Debussy, Pintscher, and Ravel at Severance

Last week, Matthias Pintscher served as guest conductor at Severance.  This week, Pintscher was present in spirit if not in body as one of the featured composers.  More on that in a moment.  This week’s guest conductor was Alain Altinoglu, the featured soloist the orchestra’s principle flautist, Joshua Smith.  The hall was nearly sold out, no doubt mostly due to the popularity of the program’s final work, Ravel’s Bolero.

The program opened with Altinoglu’s own suite from Debussy’s opera Pelléas and Mélisande.  The orchestra has some familiarity with this, one of the composer’s least played works, having performed the complete opera two seasons ago.  They also recorded excerpts in the 1940s under then music director Erich Leinsdorf.  Some have complained that Pelléas and Mélisande lacks a hummable tune, which is valid as far as it goes – it eschews many of the features some opera lovers thrive on: epic spectacle, stratospheric arias, elaborate plot twists.  But the composer’s stream of consciousness creation has benefits for those who are willing to listen on a more elevated level.   The suite – partly based on incidental music the Debussy had to write at the last moment to cover for stage changes – was convincingly presented by Altinoglu.  The transparent, shimmering textures alone were a delight, along with the most delicate tone painting.

Pintscher’s “Transir”, a de-facto flute concerto, was even more challenging.  While there are those who did – and some still do – regard Stravinsky’s music as avant-garde, the Russian composer used the orchestra in a rather conventional manner.  Not so with “Transir”.  Numerous instruments were altered to some extent, including the use of paper clips in the strings to create a unique sonority.  Further, each string player often had an individual line to play, which would challenge any ensemble.  To say nothing of flautist Joshua Smith’s task, who’s technique included “multiphonics” (creating multiple notes at once), tapping on the instrument, “jet-whistle”, flutter-tongue, and breath effects.  Everything that could be perceived as unusual for both soloist and orchestra.  I simply had no idea a flute could be made to sound this way – yet it remained musical.  Altinoglu proved an excellent collaborator, with the orchestra demonstrating its mettle in a highly detailed, but mostly quiet accompaniment.  Smith was rightly awarded with a standing ovation.   

The program’s second half was dedicated to Ravel.  The Spanish Rhapsody featured sensitive use of dynamics yet seemed somewhat sectionalized.  Pavane for a Dead Princess was beautifully paced and somewhat muted – a grief observed rather than experienced.  What can one say about Bolero that hasn’t been said before?  It’s probably the best example of an orchestral crescendo this side of Rossini.  Altinoglu established a sensible pace, kept the balances in check, and let the soloists do their thing.  The individuality of various solos, in particular a flirtatiously sexy saxophone solo from Steven Banks enhanced, but never distracted from, the musical line and inevitability.

My enjoyment of Bolero was dampened by a woman in front of me humming along with the main tine, and several audience members trotting out their cell phones to tape parts of the proceedings – in defiance of Severance’s strict policy against doing so.  The head usher tried to intercede several times but eventually gave up.  Poor man.