Igor Stravinsky
French conductor Olivier Ochanine, during the Sun Symphony Orchestra's performance of "Stravinsky: a Midlife Blend of Old & New" at the Ho Guom Opera House, said that he completely understood if the audience became agitated by the upcoming musical pieces.
Stravinsky's period in his middle age
There was no direct riot. But there must have been unrest among many classical music lovers, for a variety of reasons.
There was a stir because two works were being performed for the first time in Vietnam, and they weren't Stravinsky's most famous pieces: the Octet for wind instruments and the arrangement from the ballet Apollon Musagète;
In particular, the experience of enjoying a piece dedicated solely to instruments not commonly known to the Vietnamese public, such as the clarinet, trumpet, bassoon, and trombone, was truly moving.
APOLLON MUSAGETE Opéra de Paris
Additionally, there is music from another ballet, Pulcinella, with music developed by a lesser-known Italian composer specializing in church music, Domenico Gallo.
All of these works were written during Stravinsky's middle age, an age when people often doubt their own previous achievements.
There was a commotion because it's not every day in Vietnam that you get to hear a concert dedicated solely to Stravinsky's music.
Like some delicacies that aren't to everyone's taste, Stravinsky's music is often "mixed" with more familiar classical works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, and others in the repertoire to balance Stravinsky's unique style, preventing listeners from feeling overwhelmed.
Even conductor Ochanine recounted a profound musical memory of hearing a recording by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, in which they played both Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Stravinsky's Apollon Musagète. They were strikingly different, Ochanine said.
Dreams
Beginning with a brass section performing Stravinsky's Octet, which he composed in a dream, and with Ochanine suggesting the audience close their eyes and listen, the artists of the Sun Symphony Orchestra truly created a dreamlike atmosphere.
Obviously, it's not a peaceful dream like those Romantic-era pieces such as Schumann's dreamlike Träumerei.
Stravinsky's dreams are full of transformations, twists and turns, and unpredictability, like a magical land where each instrument is a bizarre character leading us on an impossible adventure.
But the performance of the neoclassical piece Apollon Musagète was truly the highlight of the evening.
A classic tale from Greek mythology, centered around the god Apollo and his three muses Calliope, Polyhymnia, and Terpsichore, is reimagined without a structured narrative structure like Stravinsky's famous ballets such as The Rite of Spring or The Firebird.
This aligns perfectly with the innovative and modernized musical elements stemming from the Baroque tradition. The interplay between the high notes of the violin and the low notes of the cello is exquisitely beautiful; perhaps even the conversation between Apollon and his muses couldn't be more enchanting.
Compared to the two works above, Pulcinella Suite seems the most accessible. The orchestra plays an original passage by Domenico Gallo to give the audience an idea of the original style, before leading into Stravinsky's musical framework.
Just as anyone who has read Thanh Tam Tai Nhan's *Kim Van Kieu* then opens up to Nguyen Du's *Truyen Kieu*, listens to Gallo's music, and then hears Stravinsky, they will realize how far, how revolutionary, and how far Stravinsky has progressed.
Perhaps never before has classical music life in Vietnam been so rich. Performances take place continuously, in theaters, in contemporary museum spaces, in tea rooms, and in co-working spaces.
If they wish, classical music lovers can go to concerts a few times a week. Now that we have a concert featuring only Stravinsky, who knows, we might dream of a day with concerts featuring only Arnold Schönberg, or a concert featuring only Leoš Janácˇek?
It might just be a dream, but didn't Stravinsky also dream up masterpieces?
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-bai-stravinsky-20240616104226508.htm
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