Having a Cadenza

Apart from the annoying little man, seated right in front of me, determined to demonstrate his musical knowledge by humming certain passages and vigorously waggling his head, Thursday Night’s August Symphony Season at the city hall was magnificent.

The programme featured soloist, Sasha Rozhdestvensky, who mightily performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op 61. Now, what made it more remarkable, the cadenzas. No, not the one I had when I nearly brained the stiff little man who was now chatting to his lady friend!

For the undereducated amongst us, and yes, I fall squarely into that category, a cadenza refers to the portion of a violin concerto where the orchestra stops playing and the soloist has opportunity to show their mettle. Now this concerto was written rather hurriedly by ole Beethoven and the cadenzas were left unwritten, but over the years his charming piano cadenza version has become what’s widely accepted. Enter composer Alfred Schnittke.

Ooh baby! Think an insane jealous Beethoven, on acid, naked. Weave the popular symphonies of the last two centuries in a glorious energetic cocktail, shake it up with a virtuoso muso, thanks Sasha, and then cleverly knit back to the original concerto theme. It was a mind massage, brilliant, generous but at times discordant and difficult.

Listening to a familiar piece of music is much like visiting a dear old friend. When their brawling younger cousin decides to pop in for a visit it can be trying to say the least. It’s no longer sweet comfortable and familiar; in fact it can be decidedly uncomfortable! But don’t discount the cousin; youth still has something important to say even if it’s not always what we want to hear.

Check out http://www.cpo.org.za/calendar.q for more Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra concerts.