|
SYMPHONY REVIEW
An Orchestra Tests Its Own Mettle April 19, 2002
|
By Thomas Goss
Mahler's 5th is a symphony unlike any other. Each of the three sprawling
sections is like unto a world in itself with its own distinct pacing and
logic. The challenge of tying them together into a cohesive whole is one of
the greatest for the conductor in all the symphonic repertory. The sheer
excellence and level of commitment displayed by Alasdair Neale and the Marin
Symphony last Sunday night showed it to be the right work and him the right
conductor for this unusually talented group of musicians to prove their
worth.
Part of this success was strategic. Neale treated the piece as a series of
musical statements, not stage-managed but integrated with a fine sense of
balance and an overall command of form. The panoply of instrumental solos in
the first movement had a cumulative rather than patchwork effect, while the
scherzo was actually funny, even sarcastic in its contrasts and collisions
of mood. The finale, by turns comedic, heroic, and sloshing with its wide
arcs, came through with sincerity and fulfillment. The artless little wind
passages had as much effect as the crashing, tolling brass chorales. In it
all was a sense of intellectual foresight and emotional honesty that owed
more to Bernstein, perhaps, than to von KaraJanuary Yet Neale's sense of
preparation, timing, and synergy is all his own. His is a keenly honed
instrument that seems as fascinated with the way that music works as with
the way that it plays.
Another part of this success was musicianship. There were moments of
brilliance and transcendence wherein the term "regional orchestra" scarcely
seemed applicable, as in the touching candor of the Adagietto, where the
strings more than redeemed themselves for moments of uncertainty in the
previous season. The string sound overall was first-rate, tight and precise
with only traces of looseness in the scherzo, rich and full in both the
gravity of the opening and the ebullience of the finale. The cello section
was the real standout of the evening, executing its melodic passages with
deep, chesty brilliance, particularly in the stormy response to the funeral
march. The quality and presence of the strings pushed the dependable winds
and brass to new heights, with great solo work all around, particularly in
the double reeds, with oboist Margot Golding and English Horn player Laura
Chrisp in warm effulgence. Bruce Roberts simply killed with his horn solos,
while the presence of Carole Klein on trumpet was like Gabriel in judgment
with clear, ringing pronouncements.
This Teutonic tour-de-force was balanced by the very French sparkle of François Poulenc's Gloria in the first half of the concert. Neale allowed some of the edges to show in this reverently brash work. Poulenc's spiritual oeuvre has a symphonic flair that is entirely un-churchy. For all the extollations of piety, the devotion seems to reside in the instrumentality of the choral lines, and the Marin Symphony chorus was up to the task. The male voices were strong without booming. The female voices had a crisp smoothness which well complemented the lightness of the orchestral texture. Neale and chorus director Stephen McKersie worked the singers into the musical fabric with care and were rewarded with a musical landscape wherein all parts worked in the pursuit of the "idea," rather than at the expense of one another, a real hazard in oratorio performance. Soprano soloist Pamela Coburn sang with a bright, fluid tone, penetrating in the upper register without shrillness. Her sense of both pitch and drama was precise and confident throughout, particularly in the treacherous, twisty opening of the Agnus Dei. Her easy manner and elegant perfection were a mirror for the success of the piece and of the entire evening's proceedings. Marin Symphony, simply put, has never sounded better. (Thomas Goss is resident composer for Moving Arts Dance Collective, and is a member of New Release Alliance Composers, the Cabaret Composers Consortium, and sits on the steering committee of the Bay Area Chapter of the American Composers Forum.) ©2002 Thomas Goss, all rights reserved |
