AMF Program 8/1/12 |
Leonard Bernstein: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano. It was introduced to us telling us that in it we'd hear some of the theme later developed into West Side Story. True. This piece was interesting in that, if West Side Story was a sculpture, it would be like walking up to a table and finding the broken pieces of the mold it was cast in. You wouldn't quite be able to make out what the complete West Side Story would be like, but you'd get the vague impression of its dimensions and texture. This Sonata is like the mold.
And secondly, the AMF performance of Appalachian Spring, which is the piece that got me off my butt and up to Lorimer Chapel once again, was totally satisfying. The musicians gave it a beautiful and emotionally rich performance.
Oh, finally, somewhere I thought I saw an early draft of the program suggesting Barber's Adagio for Strings would be on the bill. Thank God, I was spared that. I must be the one person on Earth that can't stand the Adagio. I was glad it wasn't played, though I would've endured it to hear Appalachian Spring.