Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Alexis Junker, Boulder Symphony, Brian Jack, Dale Day, Dan Smathers, Devin Hughes, K. 361, Karie Vedder, Mike Roper, Mozart, Niwot Timberline, Rebekah Durham, Stauss, Stravinsky, The Soldiers Tale, Tracy Fielder
The former Niwot Timberline orchestra, under the leadership of conductor Devin Hughes, is going through some big changes. They have changed their name to the Boulder Symphony Orchestra, and they have changed their venue from Niwot High School to the First Presbyterian Church in Boulder. I have heard the Niwot Timberline Orchestra perform before, but it was nothing like the performance I heard Saturday night in Boulder. True, the performance on Saturday was not the full orchestra. It was the woodwinds, horns, and contrabass performing a concert of all woodwind ensemble music. Even so, I do not remember the woodwinds section of the old Niwot orchestra performing so well. The move to the First Presbyterian Church in Boulder will certainly have a profound influence on the orchestra. If for nothing else, it will make them much more accessible than they were in Niwot. And I am certainly eager to hear the entire orchestra now after hearing such vast improvement in the woodwinds.
The concert opened with Richard Strauss’ Serenade for Winds, Opus 7. This work is the first truly important composition by Strauss and it is the first work of his to find a stable position in woodwind ensemble repertoire. It was written when Strauss was seventeen years old, and the writing for the horns certainly reflects the influence of good horn performance he grew up with listening to as his father, Franz Strauss, was one of Europe’s notable French horn virtuosos. It also attracted the attention of the conductor Hans von Bülow, who proceeded to encourage Richard Strauss and help him become established as a composer. While the structure of this Serenade is in the classical style, i.e., the sonata allegro form, it is not a mere imitation of Mozart, let us say. It has the delicacy of Mendelssohn, but the harmonies that Strauss uses, even at the age of seventeen, began pushing the envelope. It contains some absolutely wonderful, rich sound, especially at the beginning of the recapitulation section (the sonata form has three sections; exposition, development, and recapitulation) where the French horns (a wind ensemble always has French horns) are at their most mellifluous.
The performance of this piece was quite excellent. The entire group was very precise in their entrances, and the phrases were well shaped with dynamics and truly flowed. I was again struck by Devin Hughes’ conducting in that it is not necessarily demonstrative as one usually thinks when considering other conductors. His movements are very economical, but when the music demands it, he can shape the phrases with large sweeping motions. I have always been in the audience when Mr. Hughes conducts – as opposed to being in the ensemble he is conducting – so I do not know what facial expressions he uses to emphasize the movements he makes. Most conductors do rely on facial expressions to help communicate the composer’s requirements to the orchestra. You must understand that the conductor’s job is to be the intermediary between the composer and the orchestra. Devin Hughes does the job well.
Next on the program came the wonderful Serenade for Winds, K. 361, by Mozart. Nowadays, there is very little doubt that this work was inspired by his friendship with Anton Stadler, a fine clarinet player who Mozart met shortly after arriving in Vienna in 1781. Stadler was also the inspiration and recipient of Mozart’s immortal Clarinet Concerto, K. 622. I stated above that there is no longer any doubt as to why this work was written, but there are still those who state that it was written for Mozart’s wedding to Constanze Weber, to be played at their wedding reception. To make a very long story short, this idea was promulgated by the mistranslation (I am being polite, here, in using that word) of a letter by Mozart in which he supposedly explains the origin of K. 361. Thorough scholarship has proven otherwise, but some individuals with less meticulous motives still say that it was for Constanze.
No matter what its origins, the performance Saturday night was truly excellent. The work is in seven sections and begins with a slow introduction to the opening fast movement. The precision of this group was readily noticeable. Their attacks and releases were excellent as was their tune. And certainly, in this particular work, Hughes’ conducting style fit perfectly. Always expressive, but very controlled. There is no question that this ensemble is accustomed to Hughes conducting and that they respect it. It would be interesting to see one of their rehearsals; I suspect they are quite rigorous. Certainly, woodwinds players need to be capable of extremely good breath control, but I was quite dazzled by the very long phrases and held notes performed by the oboist, Alexis Junker. And I might point out, that her tone control was quite remarkable as well. Everyone in this ensemble, and it needs to be stated again, was really at the top of their form, especially in the Theme and Variation movement which is the sixth out of the seven. The only noticeable irregularity occurred at the opening of the fifth movement, Romance, where the entrance was ragged. But truly, that was the only fuzzy spot in the first half of the program.
After the intermission, the Boulder Symphony winds performed one of the great 20th century compositions: Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldiers Tale.” I first heard this piece when I purchased a recording of it way back in 1955 or 1956. I cannot remember which ensemble performed it, but as I recall – and I could be wrong here – it was narrated by Sir John Gielgud. I do know that Gielgud, who died in the year 2000, did make recordings of this as the narrator. This remarkable piece is for violin, contrabass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. Though it was originally written for these seven instruments, it also features four speaking parts; the devil, the soldier, a princess, and unseen narrator. In the original version, the devil and the princess are also required to dance. However, the most common concert performance is as a suite without narration. I must say that I did miss the narration. The Soldiers Tale is a fable about a soldier whose soul is eventually captured by the devil after the devil challenges him to playing his violin. Make no mistake about it: this is a very difficult piece. It involves all of Stravinsky’s many gifts of rhythm complexity and instrumental virtuosity. For example, the sixth movement is named Three Dances: Tango, Waltz & Ragtime. The violin begins the tango with just a short snippet and the percussion finishes the rhythm. There is no question that as a member of the ensemble, if one listens to the other instruments, rather than watches the conductor and count, all will be lost in a mass of confusion. This is another example of its difficulty, for trained musicians find it difficult not to listen, but all reliable musicians must count.
The musicians that participated in the Stravinsky were Rebekah Durham, violin; Dale Day, contrabass; Katie Vedder, clarinet; Brian Jack, bassoon; Dan Smathers, trumpet; Mike Roper, trombone; and Tracy Fielder, percussion. I wish that the program had contained biographical information on these musicians. They were all quite excellent. I do know that the violinist, Rebekah Durham, has a very impressive background – she has the coveted Artist Diploma, as well as her Bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude from the Lamont School of Music, and she has performed with this orchestra previously in the Brahms Violin Concerto. She has won many competitions and awards and is now a graduate student at the Juilliard School. After this performance, she is headed to Korea where she will perform Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. Her performance in the Stravinsky was, as usual, exceptional from every point of view. She is a very exciting violinist. The other members of the ensemble were truly fine, as well.
In 1966, I had the marvelous opportunity to speak with Igor Stravinsky for about two hours. I asked him about this piece and told him how much I admired it. He said that he was always a little surprised by its great reception, and that it had been written in 1918 when times were hard. You must remember that 1918 was post-World War I, and many composers were deprived of royalties because of the revolution. So many lost so much. I, for one, will never forget that early recording that I owned, and the narrator’s opening soliloquy, “Down the hot and dusty road tramps a soldier with his load…” This performance brought back many memories.
If this performance was any indication of what lies ahead for conductor Devin Hughes and the newly named Boulder Symphony Orchestra, then their future is bright indeed. This is a community orchestra, and its woodwind section and horn section and contrabass section have proved to be exceptional. In many ways, it is not like the old days.
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