High Notes From the Pit

Naturally, at the ballet, you watch the stage. If you look below it, you may see the tops of a few heads, no more. And yet, it is in the pit that musicians produce an essential part of ballet, of "music in motion."

San Francisco Ballet's splendid orchestra is providing some special treats in the company's current fifth and sixth programs. While the full orchestra, under Martin West's direction, performs in white heat for Yuri Possokhov's The Rite of Spring, to Stravinsky's savage score, I was equally moved by something completely different, chamber music's ne plus ultra, Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio.

Performing the music for Mark Morris' Maelstrom, violinist Kay Stern, cellist Eric Sung and pianist Roy Bogas combined clarity of line with deeply-felt emotion, reminding me (and a prominent musician in the audience) of the gold standard of the trio, with Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose, and Eugene Istomin — yes, the LP recording, with sound never equalled by CD.

No performance excellence could make some of the Saint-Saëns selections (Symphony No. 2 and Adagio from Symphony No. 3) for Helgi Tomasson's Caprice rise above "background music," says this fan of the composer.

Shostakovich's music thrills in Program 5, Alexei Ratmansky's Trilogy, set entirely on works by the composer — Symphony No. 9, the Chamber Symphony, and Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Michael McGraw, piano, and John Pearson, trumpet). Pearson's performance is flawless, with a gorgeous tone, the difficult low notes coming through expressively.

Rufus Olivier's bassoon in the fourth movement of the symphony is utterly beautiful, the real heart of the work. Julie McKenzie's piccolo in the first movement is nimble and delightful. Also in the Ninth Symphony, outstanding solos are heard from clarinetist Natalie Parker and flutist Barbara Chaffe. In the Chamber Symphony, Sung's cello sings affectively.

Double bass institution Shinji Eshima, who recently returned from a teaching gig in Moscow, has these thoughts about the Shostakovich Trilogy:

For me the music expresses the really horrific suffering caused by those "elected" to serve and protect us. It is so ironic considering what is going on now in Ukraine, but this is really what it is saying. The absurdity of it all is also revealed in the false happy facade one is forced to wear whilst being fed poison. Such insult to injury, not unlike being asked to pay for the bullet used to execute you.

I can't see the ballet [from the pit], but judging from the set design and the music selected, I think this is not far from the intent.

It is curious that while I was in Moscow recently, I met a US State dept official who informed me of the Russian government's intention of bringing all things Russian back into the culture — to take pride in their arts. This certainly fills that intention, but the irony is even more pronounced now. I have to admit I've been skeptical of Ratmansky, but it appears he has very deep understandings and compassion for his country's history and people.

News from the orchestra includes the pending retirement, at the end of the season, of longtime concertmaster Roy Malan, a prominent violinist and violist with several organizations, including the San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players. He is founder and director of the Telluride Chamber Music Festival, and serves on music school and center faculties.