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| Johannes Brahms, before his Santa Claus phase |
Yesterday, while the rest of America was glued to
the NFL playoffs, I and about 500 other people crammed into the Warden Theater at
the Academy of Vocal Arts for a free all-Brahms program. (I like Brahms, and I
like free, so I figured it was the perfect excuse to leave the apartments.) Students,
faculty and guests of the AVA performed nine vocal quartets and the two songs with
viola Op. 91. The concert ended with an instrumental work — the F minor
Clarinet Sonata Op. 120, performed with modest grace by 22-year-old Robert
Kahn.
Not much to say about this event, except that it’s
fun to see the stars of tomorrow today, and it’s always a thrill to hear big voices
in an intimate setting. There is a physical jolt, a sense of being enveloped in
sound, that doesn’t occur in the balcony at the Met, even when the largest of forces
are trotted out. One of the reasons I love Brahms because, unlike Wagner, say, he fits into a
small room. And his knowledge of Renaissance counterpoint is on full display in
his vocal music.
Interesting footnote about the singers in training
at the AVA: Reading the bios in the program, I noticed that not a single one
was from the Philadelphia area, or even the East Coast. They were all from the
Midwest, the Southwest, California, China and Mexico. Maybe the local talent likes
to leave home to study.
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