Venerdì 3 giugno Teatro Palladium ore 20.30
Le piace Brahms?
J. Brahms: Serenata n. 1 in re maggiore op. 11 (versione originale per 9 strumenti)
Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble
David Romano, violino
Diego Romano, violoncello
The final concert in the Spring Season for Roma 3 with even more surprises from Roberto Pujia and Valerio Vicari in their quest to help young talented musicians find a home to share their remarkable talents with a discerning audience in the Eternal City.Not happy with just a series of concerts,they had created sixteen years ago an orchestra made up of musicians who have graduated from their advanced studies and need experience of playing in an ensemble.The Orchestra has gone from strength to strength thanks to the expert musicians that have been invited to share the platform with them.Enrico Bronzi helped form an ensemble that actually listens to itself. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/12/18/roma-3-orchestra-comes-of-age-at-teatro-palladium-in-rome/
And tonight in the quest to learn and perfect their ensemble,the remarkable Romano brothers had been invited to work together on the rarely performed original version of Brahms Serenade op 11.I had heard David Romano last summer in a chamber music festival held on the beautiful Spada estate in Sutri.
I had not heard him before but his overwhelming participation and music personality ignited the Souvenir de Florence after an equally overpowering performance of the Rite of Spring played by the indomitable Beatrice Rana and her partner Massimo Spada.
Per la prima volta ospiti della stagione di Roma Tre Orchestra insieme, i fratelli Romano sono due fuoriclasse del violino e del violoncello e ricoprono ruoli di prime parti presso l’Orchestra Nazionale dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia.
In questo progetto guidano un ensemble di nostri giovani musicisti nella Serenata n. 1 in re maggiore op. 11 di J. Brahms. Questo brano fu inizialmente concepito nell’estate 1858 per nove strumenti (flauto, due clarinetti, corno, fagotto e quartetto d’archi) durante delle vacanze a Göttingen trascorse con Clara Schumann e alcuni amici. Dopo un primo ascolto in occasione di un concerto privato ad Amburgo il 28 marzo 1859 Brahms si convinse che fosse opportuno elaborare anche una versione orchestrale del brano. Si tratta della prima composizione sinfonica pubblicata dal giovane Brahms ed è caratterizzata da un clima sereno e una scrittura contrappuntistica che colpì positivamente i suoi contemporanei. Emerge chiaramente uno sguardo attento al passato: alla forma della fuga così come era stata elaborata da Bach, alla musica da camera di Haydn e Mozart nonché a precedenti formazioni cameristiche originali quali il settimino di Beethoven e l’ottetto di Schubert. Non mancano tuttavia i tratti distintivi di quello che sarebbe stato il personale stile compositivo di Brahms, nella musica da camera come in quella sinfonica.
The two Serenades, Op.11 and 16, represent early efforts by Brahms to write orchestralnmmusic. They both date from after the 1856 death of Schumann when Brahms was residing in Detmold and had access to an orchestra. Brahms had a goal of reaching Beethoven’s level in writing symphonies,and worked long and hard on his first symphony completing it only in 1876 when he was 43 years old. As preliminary steps in composing for orchestra, he chose early on to write some lighter orchestral pieces, these Serenades.
The first serenade was completed in 1858. At that time, Brahms was also working on his first Piano Concerto.Originally scored for wind and string nonet and then expended into a longer work for chamber orchestra ,the serenade was later adapted for orchestra;Brahms completed the final version for large orchestra ?in December 1859.In the orchestration of the Concerto Brahms had solicited and got a great deal of advice from his good friend Joseph Joachim.For this Serenade Joachim also gave advice, although to a lesser extent.The first performance of the Serenade, in Hanover on 3 March 1860, “did not go very well” in Brahms’s opinion,but evidently the unusually large audience of 1,200 did not notice any mistake during the performance. At the end, applause “persisted until I came out and down in front.” After every piece in the concert “the audience was shouting.”This was a vastly better reception than the Piano Concerto had in either of its first two performances. But at its third performance, 24 March, also in Hamburg, it had been a success, perhaps not to the same degree as the Serenade.
The Serenade is in six movements:Allegro molto ,Scherzo,Allegro non troppo – Trio. Poco più moto,Adagio non troppo,Menuetto 1– Menuetto 2 ,Scherzo. Allegro – Trio Rondo,Allegro
A superb ensemble and as David Romano had said in his introductory talk – whilst the votes were being counted for the audience prize – the horn takes on a pivotal role and is thus seated between the strings in one side and the wind on the other.There was some remarkably authoritative playing from the horn of Gabriele Gregori.And with David and Diego Romano seated between Carlotta Libonati,viola and Daniele De Angelis double bass how could,they not play with the same passion and searing intensity of these remarkable brothers.Valerio Iannini,flute,the two clarinets of Alessandro Crescimbeni and Giuliana Nicotra and the bassoon of Carolina Santana all inspired to bring such mellifluous shape to this early work in progress of Brahms.
The beautiful pastoral of the Allegro molto or the mystery of the Scherzo.The extraordinary opening of the Adagio for just viola,cello and doublebass.The pure charm of the Menuetti and the almost call to arms of the second Scherzo followed by the exhilaration of the hunt in the Rondo.A remarkable performance by an ensemble that played as one thanks to the inspired participation of the Romano brothers who knew how to ignite and encourage with such humility their younger colleagues,allowing them all to reach even greater heights together.
Fascinating too the idea of audience participation for their Young artists piano series during the season at the Teatro Palladium,Teatro Torlonia and the Aula Magna of Roma 3.I had heard a lot of the concerts and know the five finalists well although I had not been able to listen to all their performances in this season.All remarkable young musicians who just need a platform and a discerning audience to share their music with.Hats off to Roma 3 who are gradually building up a following and faithful public who know and appreciate the quality of the performances from these young musicians .And hats off too to an audience who could pin point the remarkable artistry of Michelle Candotti a student of Dmitri Alexeev at the RCM in London.When we met after this concert she was on her way to play to him at his country home near Rieti – small world! https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/11/13/dmitri-alexeev-mastery-and-communication-beyond-all-boundaries/
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 