Article Contributed on: 5/19/2009 5:03:00 PM
The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra gave its final performance of the season Sunday, May 17, at 7 PM. Over the last few years, they have developed a habit of performing enormous works either in difficulty or in scope, and often both, and this performance was no exception. They performed Schubert's Overture to Rosamunde, the Shostakovich piano Concerto Nr. 1 in C minor, and the Brahms Third Symphony in F major. These are three works which would not necessarily be done by the other community orchestras in the state due to their difficulty and demands on soloists in the orchestra.
It was a fine performance, and the orchestra was jubilant at having performed so well. But there was an aura of sadness as well, because the Denver Phil's conductor and music director of 10 years, Dr. Horst Buchholz, has left Denver to accept a position in Cleveland as Canon of Music at Trinity Cathedral and Director of the Trinity Chamber Orchestra. There is no doubt that Buchholz' love of music and his desire to expose it as the composer intended shaped the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra into the best community orchestra in the state. As a conductor, he insisted on quality but was never a tyrant. It is symptomatic of the arts here in Denver -- and the situation is improving, albeit slowly -- that Dr. Buchholz had to go elsewhere to find a place where the appreciation of music equaled the level of his musicianship. It is Denver's loss.
However, Sunday's concert was conducted by another truly fine musician, Adam Flatt. All of Denver who love music should hope that he finds offerings here that are substantial enough to keep him as a resident of the city.
The work that opens the program Sunday evening was Schubert's Overture to Rosamunde. At this point I would like to direct the individual who wrote the program notes to the book by E. Norman McKay, the title of which is Schubert's Music For The Theater. For those who wish to delve into the problems that surrounded the composition of the incidental music, this book is invaluable and is probably the best resource.
The DPO gave the opening bars a very authoritative air and Mr. Flatt was very precise in his requests for the dynamics that are so important in this popular piece. More than many conductor's in recent memory, Flatt seems to conduct with his whole body, not just his arms. The orchestra responded quite well. I do wish that more violins could be added to the second violin section which is sometimes tonally out of sync. However, as the piece progressed, they played more and more in tune.
Next on the program was a very exciting Piano Concerto Nr. 1, by the great Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich performed by the remarkable pianist, Angelin Chang. Ms. Chang is professor of piano at Cleveland State University where she is head of the piano department and also the coordinator for chamber music and the faculty advisor in the bachelor of music program. She is a formidable pianist with technique way beyond her young years, and in 2007 won a Grammy for the best instrumental soloist performance with orchestra. She has performed all over the world and has so many honors and awards that they are impossible to list in this article. She plays in a very relaxed manner with extremely relaxed and flexible wrists. This particular concerto places great demands on the pianist, especially in long passages of octaves. Because of her very relaxed manner at the keyboard, she is able to play these octaves with seemingly no effort whatsoever. In addition, that flexibility and relaxed approach allows her to get tremendous volume out of the piano and, as a result, she is never in danger of being overpowered by the orchestra.
Shostakovich, of course, is one of the outstanding composers of the 20th century. He suffered immensely under the Stalinist regime in the USSR, and was constantly criticized because his music was not good "communist fare." As a matter of fact, in 1948 Soviet composers, conductors, and musicologists were invited, rather insistently, to a conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Moscow. Many of the attendees at this meeting were blamed for blocking the road to socialism with their art. Shostakovich and Prokofiev were two of the composers who were mentioned extensively and were criticized for their music which was "... vulgar and often downright pathological." Shostakovich took all of this very seriously and tried to mend his ways. For those of you who do not remember this era, do not think ill of Shostakovich, or Prokofiev, or Kabalevsky for toeing the line. The result upon failure to do so would, of course, be Siberia. And I would like to point out at this time an incredible irony -- Prokofiev and Stalin died on the same day in 1953. Shostakovich died of lung cancer in 1975. He also suffered polio which forced him to give up playing the piano -- and he was a formidable pianist. His piano concerto that was performed Sunday evening is a remarkable work and very different because of the extensive trumpet solo. The piano opens with a couple of rapid scales against a muted trumpet. There follows an ostinato-like pattern in the piano and after a couple of bars the melodic line enters. It weaves through several harmonies, never settling on one particular tonal center; it is absolutely beautiful writing. Both Chang and Flatt were totally comfortable in making music together. There was superb eye contact between the two, and it seemed that the conductor and pianist had performed this concerto many, many times. Both conductor and pianist exhibited incredible grace in their performance even in the most technically demanding sections, making everything look very easy.
For me, the highlight of this concerto is the second movement. It is a slow waltz which has a long building of tension to a feeling of sudden tragedy toward the end of the movement. It is in this movement that the trumpet is so important. I was absolutely amazed at the emotion that was exhibited by Michael Gill who plays the trumpet with the DPO. It was incredibly expressive and full of minute detail in each phrase which was shaped very carefully with dynamics, giving each phrase a very subtle sense of direction. His tone is very warm, and -- there is no other word -- affectionate. What a joy! This fine playing also drew attention to the other soloists in the orchestra. The woodwinds were exceptional, and the low strings were as well. Adam Flatt made absolutely sure to preserve the balance between Chang and the orchestra, so that Chang's incredibly soft dynamics were never overshadowed. It was a terrific partnership. The remainder of this concerto was as excellent as the first two movements. The orchestra was absolutely superb as was Angelin Chang. Her performance, along with Aldo Ragone's and Jesse Mills', was one of the most musical live performances that I have heard for at least two years.
The Brahms Symphony Number Three was completed in 1883 shortly after the death of Richard Wagner. The premiere in Vienna, 1883, was conducted by Hans Richter. At the premiere, the two camps of musical aesthetics were totally at war and instead of recognizing or attempting to understand the music of both Wagner and Brahms, they strove to ridicule the work of the opposite composer. The audience response to this was so great that the hissing of the Wagnerites only added to the din of approval. The Third Symphony is the shortest of all of Brahms' symphonies, and like the monster piano sonata that Liszt wrote, it ends in a quiet calm. The first movement surges forward and yet is resolved by a second theme group much more lyrical nature. The second movement is pastorale like and there is an almost childlike main theme. The third movement is a simple, poetic intermezzo and seems very different from the forward motion of the other movements. In the last movement, there is a deep serenity that epitomizes the romantic period.
It was abundantly clear that Adam Flatt knows this Symphony incredibly well. Not only was he able to bring the orchestra up to the task of this very difficult work, but he conducted from memory. That should be demonstration enough that such remarkable music making must always come from the head as well as the heart. All good musicians, whether they be conductors, pianists, singers, or violinists must be musicians first and instrumentalists second. It was difficult to believe that I was listening to a community orchestra peopled largely by volunteers who do not get paid one single dime, and that this orchestra is such a fine organization.
It is my great hope that this orchestra finds a replacement conductor for Horst Buchholz that is a musician first as Buchholz is, and not just a "nice guy." This orchestra has worked too hard to accept anything less than the best.