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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Friday night’s performance by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin at the Folly Theater continued The Friends of Chamber Music International Music Chamber Series, though as the name suggests, it could have just as easily been on The Friends Early Music Series.  The remarkably attuned audience of over 700 was treated to nearly thirty years of early music specialty.

Alte Musik Berlin’s performance was most striking for the nuance they were able to bring to the music of Telemann, Bach, and Handel. All too often these titans of Baroque music are performed as generic-umbrella-Baroque-era-performance-practice—emphasize the counterpoint, light touch, avoid over sentimentality—and the result is dry, academic music, beautiful for sure but not necessarily engaging.  Such was not the case with Friday night’s concert. Telemann was a tunesmith with delightfully playful rhythms, Bach was a blistering showman, and Handel was capriciously ornamental—each clearly their own composer with their own style, regardless of their shared chronology and geography. Also of note was a distinct lack of stuffiness.  There was a vibrancy surrounding the entire proceedings.  Players would glance, smile, and nod at each other throughout the performance.  The continuo members were visibly grooving especially the bassist, bassoonist, and cellist.  At times it was like a Baroque jazz concert, relaxed but precise. 

Telemann’s Overture in F Minor, TWV55:f1 was a solid opener, though it took a couple of bars for my ears to become adjusted to the intimate sound put forth by the fifteen instrumentalists.  Unfortunately, the transverse flute did not project enough during its solo movements, a problem that was not corrected until the final piece on the program. The recorder duo with lute continuo was lovely in the Menuet movements .

The best performance of the night came on Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050.  Harpsichordist Raphael Alpermann shone in his solo role (one of the first in keyboard repertory).  His playing was magnificent and musical.  Each note conveyed meaning and every line had direction without ever being romanticized.  Simply astounding. My notes at this point read “OMG Harpsichord.”  While it was Alpermann’s showcase, Christoph Huntgeburth, transverse flute and Elfa Kristindottir, violin, completed the soloist roster but were overshadowed in dynamics and assuredness by the rest of the ensemble.

Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, BWV 1042 opened the second half.  It was not the most memorable or best performed piece on the program with some shaky intonation and awkward transitions.  The central Adagio movement was gorgeous however.

Handel’s Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 2 was more lyrical and lighter than any of the other works on the program.  The ornamentation reminded me of bird calls and that Spring is fast approaching.

Huntgeburth, again on transverse flute, was joined by Anna Fusek on recorder for the final piece of the evening, Telemann’s Concerto in E Minor for Recorder and Flute, TWV 52:e1.  They dazzled with their technique and clean articulations.  The flute was consistently audible throughout for the first time on the program.  An unexpected tambourine and matraca-style ratchet brought the raucous Presto and concert as a whole to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion.

REVIEW:
The Friends of Chamber Music
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Friday, March 11, 2011
Folly Theater
300 West 12th Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-9999 or visit http://chambermusic.org

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com