|
Saturday
Rolf Smedvig 1st trumpet |
presented by the Singapore Symphonia Company |
|
Tielman Susato Rondeau & Dance Bergeret Tomaso Albinoni Alleluia Concerto in C (No.5 Op.6) Antonin Dvorak Slavonic Dance no.1 op.46 Claude Debussy Quant j'ai ouy le tambourin from Three Songs of Charles D'Orleans Eric Satie Genossiene No.2 Manuel de Falla Ritual Fire Dance Rafael Mandez Romanza W. A. Mozart Rondo (Alla Turca) from Piano Sonata in A Two Irish Jigs (traditional) Sergei Prokofiev Morning Dance from Romeo and Juliet Sergei Prokofiev Troika from Lieutenant Kitje Modest Mussorgsky "The Old Castle" from Pictures at an Exhibition Kenneth Amis Allegro con brio from Quintet No.1 Luciano Berio Sequenza No.5 Leonard Bernstein "Something's Comin" from West Side Story George Gershwin "Summertime" and "It Ain't Neccesarily So" from Porgy and Bess Aaron Copland Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring |
OVERALL NOISE RATING: 1 (very warm and attentive audience, including the single
mobile phone ring during the last piece)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
by Soo Kian Hing
The Empire Brass is an internationally-renowned brass quintet, consisting of
two trumpets, one French horn, one trombone, and one bass tuba (or simply
tuba). Their repertoire ranges from transcription of pre-1500 Medieval
dances to pieces by "ultra-modern" contemporary living composers, including
works written specifically for brass quintet by their own members. And the
arranger for most of tonight's pieces is Rolf Smedvig himself, which might
explain the very prominent parts for first trumpet in most of the works.
Not that this reviewer is complaining, though, for Smedvig is an extremely
fine trumpeter who plays with flair and heartfelt enthusiasm.
The first half of the concert featured mainstream classical pieces arranged
for brass quintet, opening with the rustic Rondeau and Dance by Susato from
the 16th century, followed by one of Albinoni's violin concerti transcribed
for trumpet and brass quintet (with Smedvig on solo trumpet). Though these
pieces were originally written for small string-and-wind ensembles, under
the brilliant Smedvig the brass quintet did sound suitably Baroque
with a feel for the smaller but livelier sound of that period. Dvorak's
Slavonic Dance No.1 similarly did not lose any of its brilliance or bounce
with this scaled-down ensemble.
Their virtuosity
almost allows us to take the technical aspects of performance for granted.
Having said that, one of the other elements that struck me as less desirable
was the style of their arrangements. The solo first trumpet, Smedvig, is more
often than not in the limelight with almost everyone else playing a
simple 'chord and rhythm' accompanying role.
Better arrangements saw a
better distribution of lines and that was most welcomed for clearly, each of
these musicians had so much to contribute. The audience took to Eric Amis'
"Rondo Ala Turca" and gave his amazing performance of running notes on the
tuba a most rousing ovation.
Of the five, Smedvig is clearly the most seasoned and charismatic performer,
exuding great stage presence while boasting a virtuoso technique and
artistry that few brass performers I've heard can match. The Albinoni
Concerto is testament to these qualities and this was a performance I'd like
to hear again.
One of the troubling things was also the acoustics of VCH.
The trumpets and trombone faced no difficulty in this, but clearly the venue
did not work as well for the French horn and the tuba. The stage was
extended possily to bridge the performer-audience gap to allow for greater
intimacy but perhaps also somewhat sidestep these difficulties.
The attendance for these concerts were most disappointing. Top acts like the
Empire Brass deserve a much better audience. I wish there could have been
more active publicity and that students from school bands could have been
there to witness this superb ensemble. I'm sure the experience would be an
inspiration and redefine what some of them thought was possible on their
instruments.
I hope the poor turn out would not discourage the Singapore Symphonia Company to bring
such ensembles to Singapore, for there definitely is an audience for brass
ensembles.
The most atmospheric pieces of the first half, however, must have the
Impressionistic French pieces. Fond of using a Sarabande-like lilt as in
his Gymnopedies, Satie's Genossiene opened up a portal into the ancient
French courts, with fluttering satin and stately allure, all amply
re-created by the ensemble.
Los Angeles-based Rafael Mandez was Smedvig's
teacher, and his Romanza was slow and tango-like, interpreted intimately by
his able pupil. In contrast, Spanish composer de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance was
all fiery aggression and stoic rhythmicity that kept the audience
breathlessly on the edge of their seats. Though Kenneth Amis explained
profusely how purists may balk when a piece originally written for piano is
transcribed for another instrument, I believe the audience had no qualms
with Amis' transcription for bass tuba of Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca"
(originally for piano). If you thought that Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of
the Bumblebee transcribed for tuba was incredible enough, wait until you
hear this: the common notion that the tuba is cumbersome and stupid
(!sacrilege!) is quickly revoked by Amis' versatile and virtuosic, plus
cheeky, performance on his instrument.
The second half was no less impressive, featuring music of a different
calibre, mostly lighter music from modern American composers. Mussorgsky's
"Il Vecchio Castello" was convincingly portrayed by Smedvig on solo trumpet
complemented by Reese on muted piccolo trumpet, creating the atmosphere of a
musty decaying castle in whose air hung heavy the nostalgia of a glorious
past.
Amis' invigorating Allegro con brio, from his Quintet No.1 was written
before he joined the actual ranks of the Empire Brass, and is a well-thought-out
ensemble arrangment for five brass instruments, each with an
indispensible part. Naturally the Empire Brass was in its element here, as
the team was with the excerpts from pieces by the three most eminent
composers in 20th century American classical music, Copland, Gershwin, and
Bernstein. Though the arrangements favoured mostly the first trumpet with a
few melodies in the horn and trombone to diffuse the dominant instrument,
the pieces were played with an innate understanding and sympathy for the
composers' intentions and different styles.
Though, as Smedvig pointed out, the members of the Empire Brass may be
frustrated closet string/woodwind/piano players, they are really excellent
brass players in their own right. When he was just 19, Smedvig was
chosen by Seiji Ozawa to be the youngest member of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, already taking the Assistant Principal's Chair. As the original
founder of the Empire Brass, he commands immense stage presence and is
easily the most charismatic and communicative of the five.
Equally in his
element playing Albinoni and Ellington, Smedvig has fluent technique and a
deep brilliant tone as befits a first trumpeter, giving the pieces an extra
edge and fullness; however this bordered on dominance in some places were he
not balanced by Marc Reese. The latter, on second trumpet, has incredible
range of tone, from being full but inconspicuous for supporting the upper
brass, to being equally brassy and penetrating when he takes over some solo
phrases from Smedvig, and in some solos of his own as well.
Left: The Empire Brass. Photograph from
Gregory Miller as a horn player is extremely versatile. Though the
arrangement for most of the pieces requires him to just chug along in the
typical symphonic horn role of support and filling-in, when his turn comes
to play solo he does so with no holds barred; it may also have helped that
this reviewer sat on the left of the concert hall where the direction of the
horn was faced, for the acoustics of the hall were notoriously unpredictable
when it comes to showcasing individual players.
Marc Hetzler's enthusiasm,
when he plays, is very evident on his face and movements of his gangly
frame. He featured as a lone player in Berio's pieces for one trombone,
Sequenza No.5. It was a piece inspired by the comic yet profound effect of
a stage entertainer who, after trying to play a violin onstage in vain,
throws down the instrument in a frustated "Why?". In the same vein, Berio's
piece features the trombonist trying to make sense of the 'random' sounds he
makes by blowing and inhaling through the instrument, with the help of a
mute.
In this performance, Hetzler displays his ability to be a comic and
entertainer in conveying deep-seated emotions across the confines of the
stage. Kenneth Amis, besides displaying his skills on the tuba by playing
the entire musical range and other virtuosic passages with unbelievable
ease, has also shown himself to be a formidable composer and arranger, with
a Masters in composition.
What sets the Empire Brass apart, however, was their interaction with the
audience and candid humour. They took the trouble to provide introductions
to each piece they played and actually joke with the audience: "Would it be
illegal if we spit on the floor through our brass instruments?" in response
to emptying their saliva (accumulated inside the coils of their instruments)
on the floor, a common practice with brass players.
They also managed to
rouse the audience, so much so that spontaneous shouts of "encore!"
resonated through the enthusiastic, albeit small, audience, when they
returned to the stage for their curtain call after the last piece. They
happily obliged with two pieces, one of them being the rowdy Jungle Night
in Harlem by Duke Ellington depicting a major bar-room brawl. The
irreverant character of this irrepressibly mischevious ensemble, however,
came across most convincingly in their last encore, which, after a whole
hullaballoo of preparation and getting-ready, ended in a pang of silence
followed by a jovial "Goodnight!" before the group retired for the night. A
most enjoyable evening, I might add.
Adrian Tan gives his review
Smedvig and Amis both in their introductions to the music mentioned that the
group had taken it upon themselves to arrange other people's music for the
brass quintet. From the soft lines of Debussy, the pianistic demands from
Ritual Fire Dance or a Mozart sonata, to the lyricism of an Albinoni violin
concerto - these brass players have raised the level of performance so high,
that one cannot imagine what is not possible for them.
Empire Brass Website.
Soo Kian Hing reiterates that he plays the tuba. And Adrian
plays the baton.
|
Click to Return to the Concert Index!...
or Visit the Inkvault archives! |
637: 28.1.2000, up.1.2.2000 ㏒OO Kian Hing, Adrian Tan
 |
Explore the Flying Inkpot
| Concert Reviews |
Bit deadish:
| Horn of Plenty |
www.AmisMusicCircle.com for musical compositions and arrangements by Empire Brass tubist, Kenneth Amis.
| MORE STUFF |
Do you have a website relating to classical music performance in Singapore? Tell us about it! Email classical@inkpot.com