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Jeff Spurgeon: From old Amsterdam all the way to new Amsterdam, and then to you. It's the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on this edition of Carnegie Hall Live. They're led by Chief Conductor Designate, Klaus Mäkelä, in a program of music featuring a U. S. premiere by composer Ellen Reid, as well as Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2. Backstage at Carnegie Hall, I'm Jeff Spurgeon, alongside John Schaefer.

John Schaefer: And we are very excited to be here for this performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. They have a long and storied history. They've been around for 136 years, and in all that time, they've only had seven chief conductors. So the people who come to the Concertgebouw tend to stay there. And we should mention the Concertgebouw is in fact the building, right? The concert building is literally what Concertgebouw means, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has named Klaus Mäkela to be their eighth chief conductor. He will assume that role in 2027 and Mäkela's rise to the heights of the classical music world has been meteoric. He's only 28. But he's already a sought after conductor. He has positions at the Oslo Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris, and future appointments with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony here in the States. And Jeff, you'll recall that we were here at Carnegie Hall when Mäkela made his conducting debut last season with the Orchestre de Paris

Jeff Spurgeon: Seems like we'll be seeing him in a few places from now on.

Tonight's performance is part of a tour for Mäkela and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. They've been in Florida. They're going to the Kennedy Center in Washington. And tonight is the first of two concerts they're giving at Carnegie Hall. It's a remarkably relaxed ensemble. You can hear them around us right now. They're just chatting as the audience files in, getting ready for the concert.

John Schaefer: I'm half expecting a poker game to break out here.

Jeff Spurgeon: They don't seem to be in any hurry to go on stage. We did talk with Klaus Mäkela earlier today and asked him about the scope of this program. And he told us particularly about the piece commissioned by the orchestra and co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, the work Body Cosmic by Ellen Reid.

Klaus Mäkela: I really believe in the program because it, it, it showcases three, of course, completely different pieces, but somewhat they are linked. Of course, I'm very, very proud to present to you this premiere of Ellen Reid's piece, which we now premiered in Amsterdam. It's a special piece for us because she was the residence composer of the, of the Concertgebouw, the building. And then this was our sort of collaboration was this piece, the premiere. It's really composed not in collaboration, but for us so that, you know, we even did a Zoom session with her, before earlier this year, where then, you know, she could hear how certain things sound like. And, and it, you know, these kind of things make me very happy that we can have this kind of collaboration. It really feels like we're bringing, in a way, our pieces of music, because, you know, that's the benefit of this orchestra, which has such an incredible past. I mean, you think about it, Strauss conducted over 30 concerts, and Mahler conducted so much of his own music, revised so much of his own music with the orchestra in that hall. And so in a way, now we bring some of the, hopefully, future classics which are also our pieces, in a way.

John Schaefer: That is Conductor Klaus Mäkela, and he's right. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has a long history of supporting living composers. Mahler and Strauss, when they were contemporary, and now the American composer Ellen Reid.

Also joining the orchestra on stage tonight at Carnegie Hall is the Georgian born German violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who will perform the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2.

Jeff Spurgeon: She's a familiar sight as far as these orchestra players are concerned. She's worked with the Concertgebouw dozens of times since her debut more than 20 years ago, and has been artist-in-residence with the orchestra too.

We talked to her earlier this week. She told us about her relationship with this orchestra.

Lisa Batiashvili: Well, first of all, this is, of course, one of the most famous and most incredible orchestras in the world. So I got to know the musicians quite well, and actually in the recent years I realized the orchestra is becoming younger and more international.

It's the first tour for me with them to the U. S., and I'm extremely looking forward to our concert set, especially at Carnegie Hall.

John Schaefer: Violinist Lisa Batiashvili talking about her relationship with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She also has a kind of a deep relationship with Prokofiev's work, including the Concerto No. 2. We asked her what she loves so much about Prokofiev in general and this concerto in particular.

Lisa Batiashvili: His music has so many facets and it reminds me of theatre and ballet in one. And it has incredible possibilities of expression. And the second concerto for me, especially the second movement, is the work that was written right before Romeo and Juliet. It's a very difficult concerto, technically. It's also something that has to come together with the orchestra because there are a lot of tempo changes in the last movement, also in the first movement. So you need this kind of one big breath, but also a lot of kind of possibilities to change the character from one extreme to the other in a very short time.

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili talking about the work she'll play, the Prokofiev 2, in a little bit. But this concert begins with a work that will have its first United States performance in just a few minutes. A work by Ellen Reid, who in 2019 won the Pulitzer Prize in music for her work Prism, an opera dealing with the effects of sexual and emotional trauma.

Since then, she's done a number of other really unusual and interesting projects, including Soundwalk, a piece of public art that uses GPS technology. The satellites to turn urban parks into interactive soundscapes. She's also collaborated with the Kronos Quartet and she's written scores for films featured at the Tribeca Film Festival and at South by Southwest.

Tonight's performance, she told us though, is a big first for her.

Ellen Reid: So this is the first time that my work will be performed in Carnegie Hall, and what a way to have that experience happen.

So I grew up in East Tennessee and I wasn't surrounded by a lot of classical music. I was surrounded by other great music and I came to college in New York and my college had free tickets and the first real big orchestral concert I went to was at Carnegie Hall.

And so this feels like a big full circle moment to me.

John Schaefer: That is Ellen Reid and she is here in the hall tonight for the American premiere of her piece which is called Body Cosmic. Jeff, she was in our studios earlier today and has not been a stranger here in New York over the years. Along with composer Missy Mazzoli…

Jeff Spurgeon: They collaborate. That's right.

John Schaefer: Yeah, they founded what they call Luna Labs, which is a remarkable workshop for very young, like teenage female- identifying composers.

Jeff Spurgeon: And and gender adjusting composers. Yes. So it really is an interesting workshop for a really distinct group of young people. A really wonderful support idea.

John Schaefer: One of the first public kind of performances of some of the music took place in our studios downtown about, oh, I'd say about seven years ago.

Jeff Spurgeon: And John's referring, of course, to his program, New Sounds, which is on our sister station, WNYC.

John Schaefer: So Ellen is here, as I say, in the hall for this performance. She has been the composer in residence at the Concertgebouw, the actual building, the Concertgebouw.

Jeff Spurgeon: And, and collaborating at the same time with the orchestra that works inside the building. It doesn't need to get any more complicated than that, but it is that complicated.

John Schaefer: We can make it more complicated if you need us to.

But but the piece, Body Cosmic, is a two-movement work. That, she told us, explores the human body as it creates life and gives birth. And when we spoke with Ellen Reid earlier today, she told us that this piece was driven by her own life.

Ellen Reid: It is such a wild experience to grow another body and soul. And so that's what this piece is about. The piece is in two movements. The first movement is called Awe/she forms herself. And that's about the surreal sensation of something growing inside of you that you're not in control of. You can't make it happen, it's just happening.

The second movement is called Dissonance/her light and its shadow, and that is about the deep responsibility and fear about bringing a new person into the world right now.

With all of it, with the horror and the beauty and the violence and the love and what it means to hold that responsibility. And to commit and say, yes, I'm going to bring a new person into, into all this.

Jeff Spurgeon: Composer Ellen Reid speaking about the work Body Cosmic, which will open this concert by Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which as you hear, has just begun to file on stage at Carnegie Hall.

Sometimes at these concerts, the orchestra members sort of wander out whenever they like, rehearse on stage as the audience is there, but tonight everyone waited, and they're entering at one single time.

The gentleman in the tailcoats, the women in black, and we'll wait the arrival of Klaus Mäkela after the orchestra tunes, and begin this concert with Ellen Reid's piece, and then move on to the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 with Lisa Batiashvili.

John Schaefer: And, Jeff, you were mentioning Ellen Reid's Soundwalk series. She did one of those GPS enabled works here in New York at Central Park where you would wear headphones and the sound would change depending on where you were.

She has often included electronic elements in her work. However, Body Cosmic, the piece we're about to hear, is a purely acoustic work using only the orchestral instruments. And yet, I think you'll hear echoes of her experience with electronic music, especially in the very telling ways that she combines instrumental textures in ways that you haven't heard before.

Jeff Spurgeon: She embraces both the traditional sounds but uses those traditional instruments, as you say, in, in experimental ways. She is an experimental musician as well as being skilled in traditional kinds of comp composition.

On stage, the orchestra now tuning up, including the concertmaster tonight, who is an alumnus of this orchestra, Alexander Kerr, former concertmaster but he is the guest concertmaster tonight. American violinist, who also works with the orchestra in Dallas, teaches at Indiana University as well. So he is in the first chair this evening.

And now we're just waiting for the stage door to open, a little conversation between the conductor and some orchestral folks and we'll get this performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam underway.

John Schaefer: The first piece on the program once again is called Body Cosmic. It was co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra who will now give the piece its American debut. And on what better platform than the stage here at Carnegie Hall. Klaus Mäkela. Up on the podium, acknowledging the crowd, turning to face the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. And here is Ellen Reid's piece, Body Cosmic.

MUSIC – ELLEN REID: BODY COSMIC

John Schaefer: Music by the Pulitzer Prize winning American composer Ellen Reid, her piece Body Cosmic was co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Carnegie Hall, and you've just heard the American debut of the piece by that orchestra in this hall. Klaus Mäkela, the Finnish conductor, leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra here at Carnegie Hall.

Body Cosmic, a two-movement work by Ellen Reid, who is now out on stage and embracing Klaus Mäkela and basking in the, basking in the glow, Jeff, of what seems to be a very appreciative audience tonight.

Jeff Spurgeon: Well, it's a thrilling work and and an amazing theme, the idea of depicting in music the mysterious process of bringing new life into the world. Awe/she forms herself, the first movement. Dissonance/her light and its shadow, exploring some of the darker themes in the responsibility of creating new life and bringing it onto the planet. Great moment tonight for Ellen Reid to have her music performed here at Carnegie Hall. No wonder she was so happily in attendance.

John Schaefer: And, we should probably, you mentioned, Jeff, that that Ellen has written a number of film scores. I think you could hear that sense of drama.

Jeff Spurgeon: Oh, for sure.

John Schaefer: Especially in the second movement. The, the drama that every first time parent feels about what am I doing? How is this going to go? What kind of world am I bringing this child into?

And again, the work inspired by Ellen's own, Ellen Reid's own experience of pregnancy and childbirth.

Jeff Spurgeon: And you had spoken about her use of electronics in some of her works, too, and there were some fascinating effects early on in that piece. John and I were looking at the orchestra as we were hearing this, trying to figure out where the heck did those sounds come from? They sounded like they were electronically produced. We saw flutists at work. There were some horns who seemed to have the instrument at their mouths. Yeah. I don't know what those sounds were that were coming out. Very interesting effects being made at that moment.

Well, now the effects that are being made here at Carnegie Hall involve the stagehands who are moving some chairs and music stands out on stage. As forces change slightly and we get ready for the second work on this program, Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, written when Prokofiev was trying to get back to Russia after 20 years of living abroad. He wanted to return specifically because, as he said, it was just easier to get commissions. In Europe, all we have we all have to fish for performances, but Prokofiev said in Russia, they come to me, I can hardly keep up with the demand.

John Schaefer: Well, it was 1935, Stalin was in power, the depression had pretty much caused all of his commissions in Europe, Western Europe, to dry up, and Stalin had already basically banned modernism and wanted music that was more folk oriented, more social realism, as he called it. And Prokofiev had been going in that direction anyway, and this Violin Concerto No. 2 fit in with Stalin's kind of musical precepts, and it made it somewhat easier for Prokofiev to be welcomed after 20 years abroad, back home in Russia. And it's one of the reasons why there's such a difference between his two Violin Concertos and Lisa Batiashvili told us more about that.

Lisa Batiashvili: The first concerto, first of all, it's shorter and it's more dreamy, it's more youthful, it's more impressed by impressionists.

The first concerto has something angelic, and the second concerto is more, you know, you realize it's someone who has already lived a serious kind of life and gathered a lot of experience. I would say richer in material.

Jeff Spurgeon: Lisa, Lisa Batiashvili speaking about the concerto that she is about to play with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

And now the stage door opens and out she comes, this Georgian born German violin virtuosa. And walking behind her, Klaus Mäkela, Music Director Designate of this orchestra three years hence. And they, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, are about to bring us Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 from Carnegie Hall, live.

MUSIC – PROKOFIEV VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 2

Jeff Spurgeon:  The puckish spirit of Prokofiev is all over that final movement of his Violin Concerto No. 2, with that gorgeously lyrical second movement before it.

A performance you've just heard by Lisa Batiashvili and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Klaus Mäkela. Coming to you from Carnegie Hall, live.

A nice, warm embrace between the soloist and the conductor before they walk offstage, and a very warm reception by this sold-out Carnegie Hall audience tonight for one of the world's greatest orchestras in town in New York for a couple of performances. Backstage, I'm Jeff Spurgeon alongside John Schaefer.

John Schaefer: And Lisa Batiashvili now back out on stage. The audience not quite ready to let her go just yet. After that performance of the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2. It does have a kind of rustic charm, that final movement. Heck, it's even got castanets.

Jeff Spurgeon: Out of nowhere. While the first performance was given in Madrid, maybe Prokofiev was thinking ahead. Yeah. It's a, it is, it's a fascinating thing to hear those pop up. And you're right, those rustic sounds, some flavor of folk music, but such sophistication in the orchestral writing, and those great big contrasts in sounds that make Prokofiev so special.

John Schaefer: Well, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestrara of Amsterdam is still seated, which suggests that we might have an encore, and indeed, here comes Lisa Batiashvili and conductor Klaus Mäkela, back out on stage, a bow to the audience from our violin soloist.

Born in Georgia, based in Germany but has been a fixture in New York in the past. Let's see what they've got in the way of an encore.

MUSIC - J. S. BACH Chorale Prelude on "Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" (arr. for Violin and Strings by Anders Hillborg)

John Schaefer: From Carnegie Hall Live, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam conducted by Klaus Mäkela, and an encore, a performance of an arrangement of the Bach Chorale Prelude, “Ich Ruf zu Dir” (I Call to Thee), originally an organ piece, arranged here for solo violin and strings by Anders Hillborg, and played live by Lisa Batiashvili and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's strings. To wrap up the first half of this concert coming to you, live from Carnegie Hall.

And the stage door swings open, Lisa Batiashvili back out on stage, and the applause for her continues. Beautiful performance, isn't it?

Jeff Spurgeon: Oh, and the gorgeous, it's a shame there's going to, in a way, it's a shame there's going to be more music. That would be as nice a work to wrap up a concert as you could wish for. Yeah. Beautiful, simple setting of one of the 46 chorale preludes that collected in the, The Little Organ Book of Bach.

And that setting made by a Swedish composer, Anders Hillborg, who is a busy working musician in our time. So I think we're going to get a moment with Ms. Batiashvili as intermission of this Carnegie Hall concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra gets underway. Or perhaps she'll just pass us by and head out. She, I think, was scheduled to join us. Oh, no, here she comes back. I do want to ask her about this work, because it was quite a beautiful thing. Yeah, that's the place.

Hi, Lisa Batiashvili is at our microphones right now. Congratulations on that performance. As beautiful as the Prokofiev was, we want to know about that encore. Where did it come from? Is it partly your creation?

Lisa Batiashvili: I recorded it on my album City Lights. It's a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, "Ich ruf’ zu dir" and it was arranged by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg, who is a wonderful composer who also wrote a violin concerto for me. So yeah, it is a beautiful arrangement.

Jeff Spurgeon: Was that your idea or his idea?

Lisa Batiashvili: OUR idea.

Jeff Spurgeon: Okay (laughter). That's very, that's very wonderful and also very diplomatic. Well done. Well done.

Tell us about your foundation. You've had it for a few years now. And and I, I, it's an important thing in your life. What, what is it and what does it support? How does it work?

Lisa Batiashvili: Well, for the moment I'm supporting highly gifted children in Georgia. And this is a really matter of heart for me because I left Georgia, I was, you know, 12 years old and I feel such a strong connection to these young musicians and I think that as a part of me and part of of course supporting my country is also something very important and I think there is a really incredible young generation coming now with very diverse kind of talent not only play they play well their instrument but usually they also do other things like you know there is one 15 year old guy in my foundation who is a composer already, a big composer, and one is also a singer and pianist. So this is, yeah, giving me a lot of energy back.

John Schaefer: Well, you've recorded some music by the great Georgian composer, Gia Cancelli. Have you done any work with some of the younger Georgian composers yet?

Lisa Batiashvili: Yes, well, this 15-year-old Tsotne Zedginidze, that you will certainly hear a lot about. He wrote a violin sonata, and we performed it together and yeah, he's amazing.

I mean, I've played also lots of other Georgian music because it's really, it's so important for me to share that culture with the audiences because this is how I want people to know Georgia, through the music.

John Schaefer: Yeah. There's something about traditional Georgian folk music, sacred music, choral music, the harmonies are different from anywhere else in Europe.

Lisa Batiashvili: Yes.

John Schaefer: Does that affect your sense of harmony and melody when you're playing Bach or Prokofiev or other Western classical pieces.

Lisa Batiashvili: Yeah, it's interesting because I always thought that Georgian musicians had something specific that was related to folk music and to understanding of that music that is sang in mountains and there are so many different kinds of folk music in this small country.

John Schaefer: Right.

Lisa Batiashvili: Yes, I think it does affect, I think the whole nature of Georgia effects on music making and I think it's like for everybody else, our roots and our childhood, everything effects on how we become and how we perform.

Jeff Spurgeon: We understand that you have obligations and we're so grateful you spent a couple of minutes tonight, but we wanted to hear about your foundation. It was a wonderful performance of the Prokofiev.

John Schaefer: Congratulations.

Jeff Spurgeon: Yeah, congratulations and thank you so much.

Lisa Batiashvili: Thank you.

Jeff Spurgeon: Lisa Batiashvili joining us at the Carnegie Hall Live microphones at the start of intermission of this concert by Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, on which we've already heard a U. S. premiere by, uh, Ellen Reid, the work Body Cosmic, and then the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 from Lisa Batiashvili. And after intermission, we'll pick things up with a great Rachmaninoff symphony.

John Schaefer: This is Classical New York, WQXR 105. 9 FM and HD Newark, 90. 3 FM WQXW Ossining, and WNYC FM HD 2 New York.

Intermission here at Carnegie Hall, and as Jeff just said Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 is the, the second half of the proceedings, but before we hear that, let's hear a little more Rachmaninoff from earlier this season. This is Lang Lang at the piano, performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the LA Philharmonic, conducted by the New York-bound conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

MUSIC – RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 EXCERPT

Jeff Spurgeon: You've been listening to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, a performance recently given at Carnegie Hall from the opening night concert in October of the 2024-2025 Carnegie Hall season by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and the soloist Lang Lang.

It's intermission at another concert at Carnegie Hall that you're hearing right now. A concert by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.

Stage has been reset and players are beginning to move back onto the stage to get ready for the final work on this program, which will be the Symphony No. 2 of Rachmaninoff.

And that moment of the second piano concerto came at a really triumphant time in Rachmaninoff's life. It was a real step up after he'd been in a great big depression and that helped him to fame and celebrity across Europe.

John Schaefer: Yeah, his first symphony had an absolutely disastrous premiere and received scathing reviews and it sent Rachmaninoff into a great depression. And it was actually through therapy

Jeff Spurgeon: And hypnosis.

John Schaefer: And hypnosis, that he sort of got his mojo back, and you know, wrote that second piano concerto. And after that, things went pretty well for a while for Rachmaninoff. He was in demand as a composer, but he was especially noted as a performer. He was a conductor. a great pianist, and in fact, here at Carnegie Hall alone, Rachmaninoff performed 44 piano recitals and made 49 solo appearances with orchestras playing concertos at the hall. So yes, after that second piano concerto things took a turn for the better for Sergei Rachmaninoff, and actually, as a composer, it was almost too much of a good thing. And so he decided that in order to get anything done, if he was going to write another symphony, he needed a little peace and quiet.

Jeff Spurgeon: So he quit his job as conductor of the Imperial Grand Opera in Moscow, and cancelled his piano recital schedule, and moved to Dresden, so that he could actually get some composing done. And that's where he wrote the final piece on this program tonight, the Symphony No. 2. A work in four movements, and if you listen to the opening, there's a motif of just seven notes played by the basses. And though that bit of melodic work gets dressed up, you hear it again and again throughout the work.

John Schaefer: It is a big, expansive, hugely colorful piece by Rachmaninoff, who, while his instrument was the piano, as a conductor he knew the orchestra, and he knew how to give each of the sections and each of the soloists a little moment to shine. And as you listen to this Symphony No. 2, by the end of the performance, you will have heard moments of glory for almost every individual instrument in the ensemble, and there are lots of them. The amount of textural and timbral diversity in this Symphony No. 2 is really quite incredible, and the conductor, Klaus Mäkelä, tells us what he finds so special about this work.

Klaus Mäkela: I was just thinking about it from a very sort of instrumentation point of view. And in a way, it's the Russian Richard Strauss, in a sense that it's written in such a beautiful way, but in a masterful way, so that every instrument really brings their color.

It's instrumented in such a perfect way. But it has, of course, this incredible emotional scope. And to play with this orchestra is special, because this orchestra is it's all about the sound, it's all about the beauty of sound, and the sound is very warm, quite transparent, but it never has that kind of sharp edge, and that is very much thanks to the hall where we normally play, which is the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, which in a way punishes you if you make a sound that is a little bit unpleasant.

And I feel that through that we have Rachmaninoff that maybe is different from, let's say, the norm, in a sense that it sounds, it rings hopefully it's a little softer, more nuanced, more balanced than, than hard and strong.

John Schaefer: That is the conductor, Klaus Mäkela, who will perform the Symphony No. 2 by Rachmaninoff with this orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, momentarily.

Mäkela mentioned Richard Strauss, but other composers of the time, he says, influenced each other, and he sees a connection between Rachmaninoff and another master.

Klaus Mäkela: In a way, some of that same nostalgia as Mahler's music. And it really speaks to you, it speaks to all the musicians, and of course it speaks to the audience because it's so emotional, but in such a sincere way.

If you think about Shostakovich and Prokofiev, which have so much of irony and grotesqueness in their music, in Rachmaninoff it's always very honest and very sincere. Although it can also have, it has the drama, I mean it has terrible despair and all the, all the range of human emotions, but it's, it has those feelings of nostalgia, beautiful memories, very painful memories, long shadows and sighs and but still when I, when I conduct it I try to think of how he was as a, as a musician, as a pianist and I listened to a lot of old recordings and that's one of my passions and, and how he plays is incredible because it has such natural flow. And what he does better than any other musician has ever done in the world is to do a diminuendo.

Jeff Spurgeon: Klaus Mäkela, speaking of Rachmaninoff as a pianist with the power to make the sound smaller. And it's a wonderful thing to think about because Rachmaninoff was a very large man. He was six feet, six inches tall. And his left hand, it is told could reach an octave and a fifth, which is just incredible. And his music is...

John Schaefer: Basketball player.

Jeff Spurgeon: Yeah, that's right.

John Schaefer: That's basically what he had. (laughter)

Jeff Spurgeon: And and his music can be played, you can really bang the piano when you play Rachmaninoff, but if you listen to his recordings, he did not do that. He had an amazing power to make a large sound. But it was never a harsh sound. And I, I think that that is one of the special qualities that Mäkela pointed out in his observation of Rachmaninoff's piano recordings.

John Schaefer: And in his observation about THIS orchestra, that if you make a harsh sound in the Concertgebouw, the building in Amsterdam, where this orchestra is based, as he said, it, the room punishes you. It does not like that kind of sound. It doesn't give you anything back. Whereas if you make a kind of a warm, rich sound, that is something that, A) suits Rachmaninoff's music, and B) suits the Concertgebouw, and I think you would have to say suits Carnegie Hall as well.

Jeff Spurgeon: And one of the things that we noticed, I don't think that you will hear it as a listener to this broadcast, but one of the things that John and I noticed before the concert began was the setup of the orchestra itself on stage is a little bit atypical. This is not how most symphony orchestras are set up. For the Concertgebouw takes the whole width of the Carnegie Hall stage, but on the surface of the stage, all strings, the entire string section, almost as an ensemble itself, in front of the winds and the brass and the percussion, who are arrayed behind the string section, and all of those other instruments, winds, brass, percussion are on risers. The percussion are in the back, up three levels, along with the trumpets and trombones. The horns are down one step, and then the woodwinds are on the first level up. But it's really interesting. It's a string orchestra with a, with a wind band behind it.

John Schaefer: And we asked if that was the typical way for them to perform and, and the orchestral staff said, yeah, that that's how we do it.

Jeff Spurgeon: Well, what we actually said was, this looks unusual. This is an unusual way. And actually then they said, no, this is the right way. So that's what we were told about the arrangement of the instruments on stage.

And now back on stage, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and their guest concertmaster tonight, the American violinist, Alexander Kerr, who spent a number of seasons as concertmaster of this orchestra, now concertmaster with the Dallas Symphony and teaching in America, but making a return to the old band tonight to to act in the in the first chair position this evening.

John Schaefer: And a bit of tuning, and we expect momentarily the stage door to open, and our conductor Klaus Mäkela to stride forth to perform the Symphony No. 2 by Rachmaninoff, which remains, you know a popular work, a real, kind of, central part of the canon of early 20th century classical music.

Jeff Spurgeon: And it's filled with all the romanticism you could want and such dark and beautiful harmony that we come to Rachmaninoff for. And other people have come to the symphony too, maybe to pick up a tune or two and turn it into a pop record.

John Schaefer: Yes, that has happened several times.

Jeff Spurgeon: In one of the movements of this orchestra.

And now, back on stage, the music director designate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to take that position in 2027, Klaus Mäkela, to bring you Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Carnegie Hall Live.

MUSIC – RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 2

Jeff Spurgeon: A sold-out Carnegie Hall, erupting in cheers and applause for a performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and music director designate Klaus Mäkela, performing the second symphony of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Now Mäkela comes backstage. An enthusiastic podium presence. Very expressive on the podium. So he's got to get a drink of water and maybe towel off for a moment before stepping back on stage.

Backstage at Carnegie Hall, I'm Jeff Spurgeon, alongside John Schaefer. And there goes Mäkela back out again.

John Schaefer: And you can tell that he has re-entered the stage by the roar from the audience for this young, exuberant conductor who will take over as the chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2027, becoming only the eighth person in their 136-year history to hold that position.

Symphony No. 2, still a favorite after after many years. Listeners of a certain age will have recognized the theme of the third movement, which was borrowed by Eric Carmen, the songwriter, for his second biggest hit, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.

Jeff Spurgeon: Carmen passed away just this year, 2024.

John Schaefer: And of course his biggest hit was All by Myself, which borrowed from Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, so he went back to that well a couple of times with great success.

Jeff Spurgeon: If you're going to steal, do it from the best.

John Schaefer: Absolutely.

Jeff Spurgeon: A handshake now with the guest concertmaster, violinist Alexander Kerr from Klaus Mäkela, and now the entire orchestra on its feet.

Sold out house for this concert at Carnegie Hall by the Concertgebouw, who brought with them the U. S. premiere of Ellen Reid's piece, Body Cosmic, and violinist Lisa Batiashvili performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2.

John Schaefer: Members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, On stage, everyone still seated.

Jeff Spurgeon: House lights are down.

John Schaefer: Yeah.

Jeff Spurgeon: The telltale signs.

John Schaefer: The conductor, Klaus Mäkelä, did stop by momentarily for a quick drink, and is now back out on stage applauding the members of the orchestra.

Jeff Spurgeon: Who are returning that applause. We should note, too, they are enthusiastic about this young conductor who led this performance tonight.

And now, all of them on their feet. Once again, and you hear the audience.

John Schaefer: And Klaus Mäkela once again ascending the podium, and it looks like we'll have an encore.

Klaus Mäkela: Something smaller that Rachmaninoff used to play on the piano very often, by Mussorgsky.

MUSIC - MUSSORGSKY "Hopak" from Sorochintsï Fair (arr. Liadov)

John Schaefer: Well, it turns out everybody had a little bit of energy left after that mammoth symphony by Rachmaninoff, after all. An encore performance on stage at Carnegie Hall by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor, Klaus Mäkela. of music by Mussorgsky from his opera The Fair at Sorochinski, which I'm betting most people have never seen. It's an opera that he left uncompleted, it's rarely performed, but that hopak, that Ukrainian dance, is a…

Jeff Spurgeon: popular piece.

John Schaefer: Not an unknown work, and a great showpiece for a splendid orchestra.

Jeff Spurgeon: That, and a wonderful way to end the night, as Mäkela told the audience a piece smaller than something Rachmaninoff would have written for the symphony, but something that he might have played on the piano. That was the way that Mäkela introduced that piece.

And back on stage with the orchestra all standing once again to receive the applause of this sold-out Carnegie Hall audience.

John Schaefer: Well it's been a busy night. We've had a big symphony by Rachmaninoff, piano Violin Concerto No. 2 by Prokofiev, American premiere of music by the American composer Ellen Reid. A couple of encores sprinkled in both halves of the program.

Jeff Spurgeon: Beautiful work by Bach, arranged by Anders Hillborg. Yeah, a Swedish composer, and that work of Ellen Reid's, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. So, lots of things coming together. And once again, cheers for Klaus Mäkela as he comes back on stage.

John Schaefer: Walking through the audience walking through the orchestra, I should say. The audience responding as he points out individual members who were in the limelight momentarily during the concert, including in that encore performance of the Mussorgsky hopak.

Jeff Spurgeon: And that pounding of the feet was the orchestra, again, with an appreciation of this young conductor. Some flowers passed to him now by a member of the audience. (applause)

And he steps off stage once again.

John Schaefer: Bouquet in hand, striding towards our station here backstage. And I think we have, in fact, finally come to the end of tonight's performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Carnegie Hall Live.

Jeff Spurgeon: This is Classical New York, WQXR, 105. 9 Newark, 90. 3 FM, WQXW, Ossining, and WNYC FM, HD2, New York.

John Schaefer: And that about wraps up this broadcast of Carnegie Hall Live. Our thanks to Clive Gillinson and the staff of Carnegie Hall.

WQXR's team includes engineers George Wellington, Duke Marcos, Bill Siegmund, Noriko Okabe, and Neil Shaw. Our production team, Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, and Mark Fllatov.

Our project director is Christine Herskovits. Aimée Buchanan is our digital producer, I'm John Schaefer.

Jeff Spurgeon: And I'm Jeff Spurgeon. Carnegie Hall Live is a co-production of Carnegie Hall and WQXR in New York.