不良研究所

(This article, written by Arthur Kaptainis,听appeared in the Montreal Gazette on November 5)

听The question arises before, and indeed during, any Viennese-themed concert of the type given Sunday afternoon by the OSM: To schlepp or not to schlepp?

I refer not to the transport of instruments to the Maison symphonique, nor the arrangement of chairs on stage, both of which are inevitable. I mean the characteristic dragging (鈥渟chleppen鈥� in German and its familiar Yiddish cognate) of the second beat in Viennese waltzes, which is said to be essential to the lilt of this music, though not necessarily easy to capture.

Even the definition of 鈥渄as Schleppen鈥澨�(hereafter called the schlepp) is open to debate. Most define it as the early arrival of the second beat, rather than an extension of this beat. Some Viennese musicians claim to hear the schlepp in practical terms as the late arrival of the third beat.

Our one-two-three leader in this afternoon concert will be Alexis Hauser, professor of conducting at 不良研究所鈥檚 Schulich School of Music, and Viennese by birth.

鈥淣aturally, I have grown up with the second beat ever so slightly played ahead, as it is played instinctively by Viennese orchestras without thinking about it,鈥� he tells me in an email.

鈥淪urely, this treatment is authentic Viennese, stemming from the 19th century. You wouldn鈥檛 dream of doing it in a waltz-tempo minuet of the 18th century or in a 19th-century Tchaikovsky waltz.

鈥淗owever, if overdone 鈥� and the nuance is very small 鈥� it would become a caricature, missing the point. And, in my opinion, the point is听to energize a stereotypical accompaniment figure that听would appear boringly repetitive otherwise, while keeping a steady pulse.鈥�

Hauser鈥檚 observation about the risk of monotony is easily confirmed by the simple mental exercise of summoning up the tune of the most famous of all concert waltzes 鈥� Johann Strauss Jr.鈥檚 An der sch枚nen, blauen Donau Op. 314, a.k.a. the Blue Danube 鈥� in quick, regular time. Music boxes sometimes perpetrate this travesty.

Not such a good piece without the schlepp.

Hauser theorizes that this peculiar rhythmic adjustment evolved because in Viennese waltz music, the melody often does not involve the second beat. Alexander Rapoport, a Viennese-trained composer, suggests the influence of the dance itself, which calls for the foot to lift on the second beat and descend gently.

In some cases, the schlepp does not apply. A waltz with running eighth notes, such as that of Die Fledermaus鈥檚 Overture, which is heard on the Sunday program, neither needs nor can sustain a second-beat adjustment. Indeed, when I hit the 鈥減lay鈥� button in my head and start those running eighth notes, there is a substantial pause on the听third听beat before the end of the first four-bar phrase.

To invoke a traditional Viennese expression: Ay, caramba.

Conductors have the right to approach the waltz problem differently. In her biography of the late Georg Tintner, a conductor of Viennese birth and upbringing who was well known to Canadians, Tanya Buchdahl Tintner claims that her husband used 鈥渇ar less rubato than is traditional, and there was none of the stretched-out notes one usually hears in works such as The Blue Danube.鈥�

Tintner鈥檚 view on the schlepp, she writes, was that 鈥渋f it isn鈥檛 in the blood you can鈥檛 teach it.鈥� I find this hard to reconcile with my own memory of his magical performance with the OSM on Sept. 15, 1992 of Johann Strauss鈥檚 The Emperor Waltz, which he regarded as 鈥渁 work of genius.鈥�

Whatever Tintner鈥檚 doctrine, his biographer is willing to confirm that when this conductor led waltz music, 鈥渢he authentic Viennese flavour was there, the gentle lilt, the spirit of the city at its genial best.鈥� No doubt about that.

Rhythm is not the only animating component of a Viennese waltz. Despite the endless arrangements this music has been subjected to, Hauser is an admirer of the original orchestrations by Johann and Josef Strauss. (Johann鈥檚 younger brother is represented on the program by The Dragonfly Op. 204.)

鈥�(The originals) create the typical sound instantly,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he orchestration is part of a composer鈥檚 special style, how the sound is balanced by different instruments. A look at the Die Fledermaus Overture gives us right away evidence that Johann was a genius听with an unlimited diversity of colours, no less than Mozart.鈥�

Another prodigious orchestrator was Richard Strauss, who, though unrelated to Johann鈥檚 clan, extended and revitalized the waltz tradition in his opera Der Rosenkavalier. We shall hear the 1945 suite from the 1911 opera.

Not all the music on the OSM program, titled Viennese Splendour, is in waltz time. One off-brand item is Richard Strauss鈥檚 Duet-Concertino, featuring OSM principal bassoon St茅phane L茅vesque and principal clarinet Todd Cope (both of whom happen to be alumni of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach) as soloists.

Another is Haydn鈥檚 Symphony No. 100, 鈥淢ilitary,鈥� an ingratiating work that is martial only in its colourful use of bass drum, cymbals and triangle.

鈥淚 have to say that I am thrilled to have also a Haydn symphony in this program,鈥� Hauser says, 鈥渁s he really was the father of many more genres besides string quartets and symphonies for which he is usually credited.鈥� Hauser perceives Haydn as one of the main agents who brought music of folk flavour into the realm of great art.

AT A GLANCE

Alexis Hauser conducts the OSM听Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2:30 p.m. at听the Maison symphonique. Tickets cost听$42 to $200听via听osm.ca.

***

Hauser will also be heard with his own 不良研究所 Symphony Orchestra听on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 at听Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke St. W. The program includes John Rea鈥檚 Over Time; Brahms鈥檚 Double Concerto, with Schulich School profs Axel Strauss (no relation) on violin and Matt Haimovitz on cello; and Shostakovich鈥檚 Symphony No. 5. This program goes on the road to Koerner Hall, an excellent facility in Toronto, on Nov. 17.

The Pollack concerts start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20.30,听$13.70 for students and seniors, via听mcgill.ca/music/events.