whipping, she's a clear and unaffected voice for most every choreographer, and she makes every guy she stands in front of look better.

I always like it when the bloggers I like like the things I like.  ;)

Gratuitous...hair?!

So, I've been thinking a lot about hair recently.

Last weekend, I watched "The Nun's Story," a 1959 film starring the inimitable Audrey Hepburn, and I was struck by how much a nun's habit reminded me of a burqa.  I hadn't really thought about it before, but I guess nuns keep their hair concealed just as the stricter forms of Islam require.

And now that I think about it--hair, or specifically, haircuts, play a pretty big role in Audrey Hepburn films!  In "Roman Holiday," her first Hollywood film, she gets her hair cut as a sign of her new-found freedom.  In "Sabrina," she goes off to Paris and returns with a chic short hairdo.  And finally, in "The Nun's Story," her hair is brusquely cut off before she becomes a novice, and we never see her hair again until the very end.

But I digress...

What really got me thinking on this subject was a performance of "Serenade," Balanchine's first "American" ballet, at the opening night of New York City Ballet's fall season.  In one section (I am unfortunately not familiar enough with the piece to know what it is called), two of the ballerinas dance with their hair completely loose.  And since their hair was blond and waist-length, it made for quite a sight, flowing and swirling as they jumped and turned, much like their long tulle skirts.

It was a striking contrast to your typical "bunhead" ballerina, and since the choreography itself was somewhat sensuous, I couldn't help but think this display of hair felt gratuitous.

Here's a pic of the Suzanne Farrell ballet performing the piece, to give you an idea of the costuming and hair:

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since certain religions clearly find women's hair to be provocative, but it was the first time I had seriously considered the sensuousness of hair.

And then, with this in the back of my head, I happened to encounter this scene while reading Flaubert's Madame Bovary (Part Two, Chapter 14):

And the Homais children came to see her, along with Justin. He would go up to her room with them, and stand near the door, motionless, taciturn. Madame Bovary would quite often, unaware of him, sit down at her dressing-table. First she took out her comb, shaking her head with a quick gesture; and when he first saw it, that great mass of hair falling right down to her knees, the dark ringlets uncoiling, it was for him, poor boy, like a sudden initiation into something new and extraordinary, a splendour that set him trembling.

I'm guessing the fictional Justin would've enjoyed that little dance in "Serenade" quite a bit!

And, I guess this means I should let my hair grow out! ;)

Of course Vishneva and Gomes did "Lady of the Camellias"

Last weekend, Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes (the perfect pair, in my opinion) performed in Moscow at the "Stars of the 21st century" gala.

Here is a news clip:


And what did they choose to dance?  Well, they did a revised an expanded version of Mauro Bigonzetti's "Kazimir's Colors," which is now called "Vertigo."  And thanks to Diana's incredibly strong yet incredibly flexible body and Marcelo's superb partnering, it was simply jaw-dropping.

Watch it here:


But that was not all!  They also performed what now seems to be one of Vishneva's favorites--the Act III pas de deux from "Lady of the Camellias," choreographed by John Neumeier to Chopin's heartwrenching Ballade No. 1 in G minor.

See this pic and more on Diana Vishneva's Facebook page.

When Diana and Marcelo danced the full ballet at ABT this summer, it seemed like it truly meant something to them.  This was the first time that either of them had performed the ballet, and they did it together.

Before their final performance on June 7, Marcelo wrote on his Twitter account:

cant wait to dance armand in lady of the camellias tonight with the very inspiring diana vishneva.last chance to see the ballet at the met

And after the performance, Diana wrote on her Facebook page:

last night was last Lady of the Camellias
I am going to miss this production. it will be in ABT repertoire next year
also, it was last time performance with Marcelo Gomes in this ABT season
amazing partner! I'm truly happy to dance with him. I gave him russian t-shirt last night, I think he liked very much)

And in a recent interview (via GoogleTranslate, so please take this with a grain of salt), Diana said:

I recently danced in the New York premiere of "La Dame aux Camelias" directed by John Neumeier, and of course, John is one of my favorite choreographers, because in his own way, he reveals the romantic plot and fills it with deep emotion.  Cooking with the role is an incredible feeling, as he puts in the nuances of how he sees you in it and at the same time gives you tremendous freedom.  Such works then stay with you for life.

I certainly hope they bring back "Lady of the Camellias" next year!  But only if Diana and Marcelo get to dance it together!

***
One final comment on the gala....

I read this review (or what I could gather from it via GoogleTranslate) and was struck by the comment about Natalia Osipova, young star of the Bolshoi ballet, who made quite the splash at ABT this year.

The reviewer acknowledges her bravura dancing and her ability to do 16 double fouettes in the excerpt from Don Quixote. But then the reviewer writes:

But coarse proficiency with which a young dancer moved from one stroke motion to another, not bothering to finish small steps, turned the dance festival in the working routine.

However, viewers of these subtleties are not felt and, ignoring the lyrics, reacted mainly to strong stimuli.

That is EXACTLY what I felt when I saw her do "Don Quixote" at ABT this summer.  Amazing tricks? YES!  Mugging for the audience? YES!  Ballet?  Not in my opinion!  And so it made it even worse when everyone in the audience around me was going beserk.  Yes, she is not my type of ballerina, or at least not yet...