One of the things I'm grateful for today is being able to attend Chamber Music Pittsburgh's presentation of all six of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. The concert, performed this past Monday, on modern instruments played by CMU faculty and students and soloists from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, was brilliant. Held in the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, the concert was well attended and, judging by the attention and applause the audience gave the musicians, much appreciated.
I heard via a WQED broadcast with Jim Cunningham and two of the musicians, violist Kai Su and violinist Andrew Gray, that this would be the first time in decades that the concertos would be performed in their entirety in Pittsburgh.
Three of the concertos were performed before intermission with the remaining three after the break. I must admit that I found it took me a while to really immerse myself in the music. It felt much like the same phenomenon I experience at one of Shakespeare's plays -taking about ten minutes or so to really "get into it."
Each concerto had a different configuration of musicians, requiring chair, mike and other rearrangements on stage, which allowed for a pause to relax and reflect.
One thing that amazed me it the sheer number of notes Bach had to transcribe for the concertos' instrumentation. The different voices in the compositions are so complex and brilliantly interwoven that it must have been a monumental task to get them all on paper. And this coming from a prolific composer. Carpal tunnel syndrome?
By the time the final concerto began I was totally immersed in the music, so much so, I didn't want the concert to end and burst the aesthetic bubble. This is only the second time that I can recall such a feeling of wanting the concert to go on longer. The only other time came with a performance of Wagner's "Parsifal," a four hour-plus long experience at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
The "experiential bubble" of the evening lasted until I met up with my fellow concert goer in the Music Hall Lobby, which burst like an overinflated balloon with the first uttered word and greeting.
I was tempted to ask my companion if she had a favorite, but then, when I knew she'd ask me the same question, decided to let it pass. I would really have to think hard and deeply for an answer. Thanks Chamber Music Pittsburgh for a wonderful experience.
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