LSO Review of October 16, 2004 Concert

Music director Robert Olson has never been shy in his program selections for the consistently overachieving Longmont Symphony Orchestra. In Saturday’s season opener in the Brand Auditorium of Skyline High School, however, the guest soloist pushed Olson up a level with the selection of a concerto whose finale is fiendishly difficult not just for the soloist, but also a hair-raising experience for conductors.

For the third time in as many seasons, Olson brought to Longmont a young violinist whose scintillating pyrotechnics and sensitive musicality left the audience breathless. Korean-born Ju-Young Baek, in selecting the concerto by American Samuel Barber, asked the orchestra to reach beyond itself as well.

The first two movements of the Barber piece are effervescent with beautiful melodies, sensitive orchestration, and lyrical utterance. But Barber follows these with a finale in “perpetual motion” that runs at a breakneck speed for a span of four-minutes. Incorporating tricky syncopations, seamless metrical shifts, and including almost no space for musical breath, this movement is exhilarating when played well, but a disaster if something goes wrong. Baek and Olson pursued an impressively fast tempo, and the LSO musicians, particularly the string players, rose to the occasion.

That was also true in those lyrical first two movements. The orchestral accompaniment to Baek was particularly flattering in the first movement, and her cadenza at the end of the second was of great beauty.

They had some preparation with Ravel’s “Alborado del Gracioso,” the piece opening the concert. This work, originally a piano solo, also features heavy syncopation and complicated rhythms. The perfect transfer of the piano writing to the idiomatic instrumental sonorities was something at which Ravel excelled, and “Alborado” is unrivalled in his orchestral transcriptions of his own piano works. Olson’s reading was a colorful and effective way to open the season.

In the second half of the program, Olson chose a highly dramatic romantic symphony, the Seventh of Antonín Dvorák. Here, the best moments were in the slow second movement and in the third movement, a scherzo. The former featured several glowing passages from the LSO horn section as well as a satisfying dramatic pace. The conductor captured the unmistakable Bohemian flavor of the scherzo. The first movement, however, was somewhat disappointing. Its opening somehow lacked the essential dramatic tension, and the ending wasn’t as strong as it could have been. This was largely rectified in the finale.

Olson has come to expect a great deal of his community orchestra, and they usually do not disappoint. Yet another challenging program proved more than satisfying on Saturday night. This bodes well for the rest of the season, which features more exciting and even unexpected programming.

The LSO season continues Saturday, November 13 with guest conductor Mario Mateus and violist Scott Lee. On the program are Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony and two works for viola and orchestra. For tickets and information, call (303) 772-5796, email Symphony@qwest.net, or visit www.longmontsymphony.org.

MUSICIANS RISE TO CHALLENGE IN LSO OPENER By Kelly Dean Hansen Special to the Times-Call Music director Robert Olson has never been shy in his program selections for the consistently overachieving Longmont Symphony Orchestra. In Saturday’s season opener in the Brand Auditorium of Skyline High School, however, the guest soloist pushed Olson up a level with the selection of a concerto whose finale is fiendishly difficult not just for the soloist, but also a hair-raising experience for conductors. For the third time in as many seasons, Olson brought to Longmont a young violinist whose scintillating pyrotechnics and sensitive musicality left the audience breathless. Korean-born Ju-Young Baek, in selecting the concerto by American Samuel Barber, asked the orchestra to reach beyond itself as well. The first two movements of the Barber piece are effervescent with beautiful melodies, sensitive orchestration, and lyrical utterance. But Barber follows these with a finale in “perpetual motion” that runs at a breakneck speed for a span of four-minutes. Incorporating tricky syncopations, seamless metrical shifts, and including almost no space for musical breath, this movement is exhilarating when played well, but a disaster if something goes wrong. Baek and Olson pursued an impressively fast tempo, and the LSO musicians, particularly the string players, rose to the occasion. That was also true in those lyrical first two movements. The orchestral accompaniment to Baek was particularly flattering in the first movement, and her cadenza at the end of the second was of great beauty. They had some preparation with Ravel’s “Alborado del Gracioso,” the piece opening the concert. This work, originally a piano solo, also features heavy syncopation and complicated rhythms. The perfect transfer of the piano writing to the idiomatic instrumental sonorities was something at which Ravel excelled, and “Alborado” is unrivalled in his orchestral transcriptions of his own piano works. Olson’s reading was a colorful and effective way to open the season. In the second half of the program, Olson chose a highly dramatic romantic symphony, the Seventh of Antonín Dvorák. Here, the best moments were in the slow second movement and in the third movement, a scherzo. The former featured several glowing passages from the LSO horn section as well as a satisfying dramatic pace. The conductor captured the unmistakable Bohemian flavor of the scherzo. The first movement, however, was somewhat disappointing. Its opening somehow lacked the essential dramatic tension, and the ending wasn’t as strong as it could have been. This was largely rectified in the finale. Olson has come to expect a great deal of his community orchestra, and they usually do not disappoint. Yet another challenging program proved more than satisfying on Saturday night. This bodes well for the rest of the season, which features more exciting and even unexpected programming. The LSO season continues Saturday, November 13 with guest conductor Mario Mateus and violist Scott Lee. On the program are Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony and two works for viola and orchestra. For tickets and information, call (303) 772-5796, email Symphony@qwest.net, or visit www.longmontsymphony.org.