Music and wine in live streaming - the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet performs works from J.S.Bach to Nino Rota

Hagar Shahal,Yigal Kaminka,Itamar Leshem,Nadav Cohen,Danny Erdman (Courtesy TAWQ)

Happy hour took place at 14:00, a little earlier than usual, but any time of day is right for sipping a glass of wine while attending a live online concert. The initiative of  “Divas and Gentlemen”, a new organization set up by experienced young Israeli performers and producers to present online concerts during the coronavirus crisis, presented its pilot live streaming Wine Concert on May 22nd, 2020, offering people attending the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet’s concert the opportunity of listening to good music while enjoying imported wines from Premium Wine Ltd., and in the comfort of their own homes. In keeping with the project and its theme, the Keoss Recording Studio (Tel Aviv) was set up as a bar. Performers - Hagar Shahal-flute, Danny Erdman-clarinet, Yigal Kaminka-oboe, Itamar Leshem-French horn and Nadav Cohen-bassoon - offered a few words of explanation prior to each work. 

 

The concert opened with Mordechai Rechtman’s arrangement of Mozart’s Adagio for 2 clarinets and 3 basset horns in B flat major, K. 411. With Mozart by far the most notable composer writing for the basset horn, his inclusion of three of them in the Adagio would place it in the sound world of sonorous, velvety textures. This still emerged in the TAWQ’s performance of the small gem, as the members subtly played into the dissonances of Mozart’s lush harmonic language in a rich blending of timbres. So well suited to performance on three melodic instruments, J.S.Bach’s Trio sonata” in E minor BWV 528, transcribed by Rechtman from organ (two manuals and pedal), was performed by Hagar Shahal (flute), Danny Erdman (clarinet) and Nadav Cohen (bassoon). With much lively and expressive dialogue between flute and clarinet, the players were convincing in setting out the work’s trio construction, dynamic energy and elegance, its variety of moods and tonality changes. In the final movement, Un poco allegro, the bassoon joins the two “manuals” to engage in the imitative fugal process. 

 

Of Giachino Rossini’s six (major-key) string quartets, written in 1804, when the composer was twelve years of age, we heard Sonata No.4 in B flat major. Originally scored for two violins, ‘cello and double bass, it stands to reason that the wind setting, produced by a (forgotten) contemporary of the composer, should be for flute, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Listening to its fluency, interplay of instruments and moments of virtuosic writing, I was struck by the work’s wealth of catchy, bel canto-type melodies penned by the child who was to compose 39 entertaining operas as an adult. The players gave the work much Italian sparkle and joie-de-vivre, also, highlighting the pensive, expressive character of the Andante movement (profound writing for a 12-year-old). In later years, Rossini disparagingly referred to the string sonatas “‘six terrible sonatas that I wrote… in my earliest years... all composed and copied out in three days, and performed in a doggish manner and myself as 2nd violin – no less doggish than the others”. What a misjudgement! 

 

Providing interesting background information on Paul Hindemith’s “Kleine Kammermusik” (Small Chamber Music) Op.24, No.2, Yigal Kaminka spoke of Hindemith being affected by the Nazi Regime’s cultural policy (propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels denounced him as an “atonal noise maker”) and that the echoes of war are woven into the fabric of the work. The TAWQ’s playing of the five movements gave poignant expression to the work’s many layers - firstly, to Hindemith’s fine writing for winds, but also to its neo-Classical Stravinskian language in all its terse realism. The very opening of the first movement swiftly takes the listener into the pungent, cerebral sound world that pervades the work. The players also brought out its mix of wit and cynicism, as in the strange, joyless waltz (2nd movement). Reflective, haunting but also lyrical, the third movement was a vehicle for some fine, wistful solo- and duet-playing. Following the unique fourth movement, its 23-bar agenda of five tiny solos, punctuated by a feisty refrain of repetitive figures, the work bows out with a sophisticated, bracing literally off-beat dance. Whether one perceives the work as light and entertaining or as disturbing in its message (or perhaps both?), the TAWQ’s performance of it showed that music that is complex in its own terms can still be easily accessible to the ear.

 

Nino Rota is best known for his many film scores, but, time and time again, Rota demonstrated that he was a remarkable chameleon, capable of providing the full spectrum of musical forms, styles and instrumentation. Not to be ignored is his output of chamber- and orchestral music (including ballet music), choral music and opera. In recent years, his concert music has been emerging from obscurity. Rota’s “Piccola offerta musicale” (Small Musical Offering), paying homage to the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, was written in the dark time of 1943.  Scored for wind quintet, the single-movement piece of some 3.5 minutes, swings between drawn-out, cantabile sections and a busy, devil-may-care musical joyride, to finally land on a major chord. The TAWQ’s articulacy, technical teamwork, finesse and richness of tone produced a congenial soupçon of pizzazz.  Rota once said, "I'd do everything I could to give everyone a moment of happiness. That's what's at the heart of my music." 

 

Providing the audience with just enough time to empty another glass, the quintet took leave with a hearty arrangement of the Drinking Song from Verdi’s “La Traviata”:

“Let’s drink, let’s drink from the joyous chalices

that beauty so truly enhances.
And may the brief moment be inebriated
with voluptuousness.

Let’s drink for the ecstatic feeling

that love arouses...”

 

"Berlin-Tel Aviv", tenor Assaf Kacholi's first solo album

Photo:Yonatan Birenbaum

Tenor Assaf Kacholi’s solo repertoire spans several genres, from opera to oratorio, from Lieder to Israeli songs. cabaret music and Italian love songs. Born in Israel, Kacholi has been living in Berlin since 2002. In 2007, he joined the highly successful German classical-crossover “Adoro” Ensemble. “Berlin-Tel Aviv”, his first solo album, was released in September 2017 on the GEMA label. His own personal choice of pieces, the disc offers an assortment of songs covering a number of genres, each accompanied on either guitar or piano.

 

The earliest of the pieces on the CD is John Dowland’s lute ayre “Flow My Tears”, with Shani Inbar’s guitar accompaniment indeed a satisfactory substitute for the original lute and Kacholi reflecting Dowland’s gloom in such dejected and contradictory utterances as
“Happy, happy they that in hell
Feel not the world's despite”.

 

Two items of the disc provide an all-to-brief glimpse into a genre close to Kacholi’s heart and one that sits very well with his voice - the Romantic German Lied. In “Ständchen” (Serenade), dating from the last months of Schubert's life, Kacholi and pianist Efrat Levy take time to re-create the limpid music of yearning coloured with Schubert’s major/minor fragility, as the serenader invites her lover to join her on a nocturnal rendezvous. Kacholi’s reading of Clara Schumann’s “Die stille Lotosblume” (The Quiet Lotus Blossom), composed in 1842 (lyrics: Emanuel Geibel) is a beautifully controlled mood study, as the silvery, moonlit poem is presented with poetic lyricism. One senses that Kacholi is very comfortable with the German language. Moving with ease into the musical theatre mode of Kurt Weill, Kacholi strikes a fine balance between the bitter-sweet intimacy of a text telling of betrayal and the political message of “Wie lange noch?” (How long before it’s over?) to lyrics of Walter Mehring. And, on a different note, his debonair singing, evoking Berlin allure in the suave, leisurely foxtrot of “Berlin in Licht” (Berlin in Light).

 

The salon songs of Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846-1916) envelop the human voice with natural, Italian warmth, having been on the playlists of such opera singers as Nellie Melba and Enrico Caruso, as well as being an important part of Pavarotti’s repertoire. Kacholi’s singing of Tosti’s songs engages in their easeful melodiousness, their lush elegance and gentle sentimentality, as he conveys their ideal of love and its niche in our dreams. Especially evocative are his two reflective renditions of Nino Rota’s “What Is a Youth?”, to superbly played accompaniments - the first on guitar (Shani Inbar), with a second rendition together with Orit Wolf on piano -  the latter from a live performance. Wolf and Kacholi’s fine collaboration is also heard in George (and Ira) Gershwin’s “By Strauss”, their quick-witted and entertaining performance articulate, jaunty and certainly “light of foot”.

 

Assaf Kacholi’s ties with Israeli song repertoire, both emotional and profound, filter through generously in his singing of those on the disc. We hear: him and guitarist Yonatan Birenbaum’s exotic and velvet-like performance of Noam Sheriff’s “Thou art Beautiful” (Song of Songs) and their beautifully crafted and moving interpretation of  “My Little Bird” (lyrics: Pinchas Sadeh, music: Oded Lerer). The many facets and colours of Assaf Kacholi’s voice also play out effectively in his evocative and caressing performance of “Lullaby” (lyrics: Natan Alterman, music: Sasha Argov), all the more fetching for Orit Wolf’s poignant accompaniment:
“Now the road itself will sleep
For the end is near…
And the king has lost his crown
As the fools appear.
Rest your head, the boat, the brook,
Tranquil lies the Persian souk,
Turn down the lights, the dark is lush...
And quiet, quiet...hush…”                Translation: Achinoam Nini

 

In recording “Berlin-Tel Aviv”, Assaf Kacholi opens his personal music portfolio to us. His richly endowed voice and warmth of sound invite the listener to listen again, to connect with his musicality and sincerity. The disc is also a statement of personal conflict, a searching of identity, of Assaf Kacholi’s confidence to say: “These are my songs”.

    

 

The Else Ensemble in an evening of 20th century chamber music at the Israel Conservatory, Tel Aviv

Members of the Else Ensemble with Prof. Arieh Vardi (photo courtesy Else Ensemble)

The Else Ensemble (Germany/Israel) recently performed a series of chamber music concerts in Israel. This writer attended a concert referred to as “Night Discoveries – Chamber music in a Different Atmosphere”, which took place at the Israel Conservatory of Music (Tel Aviv) well into the evening on May 18^th 2017.

The Else Ensemble, representing years of collaboration and friendship between Israeli and German musicians, is named after the German Jewish poet, author, playwright and painter Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945) and comprises young, outstanding musicians. Devoted to performing German and Jewish repertoire of the 19^th century to present times, also making a deep enquiry into neglected works and repertoire affected by political events. Inspired by Else Lasker-Schuler, whose unique biography addresses both Germany and Israel, the ensemble performs and premieres works of women composers. The ensemble initiates innovative, cross-disciplinary concerts and has performed in major concert venues in Europe and Israel.

When one mentions Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007), most people will associate the Italian-American composer with “The Telephone”, “The Medium” and many other post-war operas he wrote; his vocal concert- and chamber music, however, has attracted less attention. The Trio for violin, clarinet and piano, written in his eighth decade, displays Menotti’s characteristically accessible and expressive tonal language. True to its title, the opening Capriccio was alive with colourful banter – at times whimsical, at others, lyrical - between Sarah Christian (violin) and Shelly Ezra (clarinet), with the players’ melodic expression in the Romanza rich and beguiling. The audience’s enjoyment of the perky 3^rd movement (Envoi), giving the stage to each of the three outstanding players (piano: Naaman Wagner), offered a listening experience that certainly extended beyond the work’s technical brilliance.

Mordecai Seter’s (1916-1994) Trio for violin, ‘cello and piano (1973) is typical of the body of Seter’s very personal chamber music written in the 1970s.  At the Tel Aviv concert, we heard it performed by violinist Hed Yaron Mayersohn, ‘cellist Valentin Scharff and Naaman Wagner. Following its opening block of dense dissonances, the work’s agenda becomes sparse and otherworldly; the Else players created the mood piece, its bleak string gestures frequently coloured with nebulous flageolette tonings set to velvety, dark chords or pedalled arpeggios on the piano. A work using Seter’s own modal material but also reflecting developments in Israeli music of the time, the players offered a coherent, transparent and finely sculpted performance, giving expression to the work’s mysterious, enigmatic and unravelled message.

Written at age 87 in Scotland, the Jewish, Austrian-born composer Hans Gál’s (1890-1987) final adopted home, his Quintet for clarinet and strings op.107 reflects the composer’s liking of wind-string settings. Performing it at the Else Ensemble concert were clarinetist Shelly Ezra, violinists Sarah Christian and Hed Yaron Mayersohn, violist Miriam Manasherov and ‘cellist Daniela Shemer. They presented the work’s lush, sympathetic Romantic canvas (the writing often calling to mind that of Brahms), its harmonic interest, its warmth and energy.  Addressing the work's distinctive, sweeping melodic lines, Ezra’s tone was splendid throughout; still, Gal’s writing offered the audience the chance to appreciate each of the players.  From the Nazis banning his music to the way his music fell out of fashion in the 1960s, there seems to be no viable reason for Gál’s works not to be performed more frequently nowadays on Israeli concert platforms. The Else Ensemble offered a fine opportunity to hear the quintet, certainly no less beautiful for its anachronistic style.

Famous for his outstanding film music (more than 150 scores!), it should be remembered that Nino Rota (1911-1979) also composed operas, ballets, orchestral-, choral- and chamber works. We heard the Trio for clarinet, ‘cello and piano (1973) performed by Ezra, Wagner and Scharff. The artists gave a fresh, vibrant reading of the opening Allegro movement, their playing abounding in shape and surge blended and communicative. Ezra and Scharff’s exquisite melodic treatment of the pensive Andante movement, moving from cantabile gestures to the fragile, to the vehement, was well complemented by Wagner’s attentive weaving in and out of the texture of both melodic and supportive roles. As to the final movement, its good-natured, naïve rakishness and boisterous, dancelike mood made for good cheer and an exhilarating close to the concert.

In the words of one of the Else Ensemble musicians: “As much as playing together is a personal joy for us, we deeply believe our ensemble shares an interesting story with the world: people of different cultures with a mutual complicated past, who come together for a celebration of chamber music at its highest level.” Formed two years ago, the ensemble brings to the concert hall outstanding musicianship and artistry, combining to form  inspired and inspiring performance...and all these with a good measure of young energy.