A couple of weeks ago I attended a concert in the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Hugo Graf. The concert was named “The Planets -An HD-Odyssey”, for the main event was Gustav Holst’s masterpiece played in its entirety with a video presentation of the seven celestial bodies depicted in the music, in full HD. Completing the set were Stravinsky’s early “Scherzo Fantastique” and Dutilleux’s “Timbres, espace, movement”.
This was the first time I ever heard the Stravinsky’s piece. Familiar with his ballets and some of his unique symphonies, I’ve heard little of his early output. The “Scherzo Fantastique” was an entertaining little piece with hints of the revolutionary rhythm-work that the master would deliver later in his life with “The Rite of Spring” and his earlier ballets. The Orchestra played it very tight and smooth, with a fantastic string section that gave me a lot of hope for the main course of the concert, which was the one that attracted me to the event in the first place.
Next in the program was Dutilleux’s work, scored for a much smaller string section but a larger percussion group. I had never heard of this composer before and I was gladly impressed. The atonality of the music was not a problem, as the dynamics in the piece kept me interested all the way through, even when the melodic element was close to null. Harmonies and colors flying everywhere set up the mood perfectly for the second part of the concert. The orchestra, once again, delivered, imprinting some vitality in a difficult work where emotion takes a second seat to cold musical science.
After the intermission, the full orchestra came back. Lights were dimmed and the projection started with a rather uninspired documentary on the creation of the visuals. Maestro Graf came back to the helm and Holst’s masterpiece started in full energy with the percussive string pattern of “Mars, bringer of war”. The orchestra built the tension perfectly, making the arrival of the full-ensemble explosion much more of a relief for the listener. One thing I didn’t like (from the audience) was the applause in-between planets, which was unnecessary; neither the orchestra nor the conductor acknowledged it. Next on the list of seven planets (Earth is not depicted in the work, and Pluto was yet to be discovered when Holst composed the music) comes “Venus, bringer of peace”. The peaceful, beatific music has little to do with the character of the actual planet (a hell in the solar system, if there ever was one) and more with the deity after whom the planet is named. “Mercury, the winged messenger” came and left quickly. My favorite movement, “Jupiter, bringer of jollity”, started with fantastic precision from the strings and a rather imposing declaration by the brass. The tempo was just right for me, not too fast, not too slow. When the magnificent middle-section arrived, I was completely swept away by the emotion. The orchestra conveyed all the solemn grace of the music perfectly. “Saturn, bringer of old age” was the perfect contrast, and “Uranus, the magician” was, as its name requires, magical. “Neptune, the mystic” closed off the piece with its mystical, ethereal women chorus creating a sense of distance, of undiscovered territories, making the listener understand that while we know a little about our solar neighbors, there’s so much more that lies beyond.
The orchestra and conductor received a long round of applause by the audience, and after the second one Graf came back for a little surprise: Stravinsky again, this time with the minute piece “Fireworks”, a rather light, playful piece that closed the concert in a high, if a little irrelevant, note. Graf and the Orchestra received more than three rounds of applause before they left the hall.
This was an excellent concert, with the best orchestra I have seen live. The string section especially was phenomenal, with crystal clarity and perfect execution. Graf’s version of Holst’s suite was much to my liking, not overly fast, not terribly slow, but just at the right pace. I’m glad to say the event has marked me in more ways than I expected, since it has reignited in me the need to see live classical music performances that I had when I was considerably younger.
As a side note, the visual presentation was rather forgettable, as there was nothing of interest but shots of each planet with little energy and little relation to the actual musical events. Anyway, “The Planets” don’t need high definition video; they just need high quality performers. And that’s exactly what we’ve got with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under Hugo Graf.
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