Concert Reviews - April 2013

Part of a series of reviews of concerts I attend. Select "Concert Reviews" from the list of labels in the sidebar to see all of them.

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Wheaton College Conservatory of Music

Mozart’s Requiem

Friday, April 5

Edman Memorial Chapel, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

Most years, the Wheaton Conservatory makes a project of preparing and presenting one of the masterworks of the classical repertoire. Some years are more involved than others; this year’s presentation of the Requiem Mass in D Minor (K. 626) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was about medium-level, in that it involved four of the large ensembles and a week’s worth of special rehearsals.

Mozart’s Requiem is one of the great works I am most familiar with, as there are two standard trombone excerpts from it. Interestingly, I missed having the chance to play those parts by two years both ways – the Conservatory presented the Requiem the year I was a junior in high school, and now again two years after I graduated.

Standing ovation for Dr. Trotter, soloists, choirs, and orchestra

But I immensely enjoyed being an audience member for this presentation. The mass choir – containing the Concert Choir, Men’s Glee Club, and Women’s Chorale, sounded as good as I have ever heard them. Diction, balance, phrasing – all good.

One regrettable part of the performance was the difficulty in hearing the vocal soloists. I had heard all four of them sing before and I know they are talented, capable singers, but due perhaps to the dynamic of the hall and the large orchestra behind them, it was hard to hear them at times.

However, in sum, it was an excellent performance, and I want to congratulate Dr. John William Trotter on his first masterwork project at Wheaton.

Civic Orchestra of Chicago

Scheherazade

Monday, April 8

Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, Chicago, Illinois

The Civic Orchestra’s April home concert, under the direction of its principal conductor, Cliff Colnot, had two works, one of which I knew, one of which I did not, and both of which I heard live for the first time.

The concert opened with the short “descriptive orchestral piece” The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 by Anatoly Liadov (I must admit I had not heard of Liadov, or if I had had forgotten about him since my music history classes).

Immediately following was the piece I had been looking forward to hearing since the Civic’s season was announced: Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. As I said above, this was the first time I had heard this piece performed live, though I knew it with some familiarity due to its having a standard trombone excerpt.

The Civic’s performance of the suite was, in two words, energetic and passionate. I could tell the Civic brass section received coaching from members the CSO brass section, because they seemed to channel some of that power into the brass-heavy passages. Concertmaster Emily Nash performed the frequent violins solos (which represent Queen Scheherazade’s storytelling) with incredible sensitivity. When Colnot acknowledged soloists individually, he saved her for last, and he was clearly elated with her work – as were all of us on our feet in the audience.

The Wheaton College Symphonic Band

Concert in Blue

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Edman Memorial Chapel, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

Dr. Timothy Yontz, director of the Symphonic Band, has a knack for creating diverse programs for the Band’s home concerts. This spring concert, however, was the first time I can remember him giving a theme to a home concert (I say “home concert” to distinguish from biannual Children’s Concerts and Christmas Festivals). The theme was simply “Blue,” and most of the works on the program had the word blue in their titles. That connecting theme yielded another wonderfully diverse program, showcasing the immense talent of this wonderfully diverse group of young musicians. There were pieces with a jazz influence (“Blue Moon” and “Rhapsody in Blue”) and one piece performed in collaboration with the Concert Choir, to name a few. It was, as always, well done.

On Obedience

Part of the "Devotional Thoughts" series. Go to the list of Labels in the right sidebar and click "Devotional Thoughts" to browse the entire series. Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

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Read Luke 5:1-11. To summarize: Jesus encounters Simon Peter and his fisherman colleagues at the Sea of Galilee, uses their boat as a platform from which to teach crowds on the shore, and then instructs the fishermen to cast their nets, which results in a massive catch.

Consider Simon Peter's response to Jesus' instructions. Peter, of course, is notorious for speaking before thinking, but here at least it is to the readers' advantage, for we can read, in essence, his entire thought process. His first statement is a statement of fact: he and his partners had been out all night (the preferred time for fishing, according to the notes in my study Bible), and had caught nothing. I can almost imagine Peter cutting himself off with the second statement, when he decides that Jesus' instructions are enough to try again, despite all evidence indicating it would be futile.

And then, a miraculous catch!

As I read this passage last night, I wondered: are there things God is asking me to do, and on which He is waiting for me to act before responding with some miracle or revelation? Quite obviously, God is not dependent on my actions in any way, but I believe that He sometimes chooses to wait for us to be obedient to His call before enacting a particular blessing.

Why? I doubt it is merely an exercise in operant conditioning. Again, God is not dependent on my action, as if I was the accounting department officer who has to countersign a check. No, I think rather God waits for us to act so that we can learn the value of obedience, of doing things God's way, of trusting His judgment, even if we have already been out all night with nothing to show for it.

Is God asking you to do something, something that may seem odd or against rational thought? God is not bound by human reason. And there may be a blessing beyond what you can imagine waiting for you on the other side of obedience.

Beautiful Inheritance

Part of the "Devotional Thoughts" series. Go to the list of Labels in the right sidebar and click "Devotional Thoughts" to browse the entire series. Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

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Read Psalm 16. It is only eleven verses; it will not take long, I promise. I read it yesterday, as it was one of the prescribed psalms for Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer.
 
This is one of David's psalms. The study Bible I have notes that it is an expression of confidence in the Lord. The stanza that most caught my attention yesterday was that of verses 5 and 6:
 

5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in beautiful places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

(ESV)

I spent some time meditating on that last phrase: "beautiful inheritance." What might David have been referring to? Looking at the verse and a half before, it certainly could mean his present life, a life full of many blessings. It most likely does mean that, given the tense of the verb (i.e., "I have a beautiful inheritance," emphasis added).

And how true is that today? We have blessings both material and, for the Christian, spiritual - and in both cases, it is all due to God's grace.

What could be a more beautiful inheritance than God's grace and the gift of new life in Christ? We are in the midst of Eastertide, the season of celebrating new life in Christ. Have you received that beautiful inheritance?

Concert Reviews - March 2013

Part of a series of reviews of concerts I attend. Select "Concert Reviews" from the list of labels in the sidebar to see all of them.

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Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra
Concerto Competition Honors Concert
Friday, March 1
Edman Memorial Chapel, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

I began March with what had been one of my most-anticipated events as an undergraduate music major, the Wheaton College Concerto Competition Honors Concert. In October/November of each year are the four divisional concerto competitions (generally with piano accompaniment), and the winner of each division then performs his or her piece with the full orchestra in the first part of the spring semester. This concert also features a performance of the piece that won that year’s Alumni Composition Prize.

The concert began with that winning piece, David Christensen’s This is a Poverty for soprano voice, alto voice, piano, and percussion. The text includes excerpts from the Bible, famous speeches, and a fictional Twitter feed. I had not heard a work like it before, and I applaud David for his creativity.

The orchestra took the stage and the four divisional winners performed: Mark Franklin, Rebecca Weddle, and Justin David played a Carl Maria von Weber piano concerto, Samuel Barber violin concerto, and Mozart clarinet concerto, respectively, and Olivia Doig sang an aria from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. All four played or sang with obvious passion and enjoyment, not to mention technical and artistic brilliance. I had missed last year’s Honors Concert (my first year after graduation), so I was glad to be able to see this year’s, one of the last years in which I will actually know the soloists and composer.

Chicago Brass Festival
Chicago Brass Band
Fine Arts Center Auditorium, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois

The 2013 Chicago Brass Festival featured several concerts, including this one that I saw, by the Chicago Brass Band, under the direction of Dr. Colin Holman. The CBB describes itself as “formed in the British band tradition but with a Chicago flair.” It is certainly a musically excellent and sonically powerful group.

The Chicago Brass Band // Colin Holman, Music Director

The showpiece of their program (though all their selections were well-received) was “‘Rextreme’ Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet” by James M. Stephenson (who was present) with virtuoso Rex Richardson playing the solo part. The piece is something of a showcase of a trumpeter’s skills – and I say trumpeter, not trumpet, intentionally, for Mr. Richardson used no fewer than three different instruments: a Bb trumpet, piccolo trumpet, and flugelhorn.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Bronfman plays Bartok

Tuesday, March 12

Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, Chicago, Illinois

This concert was not one I had really been considered until an invitation arrived to attend a special pre-concert event. The Institute for Learning, Access, and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was releasing a new set of Dream Out Loud media, and had invited Chicago-area educators for a preview and brief remarks. The invitation came with an offer of a discounted ticket to the concert. I was only able to enjoy the first half of the concert, but there were more than enough musical treats before intermission.

The first work was Debussy’s Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun.” Not being a flutist or a scholar of French classical music, I know the piece more by reputation than anything else, but I enjoyed the peacefulness of the music – a ten-minute oasis of gentle music in the middle of a bustling city on a weeknight.

After a set change, it was now time for Bartok’s Second Piano Concerto. Not being a piano player (can you tell why this concert was never on my list to begin with?), I knew nothing about this piece, so I had spent a few minutes with Wikipedia that afternoon to learn what was coming. I learned that it was one of the most difficult pieces in the repertoire.

It showed. From my vantage point in the front row of gallery, I had an unobstructed if distant view of soloist Yefim Bronfman’s ferocious technique. I was also thrilled to see and hear that this concerto required quite a bit of work from the low brass section – all the wind players really; there were a few minutes when the piece could have been appropriately titled Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble. The concerto is written in an arch form, with fast outer movements and a slow inner movement – and an inner movement with a fast middle.

In response to a standing ovation, Bronfman played a short work by Scarlatti as an encore, before waving good night.

Wheaton College Artist Series

Harlem String Quartet

Friday, March 22

Edman Memorial Chapel, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

After a heavy-duty mid-season for the Artist Series, the last quarter began with a smaller yet still excellent act, the Harlem String Quartet. The Harlem Quartet is a relatively young group, only first formed in 2006. In addition, the current violist and cellist have only been with the group since November. Harlem was formed by a separate entity, the Sphinx Organization, which administered scholarship competitions for young Black and Hispanic musicians.

Harlem brought a diverse program, beginning with a Mozart quartet, making their way through Chick Corea’s “Adventures of Hippocrates” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A-Train,” and concluding with Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Quartet.

With the exception of “A-Train,” which I knew from my school jazz band days, the other items were unfamiliar to me (though I knew the name and reputation of the Schubert quartet), so it was a treat to be introduced to some new music. All of it was played with precision and passion – the best concerts, in my opinion, are those where the musicians are clearly enjoying their work, and Harlem was decidedly doing so.

The Harlem String Quartet in Edman Chapel

Have you heard any good concerts lately? Share a review in the comments section below!