Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

SD Symphony musicians slower than conductor Jahja Ling

Jan Lisiecki piano in Chopin’s concerto could have stood alone

Jahja Ling. My expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.
Jahja Ling. My expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.

The San Diego Symphony concert on Friday, April 12 felt slow and unsettled. I was surprised. In years gone by, the combination of conductor Jahja Ling, the San Diego Symphony, and Johannes Brahms, has been a good one.

For most of the concert, it felt as though the orchestra wasn't quite buying what maestro Ling was selling. The opening number, which was the overture from the opera *Der Freischütz” by Carl Maria von Weber, was especially lugubrious.

Von Weber's Der Freischütz is one of the most underrated operas.

In my opinion, Der Freischütz is one of the most underrated operas. The music is compelling — idyllic and energetic as the story involves young love and a deal with the devil. Weber was a master composer, and his music speaks for itself. It doesn’t need help in being dramatic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Maestro Ling appeared to be trying to manufacture a great performance by going to the extremes in tempi and dynamics. If a conductor is going to tread that path, the entire orchestra needs to be on the same path. Without earning the complete dedication of the orchestra, a conductor cannot hope to live on the edges of what is musically possible in any given piece.

This is complete conjecture but I would say there was some friction among the orchestral musicians regarding tempo and timing. Everyone has an opinion about the correct pacing for a piece of music. In the past, I’d say my expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.

The great revelation of the evening was the piano playing of Jan Lisiecki in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The piano part in the concerto could be a stand-alone piece and Lisiecki played it to perfection, based on my expectations for the piece.

Lisiecki was powerful and poetic in his playing. He placed the pillars of power and poetry and then explored combinations of night and day between the two.

Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 was the concluding piece. Having listened to several performances of Ling conduct Brahms I was nonplussed by this version of the fourth symphony.

I will leave it at this. I’m looking forward to maestro Ling conducting Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 on May 3, 4, and 5.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Jahja Ling. My expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.
Jahja Ling. My expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.

The San Diego Symphony concert on Friday, April 12 felt slow and unsettled. I was surprised. In years gone by, the combination of conductor Jahja Ling, the San Diego Symphony, and Johannes Brahms, has been a good one.

For most of the concert, it felt as though the orchestra wasn't quite buying what maestro Ling was selling. The opening number, which was the overture from the opera *Der Freischütz” by Carl Maria von Weber, was especially lugubrious.

Von Weber's Der Freischütz is one of the most underrated operas.

In my opinion, Der Freischütz is one of the most underrated operas. The music is compelling — idyllic and energetic as the story involves young love and a deal with the devil. Weber was a master composer, and his music speaks for itself. It doesn’t need help in being dramatic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Maestro Ling appeared to be trying to manufacture a great performance by going to the extremes in tempi and dynamics. If a conductor is going to tread that path, the entire orchestra needs to be on the same path. Without earning the complete dedication of the orchestra, a conductor cannot hope to live on the edges of what is musically possible in any given piece.

This is complete conjecture but I would say there was some friction among the orchestral musicians regarding tempo and timing. Everyone has an opinion about the correct pacing for a piece of music. In the past, I’d say my expectations for pacing have generally lined up with what maestro Ling has prepared but not on this night.

The great revelation of the evening was the piano playing of Jan Lisiecki in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The piano part in the concerto could be a stand-alone piece and Lisiecki played it to perfection, based on my expectations for the piece.

Lisiecki was powerful and poetic in his playing. He placed the pillars of power and poetry and then explored combinations of night and day between the two.

Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 was the concluding piece. Having listened to several performances of Ling conduct Brahms I was nonplussed by this version of the fourth symphony.

I will leave it at this. I’m looking forward to maestro Ling conducting Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 on May 3, 4, and 5.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Holiday Experiences

As soon as Halloween is over, it's Christmas time in my mind
Next Article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader