Bach to the Future:Themes and variations

8 November 2016: Stratford ArtsHouse
9 November 2016: Town Hall, Birmingham

• Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged Steve Martland – Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
• Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto no2 in F major, BWV 1047
• Douglas J Cuomo – Objects In Mirror [world premiere]
• Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto no3 in G major, BWV 1048
• Igor Stravinsky – Concerto in E-flat for chamber orchestra ‘Dumbarton Oaks’

If Ben Jonson was correct – and the last 400 years should be proof enough – then Shakespeare “was not of an age, but for all time!” And, I believe, musically, the same can (and should) be said of Bach. It seems almost inconceivable, now – considering his enduring popularity and influence – that his compositions were not widely appreciated until Mendelssohn revived the St Matthew Passion in 1829 (100 years after its first performance). Although his ascendance since, of course, has been stratospheric – literally, in the case of the three pieces sent into space with the Voyager probes: one of which is the opening movement of this concert’s second Brandenburg Concerto.

Musicians from all genres therefore continue to utilize Bach’s creations as the basis of – and inspiration for – their own: amongst my personal favourites, Jacques Loussier’s jazzy interpretation of the Goldberg Variations, and Shostakovich’s sublime 24 Preludes and Fugues. And, of course, this concert is itself a perfect demonstration of the great composer’s musical longevity, as well as his abiding relevance.

The opening, thrilling arrangement sets the tone perfectly: a famous keyboard work transformed into fresh fireworks for string orchestra; followed by four sumptuous examples of the concerto grosso – which all demonstrate, in contrasting ways, what pinnacles can be achieved with a few strings, an occasional harpsichord, and dazzlingly different arrays of solo instruments.

Although we may initially think of Corelli, Handel or Vivaldi as the main proponents of this antiphonal form – in which a small group of soloists (the concertino) are ‘accompanied’ by (or alternate with) a larger orchestra (the ripieno): one built upon a continuo of harpsichord and bass instruments – Bach, for me, is its ultimate master: richly expanding its original strings-only remit. His six Brandenburg Concertos are multivariate perfection: demonstrating just how sublime and diverse such concertante works can be – both in style and in orchestral colouring.

It is no wonder, therefore, that this classical form also continues to galvanize: often prompting composers to produce compact masterpieces of their own – a quick glance across the Pond revealing Barber’s stunning Capricorn Concerto, and the striking Stravinsky which ends today’s programme. In using the same forces as the second Brandenburg Concerto – and to such scintillating effect: revelling in the still-coruscating alloys of instrumental juxtaposition, 300 years on – Douglas J Cuomo can certainly also claim his position as their worthy successor.

The leaves bow themselves to the ground…

Next week’s Bach to the Future concerts – at Stratford ArtsHouse and Town Hall, Birmingham – feature the first of four pieces commissioned to celebrate the orchestra’s 21st Anniversary Season: Objects In Mirror, by Douglas J Cuomo – best known (I am told) for the title theme to Sex and the City. Each of the selected composers was invited to write a concertante piece for OOTS principals using the same instrumentation as an existing composition – in this case, Bach’s second Brandenburg Concerto – which will be performed immediately before this new work – thus enabling both audience members and players to compare and contrast the differences and similarities of composers across the ages.

Despite his busy schedule – he has a première of a choral piece in Florida at the same time as this one… – I managed to catch up with Doug, by email, to discuss his new – and (evident from just reading through the score) utterly captivating – work.

PREVIEW: Mozart and Friends with Lucía Caruso

As well as a thrilling set of variations, Folía, for piano, Portuguese guitar, and orchestra – written with her husband, guitarist Pedro H da Silva (above) – Argentine-born pianist and composer Lucía Caruso will be performing Mozart’s intriguing Piano Concerto no.13 in C major (K415) three times with the orchestra this month:

• 19:30, Tuesday, 11 October – at Stratford ArtsHouse;
• 14:30, Wednesday, 12 October – at Town Hall, Birmingham; and
• 19:30, Wednesday, 19 October – at Cheltenham Town Hall.

The inestimable Frances Wilson – otherwise known as ‘The Cross-Eyed Pianist’ – caught up with Lucía ahead of these concerts; and the resulting in-depth and thoughtful interview can be read on her website, as part of her addictive Meet the Artist… series.

Thank you, therefore, to Frances for her hard work; and to Lucía for her beautifully detailed responses.

Mozart and Friends with Lucía Caruso:Themes and variations

11 October 2016: Stratford ArtsHouse
12 October 2016: Town Hall, Birmingham

• Antonio Salieri – Sinfonia in D major ‘Il giorno onomastico’
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto no13 in C major, K415
• Lucía Caruso and Pedro H da Silva (orchestrated by Pedro H da Silva) – Folía
• Joseph Haydn – Symphony no92 ‘Oxford’ in G major, Hob I:92

Ignore everything you may have gleaned about Antonio Salieri – especially from that film! With only five-and-a-half years difference in age, it is no surprise that he and ‘Amadeus’ were rivals for many of the leading musical jobs on offer at the time. However, it is extremely unlikely that homicide was the end result! Indeed, in later life, these two great musicians were, if not friends, peers who worked together, and had a great deal of respect for each other. Likewise, Mozart and Haydn – who, when the former died, called the younger man “irreplaceable” – their friendship probably being established the year after today’s concerto was completed: when Mozart was in his late twenties; Haydn, his early fifties. Effectively, then – apart from the tremendous bonus which follows the interval (although it not only travels through this period, but echoes Salieri’s undoubted masterpiece: twenty-six incredibly virtuosic, ingenious orchestral variations on the very same theme, from 1815) – today’s concert captures the world of three pre-eminent composers who not only knew and influenced each other, but also dominated the musical scene of their age: with Mozart at its Viennese core.

If the opening symphony and the subsequent concerto are not regularly performed (relative to the fame of their creators; and the 13th is certainly not one of the most famous of Mozart’s 23 piano concertos), then the opposite is true of Haydn’s 92nd symphony – although, as Michael Kennedy once said, this was “composed in 1788 with no thought of Oxford”! However, it is a pocket-sized treasure: beautifully expressing that Austrian zeitgeist; as well as encapsulating and building on the composer’s previous orchestral triumphs… – immediately before he entered the glorious Indian summer of his twelve London symphonies.

What all four works here have in common then are not just bonds of friendship (an OOTS trademark), but excitement, contrasted with lyricism of the highest, most penetrating order – the Salieri thrilling in its exploration of orchestral technique and timbre (as well as its riveting beginning, luxurious middle, and gravity-defying end); Mozart’s concerto mesmerizing in its almost unceasing, meandering and vaulting virtuosity; Lucía and Pedro’s Folía electrifying with both mastery of musical evolution and execution; and finally, Haydn, yet again stretching the bounds of symphonic form: with invention, intelligence and the most exhilarating finale!