The Opera Tattler

* Notes *
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra gave a performance entitled “The Concerto: An Adversarial Friendship” yesterday in Berkeley. The concert featured violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch as the main soloist and leader, and together they played Muffat, Telemann, Biber, Schmelzer, and Bach. In general, the musicians produced a crisp, jaunty sound, their dynamic constrasts were clear, and their tempi changes distinct.

Of the eight pieces played, Biber stood out, his Serenade in C Major Der Nachtwächter was fun, and even had an aria in the middle of it. His Battalia in the second half of the concert had much humor, involving many sound effects, including stomping, pressing paper on the strings of the bass and theorbo, and violently snapping strings against the fingerboard. The other descriptive piece on the program was from Schmelzer, Die Fechtschule. This ballet uses some of the same techniques as the Battalia, though less dramatically.

The Muffat consisted of two selections from Florilegium Secundum, and for both each movement was characterized differently. A gavotte could never be mistaken for a gigue or a minuet, but the music all danced nonetheless. Both the Telemann pieces showcased violin, the first being a Concerto for Two Violins and Bassoon, and the second being a Sonata for Four Violins. The latter was especially odd, only having the high voices seems like it would be harsh, but all the lines come together beautifully.

Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major finished off the evening. Wallfisch had some fire, but was fairly restrained when it came to the tempi, especially of the first Allegro. This did give the orchestra somewhere to go with the final Allegro assai, and both of these movements were filled with joy. Wallfisch’s phrasing was elegant, and she played smoothly without being too legato.

* Tattling *
The audience seemed rather elderly, I only saw half a dozen people even somewhat close to my age. None of the normal electronic noise was heard, but I did happen to sit in front of a woman on oxygen, and her breathing device did make a clicking sound. This was actually easy to ignore, it was not terribly loud, just disconcerting at first. Unfortunately, the woman’s companion spoke aloud during the music, especially near the end. At one point he explained that Walfisch means “whale” in German.

For some, the Allegro of the Bach Violin Concerto will be forever associated with Alex Pines‘ Intro to Chemistry. One wonders if he is still playing a recording of this before class starts.