San Jose Mercury News, March 28, 2006

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Costello croons while the Symphony swings


Richard Scheinin

You wait and wait for months. Elvis Costello is coming! With an orchestra! They're going to play his new symphonic work! The one he recorded with Michael Tilson Thomas!

Well, the concert has come and gone. It happened Monday night at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. And as much as you have to love Elvis for his smile, his smarts, his good cheer and his chutzpah, the concert was, in the end, pretty underwhelming.

I felt almost guilty not enjoying a concert that almost everyone else in the sold-out hall clearly was so ready to enjoy. Elvis is easy to love, most obviously because of that voice, which only has ripened through the decades.

Certainly, the man's aim is true. He loves jazz. He loves symphonic music. Deeply. But do we have to love his public demonstrations of love for those worlds?

One of the first things Costello told the audience was about his last visit to Davies, when he and Tom Waits attended a performance of Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony. This is a good thing to hear; the man is into Messiaen. Costello even told the audience that it should come back to Davies.

But then came the Symphony's performance of Costello's Suite from Il Sogno, and I'm not sure it offered much of a gateway to symphonic first-timers.

Costello wrote Il Sogno (The Dream) for an Italian ballet company's adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The 200-page score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tilson Thomas in 2002 and the performance was issued on the Deutsche Grammophon label in 2004.

It's a very good recording, about an hour long, with great atmospherics and real spirit; you can hear Costello's love of Debussy's refinement and Stravinsky's puckishness.

Monday's performance was supposed to be a 45-minute suite culled from the larger work; it wound up being a 30-minute reduction of the reduction, and it wasn't very good. The orchestra was sloppy: cracked brass notes, tepid saxophone solos, rhythmic incohesion, all-around sleepiness. The strings played with little polish or punch.

It didn't sound like the San Francisco Symphony. Whether the problem was lack of rehearsal or lack of communication between the players and conductor Alan Broadbent, the result was a snooze of a "dream."

The second half was better, but not enough better. Costello wore a tuxedo and, roaming the stage, mic in hand, came across as very much the crooner.

At times, punching out an emotion-choked high note, he brought Tony Bennett to mind. He was joined by Steve Nieve, his long-time pianist, and, again, the orchestra, performing a potpourri of Costello tunes in a variety of full-scale arrangements, including ones by himself, Bill Frisell and Vince Mendoza.

Here's a problem. I confess to being stuck on Costello's early records: This Year's Model, My Aim is True, Get Happy. They were smart, but they still rocked raucously; they were filled with elation. By Imperial Bedroom — and that was a long time ago — Costello was getting ponderous.

And maybe that's what was wrong Monday; the songs and their delivery were a little ponderous. There was "Speak Darkly, My Angel," an art song Costello wrote for the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. The best thing about it was Costello's funny introduction: "It's about a woman of a certain age and desperation who finds herself on the Riviera — and is considering pushing her young lover out the window."

"She Handed Me a Mirror," commissioned by the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, began with a sing-song melody, evolved into something oddly contoured and felt, overall, dirgelike.

Again, the banter preceding the song was best: Inspired by the life of Hans Christian Anderson, he explained, "Mirror" is about "a misfit man in love with an unattainable woman." Something about the story line, joked Costello (who is married to the lanky sexpot jazz singer Diana Krall), appealed to him.

The best ones backed off from the artsy: "Veronica," with just Costello on guitar and Nieve on piano, was a pretty good rocker. "My Flame Burns Blue," Costello's setting of Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count," couldn't miss, because the tune's too good to mess up.

But you know what was best? A couple of tunes from Painted From Memory, Costello's collaboration with Burt Bacharach from a few years back. He sang "God Give Me Strength" and "I Still Have that Other Girl," and their ornate, suburban soul were the perfect fit for Costello's husky throb. He is a romantic at heart, and here, finally, was real romance.


Tags: Davies Symphony HallSan Francisco SymphonySteve NieveAlan BroadbentIl SognoMy Flame Burns BlueMichael Tilson ThomasTom WaitsWilliam ShakespeareA Midsummer Night's DreamLondon Symphony OrchestraDeutsche GrammophonClaude DebussyIgor StravinskyTony BennettBill FrisellVince MendozaThis Year's ModelMy Aim Is TrueGet Happy!!Imperial BedroomSpeak Darkly, My AngelAnne Sofie von OtterShe Handed Me A MirrorCopenhagenDiana KrallVeronicaBilly StrayhornMy Flame Burns Blue (Blood Count)Painted From MemoryBurt BacharachGod Give Me StrengthI Still Have That Other Girl

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San Jose Mercury News, March 28, 2006


Richard Scheinin reviews Elvis Costello with the San Francisco Symphony and Steve Nieve, Wednesday, March 27, 2006, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.


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