The Brown University Orchestra celebrated the 250th, 125th and 100th anniversaries of the births of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bela Bartók and Dimimitri Shostakovich, respectively, by performing some of the artists' works to a near-capacity crowd in Sayles Hall Friday night.
The concert was one of the orchestra's two performances this past weekend. It traveled to Boston, Mass. on Saturday to play with the Tufts Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Phillips, senior lecturer in music and music director of the orchestra, conducted the ensemble.
The concert's first piece was Mozart's Symphony No. 35 in D Major, "Haffner." It began with the upbeat theme of the allegro con spirito, which recurred throughout the piece. The violins played a series of impressive runs and clear trills; their eighth notes had a light, springy quality to them, adding to the piece's cheerful tone. Yet, the orchestra's dynamic contrasts were limited, causing the energy to lack at times.
The orchestra improved its energy with its subsequent selection, the spirited "Age of Gold" Suite by Shostakovich. The second movement, the "Adagio," allowed some of the most talented musicians to perform brief solos. The E-flat clarinet hit high notes with clarity, adding to the pleading and almost desperate-sounding mood of the movement.
Concertmaster William Joo '08 displayed his impeccable talent by effortlessly shifting up the E string using nonstop vibrato, ending with a dramatic slide. The fun, almost silly movements of the Shostakovich were the "Polka" and "Danse." The clacking of the xylophone and the ringing of the triangle evoked circus and carnival images.
The suite concluded with the enthusiastic pounding of the percussion, which the audience emulated with its own percussive pounding - cheerful applause.
After the intermission, the solo violist for the evening, Caroline Sizer '06, impressed the audience with her rendition of Bartok's "Concerto for Viola and Orchestra." Although some passages required her to perform difficult string crossings, she sailed through them with incredible ease. She also effortlessly executed double stops while shifting. Although the concerto itself had clashing, atonal melodies, Sizer added beauty to the conflicting chords with her mellow yet full-bodied sound.
Sizer reflected on her emotional performance. "It is truly a wonderful feeling to perform 'the beast,' as we violists like to call it," she said.
After playing for two hours, the orchestra saved more than enough energy for the final, most exciting piece - Piotr Tchaikovsky's "Francesca da Rimini." Although the ominous rumbling of the cellos and basses began the number, the focus of the piece turned to the violins, flutes and lower strings taking turns playing a sweeping, romantic theme. The gentle plucking of the harp also added to the amorous undertones.
However, as the tempo quickened, the passionate tone heightened into one of uncontrollable fervor. The suspense and turmoil created by every instrument playing simultaneously culminated with repeated chords, crashing cymbals and striking gongs.
After the fantastic conclusion, the audience applauded with almost as much fervor as the musicians poured into the piece.
