20th century music

The National Symphony Orchestra played a concert of all 20th century music last night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, featuring Jennifer Koh as violinist and Michael Christie on the podium. It's not often we get to hear a classical concert where all of the music is less than a century old.

The program included two Stravinsky works and one Bernstein.

The three of us sat on the far side on the first row behind the cross-over, which is about a third of the way back into the house. The sound is fine there, and as we were on the left, we had an excellent view of both the soloist and the conductor, plus being on that first row gave us all a little bit more leg room—always a plus.

The concert opened with a work for just woodwinds and light brass (no strings) by Stravinsky called "Symphonies of Wind Instruments." It was interesting, and sounded very stereotypically Stravinsky, with tonality arriving only at the very end of the ten minute piece.

Strings returned to the stage for Bernstein's "Serenade after Plato's Symposium" to accompany Miss Koh, who opened the work with a solo melody. As the first movement developed, I kept hearing snippets of Bernstein's famous musicals from the early 1950s Each of the five movements were quite different, the penultimate being the most interesting due to the very high piano pianissimo of the soloist as the movement wound to its conclusion. The final movement included much of the jazzy feel for which Bernstein was famous.

Koh engaged her audience, though the usual standing ovation was rather half-hearted, I think, and mostly from those seeking to race to the lobby for a cocktail to beat the crowds. She played enthusiastically, occasionally so vigorously she broke horsehair on her bow and would have to break it off between passages. She wore a fire engine red Grecian-style dress gathered at the bust line, then allowed to drape down in front. Silver shoes completed her ensemble.

After the intermission, the full orchestra returned to play Stravinsky's ballet, Pétrouchka.

Christie is a young, short leader who conducts as with a broad brush. The orchestra sounded well under his baton, and played the difficult modern music clearly and crisply.

Additional performances of this concert are tonight and tomorrow night.