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| Ludwig van Beethoven |
Classics: Beethoven Symphony
No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
The Louisville Orchestra
Jorge Mester, conductor
Christopher Taylor, piano
Reviewed by Keith Waits
Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
Of all the nine symphonies by
Ludwig van Beethoven, the seventh has always occupied a special place in my
heart. It was one of the works that first motivated my interest in classical
music, and its propulsive rhythms and subtle tonality make it a good entry point
for anyone initiated in the pleasures of the classical repertoire. It is
interesting to discover that the few critics of the piece (it was
enthusiastically received by the public when it premiered on December 8, 1813)
were convinced that the composer was either mad or drunk when he composed it.
Before the main event, conductor Jorge
Mester launched the program with a lively selection from his Juilliard
classmate, American composer Peter Schickele. Perhaps better known as a musical
parodist under the sobriquet, P.D.Q. Bach (originating from comical concerts
initiated at Juilliard with Mr. Mester), Mr. Schickele’s Concerto for Chamber
Orchestra samples a serious and prolific composer with work characterized by an
interplay of European structure and distinctly American motifs. There were
lyrical moments worthy of Aaron Copland and a particularly lovely passage
highlighting a cello and oboe exchange (Interim Principal Cellist Michael
DeBruyn and Interim Principal Oboe Jennifer Potochnic). At the finish, a
clearly delighted conductor beckoned the composer, who was in residence, to
take a bow to a warm and appreciative audience who were already beginning to
stand for their ovation.
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| Composer Peter Schickele |
The next prelude was Piano Concerto
No. 1 in E-flat Major by Franz Liszt, performed by Christopher Taylor. Here we
were served another composition that featured fascinating conversations between
instruments. Liszt provides many grandiloquent passages and romantic flourishes
for the full orchestra to be sure, and the Maestro and his players did them
full justice. But the delicate interplay between the First Violin of Michael
Davis and Mr. Taylor’s piano that we find in the Quasi adagio was handled with
great care and built a thread between the two pieces featured in the first half
of the program. Mr. Taylor left a strong enough impression as to wish another
piano piece had been included and his presence onstage extended.
Yet there was still the Beethoven
symphony to tackle. For me the 7th has always seemed something of a precursor
to the magnificent 9th with its chorale final movement, and perhaps
Mr. Mester presents it in this program to prepare us for the April 2014
performance of that final Beethoven masterpiece. Whatever the reason, it is a
piece worth revisiting again and again. It is a symphony that is famous for its rhythms and in the first movement, Poco sostenuto – Vivace, we get a
taste for exactly what has made this composer so popular for 200 years. The
dramatic shifts in modulations immediately engage the listener; there is little
preamble.
The second movement, the Allegretto, is famous in its own right,
singled out and sometimes performed alone even before it was featured in the
Academy Award-winning film The King’s
Speech. That it was utilized in that film to underscore the delivery of a
speech painfully built upon rhythmic exercises illustrates the complex but
forceful structures that characterize the entire symphony.
The pace quickens in the third
movement, a scherzo, and the final movement, Allegro con brio, provides an exciting finish, a whirling dervish
of strings that moves with a propulsive energy to the climactic rise of the
horns and timpani and the full release of the full orchestra in a magnificent
capstone to a rewarding concert. When Beethoven conducted the premiere, his histrionic
techniques were much commented upon. Mr. Mester may not be as outlandish, but
there were moments when he appeared to be leading the orchestra with every part
of his body, pulling the players ever further into the powerful performance.
Classics: Beethoven Symphony
No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
February 21, 2013 @ 10:30 a.m.
February 22, 2013 @ 8:00 p.m.
Louisville Orchestra
The Kentucky Center for the Arts
Whitney Hall
501 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Tickets 1.800.775.777 or online
kentuckycenter.org
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