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Friday
10 March 2000

Victoria Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY CYCLE
Charles IVES Three Places in New England
Carl Maria von WEBER Clarinet Concerto No.2 in E-flat, op.74
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No.5 in C minor, op.67

MA Yue clarinet
SHUI Lan conductor

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 3 (Lots of bodily noises all round, especially from the Directors' Row and especially the usher on Level 3 - can we get someone who doesn't walk in and out, move chairs, etc while the concert is in progress?)

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.

This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd

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by William Beh

Due to a traffic snarl - vehicles along Connaught Drive leading to the concert hall were reportedly motionless for fifteen minutes - the start of concert was delayed for ten minutes. Conductor Michael Stern (don't ask me how) had been trapped in the traffic. The orchestra, already assembled and seated on stage when the announcement came (Percussion Principal Jon Fox can now add "pre-concert announcements" to his credentials) amused themselves with total cacophony on the stage.

Charles Ives But, finally, we did get started, with Charles Ives' quixotic Three Places in New England. This was, as far as I can remember, the first time the SSO has performed this particular work - not coincidentally, after the Malaysian Philharmonic up in Kuala Lumpur lined it up in their concert season last year, perhaps ?

Whatever the reason, Stern managed to draw an idiomatic performance from the orchestra. Rarely have been the brasses and winds so good, and the strings even better, especially in the dissonant counterpoint of the second movement, Putnam's Camp. It is perhaps worth remembering here that this work, when it was premiered in 1930, was roundly jeered by the audience; how far our tastes and expectations in classical music have come since.

The programme notes - yes, again, courtesy of Dr John Howard - quoted from Ives' own description of "soldiers marching out of camp with fife and drum to a popular tune of the day" but then neglects to specify - a critical omission - which tune. It was the march of The British Grenadiers and not, as Dr Howard goes on to write in the next line, spliced together from two tunes in 1912. No doubt the sentence was referring to the entire work and not the Grenadiers tune - but that is my point exactly: why mislead the casual concertgoer with such poorly organized notes ?

Weber's Second Clarinet Concerto followed Ives. Again, Stern drew a very convincing accompaniment from the orchestra for soloist and SSO Principal Clarinettist Ma Yue. A pity that the clarinet suffered from flawed intonation and a somewhat reedy sound, especially in the extreme high and low notes, that was most unbecoming for a soloist. The interpretation was not too imaginative, either. Perhaps a bit more rapport between soloist and orchestra would have saved this reading from being merely pedestrian.

The most anticipated work of the evening, Beethoven's Fifth, came after the interval. I expected a dramatic reading with lots of Sturm und Drang, a titanic struggle within the music, but what conductor Stern presented was something else entirely. His was a reading that was direct, incisive and simply lyrical.

He took the first movement with a great deal of intensity, as compelling a performance as any which I've heard before live. The slow movement was superbly warm and unfussy, and the final movement was totally glorious, sending shivers down the nape of one's neck, yet without being brashly overblown in the climaxes - a very common problem in previous concerts. Of the Beethoven symphonies already performed so far this season, this is one to stand alongside Lan Shui's electric Eroica.

William Beh actually watches more movies than he attends concerts (and that's really saying something)..

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666: 10.3.2000 ©William Beh

Readers' Comments


From: Matthew (teedum@iname.com / Thursday, March 23, 2000 at 13:05:45)

Hello. I attended this concert on the second night and I certainly agree with your opinions on a fine performance of the charles Ives. The SSO sounded in good form. The Beethoven however, although undoubtedly electrifying, came across as a tad too fast; this is especially felt in the inner movements. Coming to the Weber, from my own experiences as a clarinetist, I felt his tone, especially in the highest registers of the Concerto, wouldn't be what we call 'reedy'. On the contrary, it was full-bodied and had a fabulous projection. His lower notes however were't as 'full' and the sound were often distracted by 'air leakages' from the cheeks. I do agree that more imagination could have been called. All in all, it was still an enjoyable evening. Regards

 

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