Last night I was at a performance of the symphony including the philharmonic chorus. This was the last classical music performance of the symphony's 100th season. It was also the last choir performance for this season, so Elaine has a break now until fall.
The performance started with a short piece by Tchaikovsky. Then there was concerto for viola and orchestra which was the premiere performance of this work composed by the principal viola of the symphony. He performed the viola solo, in three movements, accompanied by the symphony. This was excellent and very impressive to hear something of this calibre by a local composer. The composer/soloist received a well deserved standing ovation.
The second part of the program was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony along with the choir and soloists. The first three movements were the symphony alone, but the highlight was the finale movement with the soloists and choir. This part includes the familiar melody known as the "Ode to Joy." The four soloists they brought in for this performance were some of the best I have seen at these performances. The tenor had performed in an opera with Pavarotti, and all the soloists had impressive resumes in operas and other classical concerts. They may have gone to greater lengths with this performance in recognition of the 100th season.
The singing was all in German, and was very powerful. The soloists were tremendous. The tenor and baritone each had some individual parts as well as quartets along with the soprano and mezzo-soprano. The philharmonic chorus was supplemented by a youth choir and extra singers for this performance so there were about 120 singers. The singing had great volume and it included some very high parts, as well as parts that were very fast. The powerful singing along with the full volume of the symphony in the finale was amazing. If I had any hair it would have been standing on end! The night ended with a long standing ovation by the audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment