One or Two Things About the Fifth

There were several important things that came through loud and clear at last Sunday’s UT Symphony performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor and Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture.

The first of these is how critical, if not absolutely essential, a fearless interpretation of dynamics is to performances of Beethoven. Too often, Beethoven symphonies just end up sounding ponderous and heavy without the presence of a rational, calming influence. Conductor James Fellenbaum had his orchestra moving brilliantly with the ebb and flow of the symphony in ways that were, at times, surprising in their subtlety, and then, refreshing in their strength. I was particularly impressed with how Fellenbaum had not sacrificed demanding dynamic shifts or subtlety of details just for the sake of getting through a first-of-the-year concert. An example of this detail would be the solid performance from the woodwinds who constantly surprised me with their attention to nuances of tone color. Volume can mask a lot of things, but rapid dynamic shifts—fortissimo to piano, for example—can just as quickly reveal them. The violins in the Beethoven may have learned a valuable lesson in this regard by the fourth movement. The few bobbles aside, the orchestra really showed this listener their definite professional abilities.

Secondly, I was impressed at how the passion and enthusiasm of an excellent conductor and teacher can be absorbed by orchestra members who are being motivated to achieve more than just adequacy. And in an orchestra that has the natural year-to-year personnel turnover issue of a university ensemble, this is even more meaningful.

The UT Symphony’s next concert will be Sunday, October 19, and will feature guest violinist Alexander Kerr in a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien is also on the program.

Review: Faculty Recital of Clarinetist Gary Sperl

As a preface to my comments on the recital, I would like to weigh in on the viability of the Music Hall Auditorium as a proper recital space. In short, it’s not.

This is not a new revelation. I have long thought, time after time, that this hall has its own brand of acoustic muddiness, particularly the unfortunate and peculiar ability to smear treble ranges into an indiscernible mass. This means that any hope of a clear brilliance of tone combined with rich resonance is virtually impossible, no matter the performer, instrument, or ensemble. In addition, (and I have no scientific data to support this) the hall seems to have the ability to suck the life out of even the most energetic of performances, vocal or instrumental, even to the point of destroying intangible qualities like musicality. It is irritating to be held hostage in this way—hostage to the mental adjustments one must make to compensate for what one knows one should be hearing, particularly from soloists and small ensembles. I have no idea whether the future re-building plan is to include a new performance space, but…it should—for everyone’s sake.

When Mr. Sperl introduced the last work on his recital, Divertimento (for 3 clarinets and bass clarinet) by the Viennese composer Alfred Uhl, he related the story of a performance of the piece he did in Milwaukee some years ago. A writer reviewed the performance, according to Sperl, and stated that the Divertimento was, in his opinion, just as good as any string quartet. Excellent praise, but it led me to think—what qualities make up a good quartet?

In general, a good quartet possesses the ability to speak as one mind, but with four distinct voices. And this applies not only to the quartet as a musical work, but also to the quartet as four musicians. In this regard, both Uhl’s Divertimento and Mr. Sperl and his colleagues (Erin Bray and Christine Thomas, clarinets; Benjamin Gessel, bass clarinet) succeeded tremendously. However, (recalling my opening remarks about the hall) I would have preferred to feel more confident that the musicians were actually four distinct voices speaking with one mind. There seemed to be an excess of tone blending, even for a clarinet ensemble. That said, the Uhl piece is laden with charm and filled with diverse little entertaining moments which the quartet accomplished with obvious attention to careful phrasing and the impact of tempo changes.

Johannes Brahms had all but announced his retirement from composition when he was captivated by the playing of Richard Mühlfeld, principal clarinetist with the orchestra at the Court of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen…captivated enough to write four chamber works for clarinet, the Trio and the Quintet, followed by the two Clarinet Sonatas a few years later. It was with the first of the two sonatas, the Opus 120, No. 1 in F minor, that Mr. Sperl opened his recital.

Mr. Sperl moved brilliantly through the arc of the sonata from the austerity of the opening Allegro through the peaceful Andante to the exuberance of the closing Vivace, keeping richness of tone and vibrant dynamic control throughout. My one complaint with this performance was that the pianist, Judith Bible, seemed to be relegated to the role of accommodation rather than supplying a creative collaborative voice as Brahms history with the instrument would tend to indicate.

-------------------------
In Part II of this post:
Sonata for Clarinet and Harp – Jean Michele Damase
Sholem-alekhem, rov Feidman – Kovács
Hora Stacatto – Dinicu-Heifetz

Something for Everybody

Check out the September 4th issue of Metro Pulse for my article Music for the Masses, a subjective look at some highlights of the upcoming 2008-2009 KSO season.