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WILLIAM NESMITH CORRESPONDENT
- Posted March 22, 2010 at 12:11 a.m.
Saturday evening's concert by the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra was splendid.
Evenings like this one are the reason for the conductor's meticulous study of the score, of the often tedious and usually exhausting time spent in the rehearsal hall, and the kind of experience that sends young musicians off to the practice room to redouble their efforts to master their instruments or train their voices in hope of performing on such an evening.
Early on, I suspected, and even feared, that the rather standard repertoire on the evening's bill might send us out into the night satisfied, but no more.
And then the opening piece, Johann Strauss Jr.'s overture to "Die Fledermaus," gave an early notice that this evening would be rather more than that.
Of course, everyone is familiar with this overture. I would venture to say that most of the audience could have sung along from beginning to end. The trick, for non-Viennese orchestras, in playing this music is the light touch in the galops and the particularly Viennese lift, or hesitation, just before the downbeat in the waltz sections.
Getting 80 musicians to do this is no mean trick, and when it is right, it is just lovely. This was just lovely. Maestro Alfred Savia and his band gave this warhorse exactly the right touch of Austrian flavor - all whipped cream, raspberries and gemutlichkeit.
The evening's concerto was Mozart's Concerto in C Major for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, one of Mozart's slighter efforts, but a great favorite with audiences. Of course, Mozart's slighter efforts are still touched with his genius and craftsmanship, which, it would seem, were all that enabled him to put this little piece together.
Commissioned by a French nobleman who wanted a piece he could perform with his daughter, this piece shows exactly what Mozart could do by falling back on his professionalism - because he hated solo flute and solo harp and only wrote for them for specific occasions or upon commission.
At least one writer has observed that it is difficult to write for flute and harp together without the result sounding like drunken nymphs staggering about the bosky dell, but that image never intrudes here. The concerto is tremendously likable, a good humored essay in Mozart's most melodic manner.
The soloists, EPO principal flutist Kelly Sulick and principal harpist Megan Stout, were both, to my ear, flawless, especially in the brief passages where the orchestra fell silent, especially in the third movement. They fully deserved the repeated bows they were called back to take. It's a shame they had no encore prepared.
The evening concluded with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in one of the EPO's most powerful and moving performances in my memory.
Perhaps Margaret Hagerman had a hand in this.
A member of the EPO's administrative staff for 30 years and by all accounts the most gracious and professional of administrators, revered and beloved by the musicians and staff alike, Hagerman passed away the week before the concert and the EPO dedicated this performance to her memory.
Tchaikovsky's Fifth is generally considered to be his best-constructed symphony. From the solemn opening by the clarinets to the triumphant, blazing end, it carries the listener along like a great river. The second movement alone, with its famous horn solo, would justify this symphony's continued popularity with concert audiences.
This was the EPO at its peak. Where Tchaikovsky asked for thunder, we got blown out of our seats, and where he wanted tenderness, we were all close to tears.
Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Evenings like Saturday are why we go to concerts.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/mar/22/orchestras-peak-effort-swings-between-power-and/
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