Southwest Washington Symphony's Winter Classical Concert

Posted @ Jan. 30 2012 10:31AM by Perry - arts-ent

Review by Lynn Taylor
January 29, 2012 - Rose Center for the Arts, Longview

The Winter Classical Concert by the Southwest Washington Symphony, under the direction of Ryan Heller, opened with the brass fanfare of the “Festival Overture” by Dmitri Shostokovich, a very energizing start setting the pace for the rest of the concert. The strings then accompanied a clarinet solo and the composition proceeded at a fast tempo, moving from section to section of the instruments of the orchestra. The entrances and exits were flawless, and the music flowed quickly, but without a sense of being unduly hurried. One particularly memorable part of the piece was when the strings were playing pizzacato with the snare drum. A single clarinet joined them, then the brass reprised their fanfare and the rest of the winds came on board.

Mozart's 25th Symphony
The Symphony downsized for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 25th Symphony. The instrumentation was the string section, with the bassoons, oboes, and French horns. The other brass, the percussion, flutes, and clarinets were excused. The first movement opened with light and quick notes from all of the strings. They softened their volume when they were joined by a solo oboe. There was effective use of “space” within this composition when there were short breaks of complete silence between phrases. These were played perfectly with no stray notes or missed timing.

The second movement slowed down the tempo of the concert. It consisted of a conversation between the violins and the lower strings-the violas, cellos, and bass violins. The winds were often heard adding a third voice to the conversation. The third movement opened with a fast but heavy theme played by all the winds. The midsection was lighter, before returning to the heavier theme to end. The opening of the fourth movement was also deep and heavy. It then developed into a lighter theme in the major key. The French horns played well in unison when they got their chance at the melody. The strings lended their support instead of the usual other way around. This movement alternated frequently between light and heavy themes and the minor and major keys. This movement ended as the previous three did, not abruptly, but quickly, without long, drawn-out chords.

The Rach III
The second half of the concert was devoted to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring pianist Dr. Duane Hulbert, a professor at the University of Puget Sound. The first movement opened softly and lyrically with a moderate tempo. This lasted for several measures before speeding up. Dr. Hulbert‘s fingers flowed rapidly over the keyboard like water over a waterfall, eventually slowing and blending as a river would to a pastoral theme. In contrast with this gentler section, came a stormy crescendo played by the full orchestra with a rumbling from the tympani. The piano’s frequent returns to the opening theme played over a murmuring of the strings. After another forceful, energetic solo, a flute, an oboe, a clarinet, and a French horn joined the piano.

The next two movements flowed together without a pause. The beginning was slow and melodic, with a mournful mood. When the piano joined in, it was with a bright and forceful tone, bringing to mind sunshine after a storm, or a sense of victory. An unusual pairing of the bassoons with the clarinets playing the low notes of their range produced a very beautiful effect. The French horns had another chance at solo work, playing a theme that sounded like hunting horns. This theme was then echoed by the piano.

There were too many changes in mood, tempo, volume, and instrumentation to list each portion. The featured soloist, Dr. Hulbert, did not hesitate or miss a note. The Symphony also met the challenge of “The Rach III” head on and were well-matched to the soloist, able to carry the music forward during his well-earned rests.

At the conclusion of the piece, the packed house erupted as the audience rose in robust applause. Sue Lane, the Symphony Auxialry's representative, presented Dr. Hulbert with a floral bouquet and a box of See's chocolates as a token of appreciation for the magnificent performance.
The Southwest Washington Symphony plays next on April 13th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theater for the Performing Arts. The concert will include the combined high school choirs and a young artist soloist.

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Lynn Taylor is one of Columbia River Reader's performing arts reviewers. She is a veterinarian and a reformed violin player who now plays the oboe, with a wide variety of music genres on her iPod that she listens to while training for 5K and 10K fun runs.