Concert Review                           by Classical Voice
 

A Blazing Beethoven's Ninth in OC

By Truman C. Wang
Thursday, June 8, 2006

Pacific Symphony

Carl St. Clair, conductor

Schubert Tantum Ergo, D.962
Schubert Romanza, Die Forella, Nacht un Traume, Geheimes, Erlkonig
Beethoven   Symphony No. 9 in d, Op.125

Soloists: Wendy Nielsen (S), Jennifer Dudley (A),
Jason Collins (T), Christian van Horn (B)
Pacific Chorale/ John Alexander, director

Performance of Thursday, June 8, 2006 at Segerstrom Hall,
Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa

 

F

resh from its first European tour, the Pacific Symphony played with an intensity and polish not often encountered in a regional American orchestra.  In its final concert of the season – and its last at OC’s Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa before relocating to its new home across the plaza – the mighty Beethoven’s Ninth, coupled with Schubert’s lieder, benefited tremendously from this newfound expressive power

The first half of the concert featured songs by Franz Schubert – in orchestrated and highly romanticized forms by various composers from Brahms to Britten (all great songwriters in their own right).  Wendy Nielsen’s lithe, pure soprano delighted in “Die Forella” but was also capable of darker expression in “Nacht un Traume” and the spectacularly thrilling account of “Erlkonig”.  Conductor Carl St. Clair provided sympathetic, unwavering support throughout the heroine’s romantic trials and tribulationsin.  And the Symphony players identified themselves particularly well with Berlioz’s near-impressionistic colorful harmonies for “Erlkonig”.  The religious part-song "Tantum Ergo" for soloists and chorus offered a rare glimpse into Schubert's polyphonic choral-writing skills and a fine foretaste of the evening's grand chorale finale.

Post-intermission, another famous song, “Ode to Joy”, was heard, this time arranged and orchestrated to the nines (no pun intended) by Beethoven as a call for universal peace and brotherhood.  The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a showcase work reserved for the very finest orchestras, and the Pacific Symphony succeeded admirably in bringing out its grandeur and drama.  Repeats in the Second movement Scherzo were observed – the only nod to the early 19th-Century performance practice; otherwise, conductor St. Clair favored a more lush, romantic interpretion – the opening chords shrouded in awe and mystery, the woodwind snarls in the Scherzo, the warm and glowing strings in the Adagio, and, last but not least, the exhilarating shouts of joy from the100-plus Pacific Chorale.  The tempi were generally well chosen, although the Trio seemed too hurried and offered little contrast with the titanic strings-and-timpani battle of the Scherzo.  There was much lovely orchestral playing, notably the delicate coloration of the Turkish March/tenor solo (Alla Marcia) section of the fourth movement.

The vocal quartet were well balanced and the choral singing was exuberant.  The controlled bedlam in the closing bars was impossibly fast and incredible exciting -- probably the most exciting I have heard of the Ninth in a concert yet.
 

   

Truman C. Wang is editor-in-chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and other Southern California publications.

 

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