Edward “Duke” Ellington

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January 16, 2016 The San Antonio Symphony under music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing opened its series of Las Américas concerts, Jan. 15 in the Tobin Center, with music by two striving outliers of American music, men of genius who are associated, accurately or not, with jazz — Edward “Duke” Ellington and George Gershwin.  Both moved into long-form orchestral music for the concert hall and opera house after establishing themselves as major successes in short-form popular music — Gershwin in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway musicals, Ellington in big-band jazz that combined feral eroticism and satin-doll elegance. But Gershwin’s popular songs were only distantly related to authentic jazz, and his famous concert works, especially the “Rhapsody in Blue,” which anchored the first half of this concert, owed far more to Ravel, Debussy and Rachmaninoff. In the “Cuban Overture,” which opened this concert, one can hear more than a few hints of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”  One can hear reflections of African-American folk traditions in the opera “Porgy and Bess,” a symphonic suite from which opened the second half of this concert, but jazz? No. Gene Krupa, the great jazz drummer, once said that he could hear no jazz influence in any of Gershwin’s “serious” pieces.  Ellington was certainly a jazz man, steeped in the jazz milieu from his early teens in Washington DC, but even in his “jungle music” arrangements of the 1920s we hear a complexity and a degree of compositional control that make Ellington’s music distinct from the other jazz of its era. That tendency reached its zenith in the work that closed this concert, the astonishing “Harlem” — originally called “A Tone Parallel to Harlem” — with its massive, rich chords and dense textures, closer in some ways to the sound world of Mahler, Richard Strauss and Prokofiev than to the Cotton Club.  The French pianist Vincent Balse (whose childhood friends in Bordeaux included current Spurs players Tony Parker and Boris Diaw) was the soloist in Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the less-familiar but more-delightful “I Got Rhythm” Variations. Mr. Balse was too-often overpowered by the orchestra, and he blurred a few passages, but his unaccompanied or exposed solos in the “Rhapsody” were remarkable for their personal character  and sinuous, organic shaping. Jazz or not, the music seemed to be coming from inside him. His work in the “I Got Rhythm” Variations was a scintillating treat. The performance of the “Cuban Overture” wanted more energy and precision, and the suite of Ellington standards that followed suffered from Jeff Tyzik’s bland arrangement. The orchestra acquitted itself handsomely through the rest of the program, especially in the taut, powerful account of Ellington’s “Harlem,” superbly led by Mr. Lang-Lessing. “Harlem” showed off an excellent quintet of guest saxophonists, but convincing jazz chops abounded among the orchestra’ own players on other instruments — John Carroll’s growling trumpet was supremely nasty, in a good way.  Plaudits also are due concertmaster Eric Gratz for his sultry-sweet “Summertime” solo and to principal percussion Riely Francis for his sparkling work on xylophone in the “Porgy and Bess” suite; and to principal clarinet Ilya Shterenberg for his spectacular slide at the start of “Rhapsody in Blue.”  Mike Greenberg

San Antonio Symphony, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Vincent Balse

George Gershwin

Striving outliers of American music

Vincent Balse

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music

January 16, 2016 The San Antonio Symphony under music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing opened its series of Las Américas concerts, Jan. 15 in the Tobin Center, with music by two striving outliers of American music, men of genius who are associated, accurately or not, with jazz — Edward “Duke” Ellington and George Gershwin.  Both moved into long-form orchestral music for the concert hall and opera house after establishing themselves as major successes in short-form popular music — Gershwin in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway musicals, Ellington in big-band jazz that combined feral eroticism and satin-doll elegance. But Gershwin’s popular songs were only distantly related to authentic jazz, and his famous concert works, especially the “Rhapsody in Blue,” which anchored the first half of this concert, owed far more to Ravel, Debussy and Rachmaninoff. In the “Cuban Overture,” which opened this concert, one can hear more than a few hints of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”  One can hear reflections of African-American folk traditions in the opera “Porgy and Bess,” a symphonic suite from which opened the second half of this concert, but jazz? No. Gene Krupa, the great jazz drummer, once said that he could hear no jazz influence in any of Gershwin’s “serious” pieces.  Ellington was certainly a jazz man, steeped in the jazz milieu from his early teens in Washington DC, but even in his “jungle music” arrangements of the 1920s we hear a complexity and a degree of compositional control that make Ellington’s music distinct from the other jazz of its era. That tendency reached its zenith in the work that closed this concert, the astonishing “Harlem” — originally called “A Tone Parallel to Harlem” — with its massive, rich chords and dense textures, closer in some ways to the sound world of Mahler, Richard Strauss and Prokofiev than to the Cotton Club.  The French pianist Vincent Balse (whose childhood friends in Bordeaux included current Spurs players Tony Parker and Boris Diaw) was the soloist in Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the less-familiar but more-delightful “I Got Rhythm” Variations. Mr. Balse was too-often overpowered by the orchestra, and he blurred a few passages, but his unaccompanied or exposed solos in the “Rhapsody” were remarkable for their personal character  and sinuous, organic shaping. Jazz or not, the music seemed to be coming from inside him. His work in the “I Got Rhythm” Variations was a scintillating treat. The performance of the “Cuban Overture” wanted more energy and precision, and the suite of Ellington standards that followed suffered from Jeff Tyzik’s bland arrangement. The orchestra acquitted itself handsomely through the rest of the program, especially in the taut, powerful account of Ellington’s “Harlem,” superbly led by Mr. Lang-Lessing. An excellent line of three saxophonists had to be brought in for “Harlem,” but convincing jazz chops abounded among the orchestra’ own players on other instruments — John Carroll’s growling trumpet was supremely nasty, in a good way.  Plaudits also are due concertmaster Eric Gratz for his sultry-sweet “Summertime” solo and to principal percussion Riely Francis for his sparkling work on xylophone in the “Porgy and Bess” suite; and to principal clarinet Ilya Shterenberg for his spectacular slide at the start of “Rhapsody in Blue.”  Mike Greenberg