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the tango boring...
I attended a nice little performance last night at the Indianapolis Historical Society's Basile Theater. The Pro Arte ensemble, headed up by Dr. Stanley DeRusha performed with guest soloist Gabriela Diaz (see the misprinted poster here - scroll down).
The first half of the program consisted of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Overall, they did a very good job, and Ms. Diaz was especially good. There were some slight intonation problems with the violins, but at the moments when the ensemble seemed most engaged (third movement of summer and most of the winter movements), they were close to flawless. I thought the Basile theater was a nice choice of venue, too. The Four seasons are so often piped through speakers in shopping malls, or used to sell us diamonds and luxury cars, that to hear them in an intimate recital hall with a small ensemble was like sharing a secret with the performers and Vivaldi.
The second half of the program featured Piazzolla's Cuatro estaciones porteñas (known in English as the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires). Now, I don't know a lot about Piazzolla, and there isn't the cursory-search/almanac-type-blurb/info-o
But the real story here is not any of that. The real story is how boring Piazzolla's music is. I like tango, don't get me wrong. It can be very compelling, but these four pieces, and the two incidental tangos they performed before the four seasons, were so monochromatic and such a snooz that i wanted to slit my wrists. Fine musicians, painful program.
The first half of the program consisted of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Overall, they did a very good job, and Ms. Diaz was especially good. There were some slight intonation problems with the violins, but at the moments when the ensemble seemed most engaged (third movement of summer and most of the winter movements), they were close to flawless. I thought the Basile theater was a nice choice of venue, too. The Four seasons are so often piped through speakers in shopping malls, or used to sell us diamonds and luxury cars, that to hear them in an intimate recital hall with a small ensemble was like sharing a secret with the performers and Vivaldi.
The second half of the program featured Piazzolla's Cuatro estaciones porteñas (known in English as the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires). Now, I don't know a lot about Piazzolla, and there isn't the cursory-search/almanac-type-blurb/info-o
But the real story here is not any of that. The real story is how boring Piazzolla's music is. I like tango, don't get me wrong. It can be very compelling, but these four pieces, and the two incidental tangos they performed before the four seasons, were so monochromatic and such a snooz that i wanted to slit my wrists. Fine musicians, painful program.
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