Much of my wait was simply a matter of implementing the free access path. The Web site simply did not yet have suitable instructions. Those instructions are still not evident on the home page; but I can provide readers with the URL for a direct-entry path: <http://www.classicaltv.com/video/premium/salzburg-festival-2009-opening-gala>. I also advise anyone following this path to save the URL as a bookmark or in some other easily accessible location and be prepared to use it multiple times. This is because of the most important technology problem: Long events are broken down into segments of approximately half an hour, and the sequencing through those segments does not seem to work yet. I experienced this difficulty when I first tried viewing one of the free videos. I did not mention it in my "first impressions" article in the hope that the problem would soon be resolved. It is not yet resolved, and that is why it is highly desirable to save the above URL. The concert is in three of these segments. At the end of the first segment, the player hung; and all I could do was close the window. Invoking that URL brought me back to the beginning; but, after passing through a commercial and beginning the performance, I found I could pull the slider to just before the end of the segment. It finished "naturally" and then started up the second segment properly (which, again, began with a commercial). The same thing happened at the end of the second segment, except that this time I got an explicit error message and an automatic restart, which (of course) was from the beginning. This time I got my fast-forward strategy to skip through both segments and watch the final portion (again preceded by a commercial). As was the case with my initial experience last week, I had no problem investing this effort for the sake of experiencing the performance.
However, the concert experience itself turned out to be less stimulating than I had hoped. Let me review the program:
FRANZ SCHUBERT / ANTON WEBERN • Six German Dances, D 820The first segment consisted of the first four works on the program. The remaining segments presented the Schubert symphony, two movements at a time.
JOSEF STRAUSS • Frauenherz – Polka mazur, op. 166
JOSEF STRAUSS • Delirien – Waltz, op. 212
JOSEF STRAUSS • Pêle-mêle – Polka schnell, op. 161
FRANZ SCHUBERT • Symphony No. 9 in C, D 944
The basic problem, ironically, was that the performance was not particularly Viennese. The opening works should have sparkled with Gemütlichkeit. However, the Schubert felt as if it was being examined through a microscope (which may have been what Webern had in mind in his deconstructed orchestration of one of Johann Sebastian Bach's fugues but in this case did not fit with Schubert's or Webern's conception of German dances). It also seemed as if the audience was too unfamiliar with the Schubert to recognize when it had concluded; so the first applause did not take place until after the completion of "Frauenherz." The first two Strauss offerings also felt overly analytic, and Harnoncourt did not seem to lighten up until the final polka.
The Schubert symphony required a different attitude, but it was still problematic. What, for Robert Schumann, was "Schubert's heavenly length" became simply time-consuming. If Michael Tilson Thomas had bordered on the self-indulgent in the way he threw himself physically into conducting this symphony last June, Harnoncourt was so disciplined that there was little sense of forward motivation. However, if there was much to be desired in his rhetorical strategies for the entire program, one could still enjoy the rich sound of the Vienna Philharmonic itself, equally suitable for both Schubert's lofty orchestral conceptions and lighter Viennese diversions. Since I cannot remember the last time this orchestra toured the United States (if they ever did so), this is an excellent opportunity to enjoy that sound, ultimately far more important than the works on the program or the conductor on the podium.
No comments:
Post a Comment