ut music concert review
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/28/2019 UT Music Concert Review
1/2
Winona van Alstyne
Music History II
MUS 313N (Unique # )
March 28th, 2012
Concert Review
As a regular attendee of the musical events held at the University of Texas, this
past Monday found me at the Symphony Orchestra concert. Conducted by the
wonderful character, Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann, the premier orchestra at the
university performed a rather brief though highly varied set of impression pieces
presented without intermission.
Held in the Bates Recital Hall, a lovely though trifle boomy venue, Zimmermannopened with a performance of Claude Debussys Nocturnes, L.91; I. Nuages, II. Fetes.
Although there are in actuality three separate Nocturnes that Debussy finished writing in
1899, the first two are commonly played, as was the case here, without the third
Nocturne, Sirenes, which includes a female chorus. Nuages, the first Nocturne, begins
with a lengthy ostinato by pairs of bassoons and clarinets. To commence the concert
with such a fragile and intimate piece of orchestration turned out to be very intelligent,
and worked well to quickly pull the numerous audience members into a state of musical
intrigue. Once pulled in however, one became aware that the cleanliness with which the
players were performing the delicate piece was causing it to be, on the whole, too
understated musically and too careful in interpretation. Nuages especially is structurally
nebulous and only hints at musical lines. This impressionistic character however should
not undermine the intellectual line in the music and I felt some of the performers to have
become lost in the amorphous undulation of sounds symbolic of Clouds. Indeed, at
times Zimmermann appeared to be asking for what the orchestra, generally, was not
willing to give and this was slightly off-putting both visually and aurally during several
important moments in the second and more bold movement, Fetes. Although all the
musical adeptness and sensitivity could be perceived, true nuance of Debussys genius
was not fully and consistently reached in Nuages or Fetes.
After a brief rearrangement of chairs and reduction in personnel, the winner of
the Butler School of Music Wind/Percussion Concerto Competition, Charlie Chadwell,
came out to perform Jaques Iberts Concertina da camera; I. Allegro con moto, II.Larghetto-Animato molto. Only a second year saxophone performance major, Chadwell
played with graceful vivacity and youthful freshness. A student of Harvey Pittel,
Chadwell showcased a mellow and warm timbre throughout even the difficult portions of
the music. Unfortunately, this may have in part contributed to his sound being covered at
times by the exuberant orchestral accompaniment. This occurred several times and was
most noticeable during his softer and lower notes in the first movement especially after
-
7/28/2019 UT Music Concert Review
2/2
the first melodic phrase. This should have been taken note of in rehearsal and paid
special attention to given the venue. In all however, the saxophonist gave a thoroughly
enjoyable performance despite some shortcomings from the orchestra in the more
challenging parts. In truth, the incredibly unique piece itself was wonderful to hear as it
is not commonly performed with full orchestra. The excited audience gave Chadwell a
much deserved standing ovation and he received his due with a joyful smile and nod.Next the full orchestra launched into Overture to la Gazza ladra by Gioachino
Rossini. Full of exuberance and frivolity from Zimmermanns cheeky speech beforehand,
the orchestra immediately sounded more comfortable with the meaning and character of
this piece. Much to the admiration of the audience, the strings tackled the difficult
sections well and the winds floated on the lyrical, light phrases. True to Rossini, the
piece was exciting to watch and probably the most familiar to the general audience. The
percussion especially showed their prowess and musicality which offered the audience I
well-timed break from concentrating on the melodic instrumentation.
Then a complete and utter change was made as the orchestra sailed into
Benjamin Brittens heavy soliloquy, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, op 33a. I.Dawn, II. Sunday Morning, III. Moonlight, and IV. Storm. Originally from Brittens first full
scale opera, premiered in 1945, these pieces were orchestral interludes between each
Act of the opera to link the separate scenes. Later, Britten took the most complete
sections and compiled them into a four part piece for concert use. The audience, riled
up from Rossinis Overture immediately sensed the extremely tragic themes of Brittens
work. The orchestra itself was compact and especially well focused, telling the story of
the opera in a resonating single voice and representing Brittens tremendously moving
music well. Ending on an immensely sad though incredibly fulfilling chord, the orchestra
finished the concert and the audience goers headed home, including me.