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May 3, 2007
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21 years in the making For his final stint on the podium after more than two decades of leading the Nashua Symphony, conductor Royston Nash cut for himself two big slices of musical cake: the Brahms Violin Concerto and Beethoven?s Symphony No. 9. It?s an unusual pairing. Both are major masterworks that often stand as centerpieces of concerts on their own. Also, the iconic status of Beethoven?s Ninth means it?s usually preceded with a smaller work?an overture, perhaps, or a piece such as the ?Variations on a Theme by Haydn? by Brahms. But for such a festive occasion, one intended to celebrate Nash?s long tenure, what other way was there to go but to think big? Such was the spirit of Nash?s final concert, which took place on Saturday, April 21 at Keefe Auditorium in Nashua. Nash?s long run in Nashua included a great many fine performances. Unfortunately, I would not count the farewell concert as among the very best. Whether it was the sheer amount of material involved or the stress of the occasion itself, the music in many places just didn?t come together. Yes, many fine things were there to be savored. As soloist, Russian violinist Irina Mursanu sawed the absolute heck out of the Brahms concerto. And a truly electric moment was achieved when local singer Mark Cleveland?s spine-tingling voice rang out in the first vocal entrance of Beethoven?s Ninth. But the finale of the Ninth in particular, with its many changes of tempo and mood, came across as under-rehearsed. It?s difficult to bring off in any case, with many starts and stops and changes of tempo and mood. But this time through, fate seemed arrayed against the group. Uneven entrances, fuzzy ensemble playing, and balance issues all took away from the music?s impact. This didn?t prevent the audience from rewarding Nash and the musicians with a prolonged standing ovation?one entirely appropriate to the conclusion of more than two decades of music-making. But on the score of just Saturday?s music alone, this listener was still left feeling that a little polish might have made a big difference. ? The Phil: On Saturday, May 5, the New Hampshire Philharmonic stages its season-ending concert at Manchester?s Palace Theatre. Conductor Anthony Princiotti will lead the group in an eclectic program that includes the seldom-heard Piano Concerto No. 2 of American composer Edward MacDowell. (He?s the guy the arts colony is Peterborough is named after.) For tickets and info, call 668-5588 or visit www.nhphil.org. ? The GSO: Then, on Sunday, May 13, Granite State Opera will present two one-act operas, ?Cavalleria Rusticana? and ?I Pagliacci? in a matinee performance at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Fully staged and sung in Italian with English subtitles, the two operas are both full-blooded works of the ?verismo? school, meaning they?re about the passions of real life, not Gods and kings and such. If nothing else, ?Pagliacci? has iconic status even among non-opera fans because it?s the one with the ?sad clown? aria. For tickets and info, call 225-1000 or visit www.granitestateopera.org. |
4/19/2007 A showman to the end 4/12/2007 Consider heading south
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