A Task
In fear and trembling, I think I would fulfill my life
Only if I brought myself to make a public confession
Revealing a sham, my own and of my epoch:
We were permitted to shriek in the tongue of dwarfs and demons
But pure and generous words were forbidden
Under so stiff a penalty that whoever dared to pronounce one
Considered himself as a lost man.
— Czelaw Milosz, 1970
taken from text to John Harbison’s Milosz Songs
New York Philharmonic, February 24, 2006
The concert on Friday was spectacular. Rather appallingly, Avery Fisher Hall seemed barely half full, and there were only 4 attendees in our row. Even though the Harbison was difficult I would go almost anywhere to hear Dawn Upshaw, and I am surprised that the concert was not better attended.
The opening work, Bartok’s fabulous Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, was wonderfully performed, full of power and magic. I don’t think the audience was thrilled. A shame. Perhaps I am biased because this is one of my favorite works, it just makes me smile and want to dance.
The Harbison was beautiful and powerful, the music was well suited to the gripping texts, and Ms. Upshaw, as usual, gave an affecting, riveting performance. One of the things I love about Dawn Upshaw’s performances is that does not only does she have a great voice, but she sings with such intelligence, control, emotion, and a great ability to act and to portray the music through her singing. Here’s a link to the review in the New York Times.
That said, this work was difficult, or at least I found it so, and I tend to like difficult modern pieces Of course the selected poems and fragments by Czeslaw Milosz are difficult in and of themselves. The piece was beautiful, haunting, and very taxing. I would not recommend it for anyone who wants to sit back and not think or feel strong emotions while listening to music. I loved it but I don’t think I could listen to it often. I suppose that is why the concert hall was not full; our last concert, an all Mozart program, was, after all, sold out.
I don’t know why, I knew the name of the work before we came to the concert, but it must have been a symptom of the general fog in my brain of late, but I had not connected the name of the work "Milosz Songs" with Czeslaw Milosz’s actual works. Stupid I know.
The concert ended with Bernstein, some symphonic reworkings of dances from West Side Story. I love West Side Story as a musical. I have never developed a taste for symphonic renditions of other music forms and was not eager to hear this but we stayed. It was nice enough, certainly a mental relief after the Harbison, and I suppose a nice way to send us off back into the streets and to bed. No bad dreams after the Bernstein after all.