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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

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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.