Humble bass assumes
a stellar role
François Rabbath: Performs with Honolulu Symphony, 7:30 p.m. today at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets $15 to $55. Call 792-2000.
By Ruth O. Bingham In most classical music, string basses saw humbly away in their corner, anonymously holding down the nether regions to provide a structural foundation for the music. It is not the role of romantic leads. Not, that is, until a virtuoso such as François Rabbath took hold of the instrument on Sunday and transformed it into a dashing hero à la Cyrano de Bergerac.
Special to the Star-BulletinPerforming with the Honolulu Symphony, Rabbath was riveting, spell-binding, a poet with a lightning-fast touch (yes, on a string bass) and with dead-on intonation. His technique was phenomenal, but who was paying attention to how clean his harmonics were, or how crisp his arpeggios? His music sang, it joked, it floated lightly above the orchestra, it carried on a jazzlike conversation, and every phrase told a story.
Rabbath performed the world premiere of "Nine Variants on Paganini," the fifth concerto-like piece Frank Proto has composed for him. The performance was recorded to be broadcast on National Public Radio and was received with an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Before the concert, Proto mentioned that "being a composer in the real world means writing in a wide variety of styles." His "Nine Variants" combined elements of traditional classical, jazz, film music and contemporary classical, reflecting a trend toward increasingly eclectic styles.
The theme, introduction and form spoke of classical traditions, but the middle "Variants" slid into a smoky, jazz-club style that at times seemed on the verge of Gershwin's "Summertime" or "An American in Paris." Some were serious, some lyrical, some exotic, as in the eighth "Variant," with its tango-ish syncopations, drones, ostinatos and harmonic minor scales. The result was a witty, thoroughly entertaining piece.
Maestro Samuel Wong introduced Proto's work with Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," a short, dramatic excerpt from "Die Walküre." Wong's Valkyries were riding heavy chargers on Sunday, slow, careful war horses thundering along at 72 beats per minute. Although Wong built the suspense well, the horses conveyed little adrenaline edge and tended to bog down on the plains.
Typical for Wagner, the strings worked their bows to a frazzle, but the brass received all the glory, with an impressive eight horns and four magnificent trombones.
In fact, the program seemed to be built around the brass, opening with the Wagner, providing a break with the string bass concerto and closing with Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, which is almost a brass feature.
The program was an odd one for an Easter Sunday, which was reflected in the small audience. None of the pieces provided an advance "draw," and Bruckner's symphonies, famous for their length, should come with a warning label: No. 8 clocks in at about 90 minutes. By the time it was over, even the musicians looked weary.
On the other hand, Bruckner offers rewards for those with the leisure and patience to follow his discourse with uninterrupted focus. The performance delivered numerous gorgeous moments, and except for the occasional rough spots that are wont to happen in any marathon, the orchestra played well.
The brass section was augmented to nine (!) horns (four doubling on Wagner tubas), three trumpets, four trombones and one tuba; their choirs were exceptionally rich. Timpanist Stuart Chafetz lent flamboyant punctuation, and virtually every wind principal shone in solos.
There was some indication, however, that the orchestra sagged under its own weight and needed more rehearsal time than its schedule allows. Despite Bruckner's "organic" themes that returned in various permutations, and despite the ubiquitous "Bruckner rhythm," coherence remained tenuous. Because of Bruckner's tendency to back off from climaxes and take another go at them, it was easy to lose track of the discourse: Even after about five minutes of musical preparation, the ending seemed to come as a surprise to many.
Bruckner had good ideas and composed beautiful music, but could have used a good editor.
Ruth O. Bingham is a free-lance with a Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University.
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