Michel van der Aa “Up-close” at Green Umbrella Concert 2/1/14

February 1, 2014

LA Phil’s Green Umbrella Concert on Tuesday January 28 included a wonderful program of Boulez, Carter, and van der Aa. I mostly went to listen Michel van der Aa’s “Up-close”, but I enjoyed all of the pieces. First of all, the conductor, Grad Lubman, is amazing, technically and musically. His hands were very musical and beautiful. Boulez created a wonderful atmosphere and interesting conversation between the instruments. Carter was very interllectual and technical, as you imagine. And after the intermission, Up-close, a cello concerto with string ensemble and video, was played. I enjoyed it fully. The soloist, Johannes Moser, offered everything, even he acted and became a part of video story. Multi-media compositions are trendy, but this piece is so cohesive between music and video story, and that effect makes “Up-close” so strong.