Hi Michael — I'm the editorial assistant at The Cleveland Orchestra (working with Amanda Angel). Though I was marginally familiar with Vivier/this piece before our concerts with Hannigan & Patoulidou, it wasn't until putting together the program books that I was made fully aware of this fascinating and tragic composer and his body of work. It was an absolutely stunning piece to hear live (definitely one of those where a recording doesn't do it justice!), and your program note made the experience so much richer. Thanks so much for your thoughtful approach to this wonderfully enigmatic work! I greatly appreciated it, and am certain our audiences did as well. (I also really enjoyed your recent program notes for our performances of Krenek's "Kleine Symphonie" and the Adagio from Mahler 10.) Cheers! 👏
Thank you for your kind words — I'm glad to hear the program note made your time with Lonely Child so much richer. As you know well, that's the best feedback an annotater can hear. 😃 I'm envious you got to hear Hannigan and Patoulidou live, and in Severance Hall no less! In hindsight, I really should have made the trip to Cleveland to see this. Now I'll forever be keeping an eye on their concert calendars. 👀
(I'm also glad you enjoyed my deep dives into Mahler and Krenek. It was a wild pairing to write about — one work I've known since I was 16, the other so obscure I had to rely on my score reading skills since it's never been recorded!)
Jan 17·edited Jan 17Liked by Michael Cirigliano II
You're very welcome! Let us know if you're ever in town. We have some fun stuff coming up the rest of this season (and next...). 👀
The Krenek/Mahler pairing was definitely a wild one. I presented the pre-concert talks for that concert (which also included two works by Bartók—the "Miraculous Mandarin" Suite and a string orchestra arrangement of his String Quartet No. 3), and there were all sorts of crazy and fascinating connections between the composers and pieces on that program. The Krenek was especially intriguing to learn about (again, from your program note since there's very little info out there!) and hear in performance. It's such a fun, quirky little piece! I loved hearing the quiet chuckles from the audience when the plucked string group (banjos, mandolins, and guitar) enter in the first movement. 😅
I was able to catch a replay on Adella, and I too chuckled at the row of plucked strings taking over the front of the stage. Such an innovative sense of orchestration in that piece — and nearly 100 years later it still sounds so incredibly fresh!
Wow. Just whoa. Consider me a new fan 🤩 As always, I listened first, eyes closed, before reading. And the experience was pure synesthesia! Like a postmodern kaleidoscope collage, pops of colorful shapes, thin traces of lines, abstract shimmers and smears all coalescing to create a piece that doesn’t feel discombobulated at all, no! I love what you said in your comment about “hiding the seams of difficulty” because that’s exactly it. It’s ethereal but sturdy. And it takes otherworldly talent and skill to pull all this off. How absolutely tragic Vivier was taken from us much too soon. For my second listen, I watched the video performance... a whole different experience. The power duo of Patoulidou and Hannigan... mesmerizing to say the least! (I watched the Hannigan performance you linked on your comment as well! Such talent!!) I concur with everyone here, thank you for introducing us to this master and masterpiece!!
Thanks so much, Katie! For someone who listens before reading the essay, you really had to field a curveball with this one, didn't you? 😃
That description of your first listen is downright magical. It so tenderly speaks to all the mystical properties embedded in this score. Lonely Child is one of my favorite works, and it warms my heart that it's been so well received here. I hope Vivier's games of color provide you with many opportunities for a transcendent listening experience! 💙
What an exciting piece. It has really opened my ears to the possibilities, both orchestral and vocal. Thank you for introducing me to this composer. Please forgive a basic question Michael but I have always wondered whether music that employs very complex rhythms, dissonance, atonal sounds and so on are harder to conduct and play than that which has a more harmonious sound and a more regular rhythm. I know it is all in the score and the orchestra will know the piece well by the time they perform it, but I just wonder whether it would be more challenging to perform this piece than a Strauss waltz, say. Whatever the case I enjoyed it very much. Thank you!
I'm so glad Vivier’s work opened all these doors for you to explore, Jules! And the question you posed is a great one.
Modern works are almost always more difficult to prepare and perform for all the reasons you outline in your response. The Lonely Child score, for instance, regularly changes meter and rhythm, and to produce those games of color, the musicians also have to think not just in terms of whole tones (think the difference between white keys on a piano) and semitones (the difference between a black and white key) but also quarter tones and even more micro variations in pitch.
Add to that the fact that contemporary music hasn't been around as long and is largely less familiar to the musicians and not performed as regularly (even the glorious Cleveland Orchestra hadn't played this work before last fall), and the challenges involved increase. Every musician on that stage will have played Strauss waltzes at points throughout their career, so the familiarity with the music and the muscle memory of playing that music before makes the lift a lot lighter for every new performance.
My favorite music, regardless of whether it's Brahms, Bach, Vivier, or Philip Glass, is music that hides the seams of its difficulty, something I believe Vivier does well here. His focus on melody above all else really helps to keep the ear and mind engaged with the message he wants to convey.
Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed response. It's good to understand more about what it actually takes for an orchestra to achieve such excellence. It must be rewarding for them when they perform it so beautifully and as you say, make something very difficult look easy. Hats off to the conductor, too!
It's such a beautiful feeling when an orchestra of 50-plus musicians unite as one to bring a work to life — especially if it's a challenging one! Definitely one of the aspects of music-making I miss most.
And isn't Barbara just amazing? Such a dynamic, versatile artist. If you're interested in hearing her voice, this is a great video of her singing AND conducting a beautiful song by Kurt Weill:
That clip was a delight. Conducting an orchestra whilst singing like an angel. I've saved it into my "special music" folder on YouTube! I like Weill, too. I love watching Lotte Lenya singing "Pirate Jenny". Thank you for this Michael. Expanding my horizons as always!
I just adore these explanations and recommendations, these histories and your own interpretation of artistry. Thank you so much for this gift! 💙
Thank *you,* Kathleen! That means so much. 💙
Hi Michael — I'm the editorial assistant at The Cleveland Orchestra (working with Amanda Angel). Though I was marginally familiar with Vivier/this piece before our concerts with Hannigan & Patoulidou, it wasn't until putting together the program books that I was made fully aware of this fascinating and tragic composer and his body of work. It was an absolutely stunning piece to hear live (definitely one of those where a recording doesn't do it justice!), and your program note made the experience so much richer. Thanks so much for your thoughtful approach to this wonderfully enigmatic work! I greatly appreciated it, and am certain our audiences did as well. (I also really enjoyed your recent program notes for our performances of Krenek's "Kleine Symphonie" and the Adagio from Mahler 10.) Cheers! 👏
Nice to "meet" you, Kevin!
Thank you for your kind words — I'm glad to hear the program note made your time with Lonely Child so much richer. As you know well, that's the best feedback an annotater can hear. 😃 I'm envious you got to hear Hannigan and Patoulidou live, and in Severance Hall no less! In hindsight, I really should have made the trip to Cleveland to see this. Now I'll forever be keeping an eye on their concert calendars. 👀
(I'm also glad you enjoyed my deep dives into Mahler and Krenek. It was a wild pairing to write about — one work I've known since I was 16, the other so obscure I had to rely on my score reading skills since it's never been recorded!)
You're very welcome! Let us know if you're ever in town. We have some fun stuff coming up the rest of this season (and next...). 👀
The Krenek/Mahler pairing was definitely a wild one. I presented the pre-concert talks for that concert (which also included two works by Bartók—the "Miraculous Mandarin" Suite and a string orchestra arrangement of his String Quartet No. 3), and there were all sorts of crazy and fascinating connections between the composers and pieces on that program. The Krenek was especially intriguing to learn about (again, from your program note since there's very little info out there!) and hear in performance. It's such a fun, quirky little piece! I loved hearing the quiet chuckles from the audience when the plucked string group (banjos, mandolins, and guitar) enter in the first movement. 😅
I was able to catch a replay on Adella, and I too chuckled at the row of plucked strings taking over the front of the stage. Such an innovative sense of orchestration in that piece — and nearly 100 years later it still sounds so incredibly fresh!
Wow. Just whoa. Consider me a new fan 🤩 As always, I listened first, eyes closed, before reading. And the experience was pure synesthesia! Like a postmodern kaleidoscope collage, pops of colorful shapes, thin traces of lines, abstract shimmers and smears all coalescing to create a piece that doesn’t feel discombobulated at all, no! I love what you said in your comment about “hiding the seams of difficulty” because that’s exactly it. It’s ethereal but sturdy. And it takes otherworldly talent and skill to pull all this off. How absolutely tragic Vivier was taken from us much too soon. For my second listen, I watched the video performance... a whole different experience. The power duo of Patoulidou and Hannigan... mesmerizing to say the least! (I watched the Hannigan performance you linked on your comment as well! Such talent!!) I concur with everyone here, thank you for introducing us to this master and masterpiece!!
Thanks so much, Katie! For someone who listens before reading the essay, you really had to field a curveball with this one, didn't you? 😃
That description of your first listen is downright magical. It so tenderly speaks to all the mystical properties embedded in this score. Lonely Child is one of my favorite works, and it warms my heart that it's been so well received here. I hope Vivier's games of color provide you with many opportunities for a transcendent listening experience! 💙
Haha!! Curveball yes! But a welcome Wonderland rabbit hole for sure! Magic I definitely need during these cold, dark, winter doldrums ✨
What an exciting piece. It has really opened my ears to the possibilities, both orchestral and vocal. Thank you for introducing me to this composer. Please forgive a basic question Michael but I have always wondered whether music that employs very complex rhythms, dissonance, atonal sounds and so on are harder to conduct and play than that which has a more harmonious sound and a more regular rhythm. I know it is all in the score and the orchestra will know the piece well by the time they perform it, but I just wonder whether it would be more challenging to perform this piece than a Strauss waltz, say. Whatever the case I enjoyed it very much. Thank you!
I'm so glad Vivier’s work opened all these doors for you to explore, Jules! And the question you posed is a great one.
Modern works are almost always more difficult to prepare and perform for all the reasons you outline in your response. The Lonely Child score, for instance, regularly changes meter and rhythm, and to produce those games of color, the musicians also have to think not just in terms of whole tones (think the difference between white keys on a piano) and semitones (the difference between a black and white key) but also quarter tones and even more micro variations in pitch.
Add to that the fact that contemporary music hasn't been around as long and is largely less familiar to the musicians and not performed as regularly (even the glorious Cleveland Orchestra hadn't played this work before last fall), and the challenges involved increase. Every musician on that stage will have played Strauss waltzes at points throughout their career, so the familiarity with the music and the muscle memory of playing that music before makes the lift a lot lighter for every new performance.
My favorite music, regardless of whether it's Brahms, Bach, Vivier, or Philip Glass, is music that hides the seams of its difficulty, something I believe Vivier does well here. His focus on melody above all else really helps to keep the ear and mind engaged with the message he wants to convey.
Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed response. It's good to understand more about what it actually takes for an orchestra to achieve such excellence. It must be rewarding for them when they perform it so beautifully and as you say, make something very difficult look easy. Hats off to the conductor, too!
It's such a beautiful feeling when an orchestra of 50-plus musicians unite as one to bring a work to life — especially if it's a challenging one! Definitely one of the aspects of music-making I miss most.
And isn't Barbara just amazing? Such a dynamic, versatile artist. If you're interested in hearing her voice, this is a great video of her singing AND conducting a beautiful song by Kurt Weill:
https://youtu.be/l4Q-4JcqEa8?si=bCd16V0gmEpSkBVm
That clip was a delight. Conducting an orchestra whilst singing like an angel. I've saved it into my "special music" folder on YouTube! I like Weill, too. I love watching Lotte Lenya singing "Pirate Jenny". Thank you for this Michael. Expanding my horizons as always!
My pleasure, Jules! Lotte is a favorite of mine, too — I will drop everything to hear her sing "Pirate Jenny" or "Surabaya Johnny"!
I like that one too!
Thank you for introducing me to this work, this artistry in many forms, and the invitation for reflection.
It's my honor, Susan. Thank you for being here and exploring this enchanting work with me. 💙
Amazing story--and an equally amazing piece. Thanks for sharing this.
My pleasure, John! Glad you enjoyed.