Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Beethoven 7.1, Beethoven Nr. 7, Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Golan, Linda Wang, Sarah Johnson, Sibelius Violin Concerto, Symphony Nr. 2, William Hill
On Thursday, March 11, I attended a performance by the Lamont Symphony Orchestra in Gates Hall on the DU campus. In so many ways, it was one of the best performances I have heard the Lamont Symphony Orchestra give. It was a very exciting performance as well, because it was the world premiere of composer William Hill’s new Symphony Nr. 2 which carries the subtitle “Beethoven 7.1.” Also on the program was the original Beethoven Symphony Nr. 7, and a performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Opus 47, which was performed by one of DUs most outstanding violinists that I’ve heard to date, Sarah Johnson.
First, a word about Beethoven’s Symphony Nr. 7 and William Hill’s Beethoven 7.1. Hill’s symphony was commissioned by Lawrence Golan, Music Director of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra for concert and recording sessions in March of 2010. In the program notes, Mr. Hill states:
“Symphony #2 is subtitled Beethoven 7.1 due to its numerous references to his great Seventh Symphony, and is designed as a companion piece for the Lamont Symphony performances of the Beethoven. It was composed n the autumn of 2009 and completed on January 24, 2010. The 173 page score contains virtually every theme from the Beethoven, sometimes in obvious statements, and often in rather abstract relationships within a context of modern musical language. My symphony combines the main themes of the Beethoven second and third movements into one single musical form, and thus results in a three movement work.”
The original Beethoven symphony is in four movements. The slow introduction is marked poco sostenuto and then vivace as the first movement gets underway. The second movement is allegretto, the third movement is a scherzo, and the last movement is marked allegro con brio. The premiere performance of the Symphony was given December 8, 1813. And since it was a benefit concert for the wounded veterans of the Napoleonic wars, there were many composers that took part as orchestra members. Among those were Hummel, Meyerbeer, Spohr, and Salieri. And seated in the back of the hall, no doubt listening very intently, was a 15 year old student with what we would today call coke bottle bottom glasses, who was a little on the heavy side, and who, just a few weeks before, had finished his own first symphony. His parents had named him Franz Schubert.
Hill begins his symphony – and remember: this is a companion piece to Beethoven’s – in the same manner with a slow introduction followed by what Hill calls a ‘modern interpretation’ of the Sonata Allegro form. As Mr. Hill points out, the Sonata Allegro form is one of the most important symphonic forms, and it was used in virtually every symphony from Haydn (who was Beethoven’s teacher) through Mahler. I must say that even if I did not know from the outset that Hill’s symphony was conceived as a companion symphony to Beethoven’s great work, it would have been fairly easy to pick out and recognize Beethoven’s rhythm and melodic fragments. You may ask, “How is that possible?” Well, Beethoven used very prominent rhythms, and in this symphony, he wrote them with such incredible intensity that they are easy to pick out. Hill placed the rhythms in his symphony where they can also be heard, and the writing in his own symphony is equally intense. But, I promise you that Hill did not set out to just mimic Beethoven, though he certainly does use recognizable quotes of themes as well as rhythm. Keep in mind that William Hill is very clearly a 21st century composer, and as I have said about his works in other articles, he is on the cutting edge of everything that is new. There are at least three instances where the harmony he uses suddenly dissipates (that may be a poor choice of words) to open chords that are very widely spaced, resulting in a dramatic interruption. His harmonies are exciting, and several times in the first movement, they resulted in a very lush sound. It is amazing to me how he combines the drive and intensity with harmonic “lushness”, but he does just that and, like Beethoven, he requires a great deal of virtuosity from the orchestra, and, therefore, the conductor, Dr. Lawrence Golan. Keep in mind that I am a pianist and not a conductor (though I have performed with several conductors), but I am constantly amazed at how Dr. Golan elicits and receives the drive and passion and intensity from a student orchestra, even though I am perfectly aware that these students are on a path to become professional musicians. They worked tremendously hard and the effect was mesmerizing. Beethoven’s second movement, a theme and variations, begins with a rhythm of one quarter note followed a two eighth notes, then followed by two quarter notes. Hill’s symphony begins with the same rhythm, but the theme is stated in major seconds sounded together that do not resolve. The effect is electrifying, and I am also sure that while this was being stated, I heard a different rhythm from the viola section. And certainly, from this rhythm/thematic material comes some amazingly long, lyrical melodies that absolutely soar. Following this – and remember Hill combines the second and third Beethoven movements into his second movement – comes Hill’s interpretation of the scherzo movement which is full of dissonance and drive, but eventually returns to the lyric theme and closes the movement.
The last movement is full of forward momentum and absolutely incredible drive. Beethoven’s theme is shared by the first and second violins, and there is a very dramatic moment where the clarinet has the theme in short notes and hands it off to the violas and violins where it is continued with pizzicato. I was reminded of the slow movement of the Khachaturian piano concerto where the French horn begins a solo and it is taken over by the clarinet as the horn reaches the upper limit of its range. The clarinet, in this instance, just goes soaring off into the clouds. And that was the effect in Hill’s work when the strings took over from the clarinet. There was also a great deal of humor in Hill’s last movement.
In both symphonies, the orchestra shone. The brass and the woodwinds were spectacular. Golan’s conducting is extremely precise, and his motions often mimic, and thus communicate to the orchestra, the dotted rhythms with great precision. It is a very subtle way of demanding a response from the orchestra. He often crouches slightly and shows the palms of his hands to the orchestra, thus communicating the dynamic level. That in itself is not unusual, but the orchestra’s immediate response is, when you consider that the age range of the orchestra is roughly 19 or 20 to 24 years. It is clear that the orchestra respects him very highly, and it is clear that they absolutely love what they play and are concerned with giving their very best.
In between the Beethoven 7.1 and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, there was an absolutely breathtaking performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Opus 47. The performance was given by Sarah Johnson, who is a first-year grad student at DU where she studies with Linda Wang. Ms. Johnson was a winner of the Lamont Solo Honors Competition.
I can tell you that I was not expecting the kind of performance that she gave Thursday night. I knew that she would be good because she did win the competition, but her performance was way beyond good or even excellent. It was mature, sensitive, and full of unbelievable intensity and dignity. In the first movement she took a breath with every phrase and she gives her playing a remarkable sense of earthiness in the full rich sound she gets from her violin. And her violin is a remarkable instrument because of the kind of sound it is capable of in her hands. Her technique was world-class, and when I say technique, I use that word to encompass everything that a violinist should have. Of course she played in tune, of course she had astounding double stops, and of course she was very well prepared to be on stage and play with an orchestra. It seemed as if she had performed the Sibelius at least thirty times because she was so familiar with it and so confident in sharing this very difficult work. It has been a long time since I have seen and heard a young violinist play with such incredible soul. It was a very powerful performance, and I could see many in the audience were holding back tears. I’m very happy to say that the hall was jammed, and that the entire audience, who gave her an instant standing ovation and called her back three times, had the opportunity to hear the kind of performance that this world needs. One can only hope that she continues a long and successful concert career.
This concert was truly artistic from every point of view. The new work by William Hill was sensational, as was the LSOs performance of one of the most difficult Beethoven symphonies. Sarah Johnson’s concerto performance has left me speechless.
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