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April 20, 2006
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CLASSICAL PREVIEWS More than ?da-da-da-dummmm...? All together now: ?Da-da-da-dummmm...? But what comes next? Actually, about 40 minutes of music follows, but don?t take my word for it. Two local orchestras will play Beethoven?s Fifth (the real entire thing, not the disco version) at upcoming concerts, which gives you ample chance to take one of classical music?s great rides. It was back in junior high that I first realized there was more to Beethoven?s Fifth than the opening four notes. Inspired by piano lessons and my music teacher at Spring Street Junior High, Mr. Salvo, I began bringing home classical LPs from the Nashua Public Library. One piece of vinyl was a well-worn RCA recording of Beethoven?s Symphony No. 5 by the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner that came out in the 1960s. Well-worn is an understatement: the cover was falling apart and the album had scratches on both sides. I didn?t hold out much hope, but it turned out to be an excellent recording: close-miked, with a vibrant and detailed sound that made you feel like you were sitting right there in the orchestra. I liked finally hearing the opening for real (as opposed to on cartoon soundtracks), but wasn?t ready for what followed?an entire movement built from those same notes, growing in tension and power until it reached a towering, terrifying climax. And that was just for openers. Then came a slow movement of such peace and serenity, it seemed like a cool brook after the red hot intensity of the first movement. Then the third movement, a curve ball?a grim driving melody in 3/4 time, broken up by a rustic loping dance tune, all of which chugged along until dying out into silence as the timpani tapped out weird Morse-code-like rhythms. The movement was done, but the music didn?t stop. From the mysterious sonic mulch, Beethoven built up a head of steam and charged without pause into the finale. It began as a rousing march, but quickly mutated into an over-the-top musical celebration of triumph and extreme high spirits. (Beethoven was never one to do things by half.) Not even a brief return of the spooky third movement (a bold innovation at the time) could stem the finale?s forward rush; the party quickly resumed, and the music reached new heights of exuberance. The symphony finally concluded with one of those endings-to-end-all-endings so characteristic of Beethoven: chord after chord after chord after CHORD. When it was done, you could be sure it was finally, really, definitely over. Watching the record spin on the turntable, I felt I?d just been on an incredible journey. To this day, the music still has that effect on me, and I?m not alone. Nearly 200 years after it was written, Beethoven?s Fifth Symphony continues to mesmerize audiences the world over with its concentrated power, drama, and joyous journey from darkness to light. Your first chance to hear the Beethoven?s classic Fifth Symphony uncut and uncensored is on Saturday, April 22, when the Nashua Symphony performs it as part of a terrific season-ending ?Priceless Masterworks? program. Under the direction of Royston Nash, the concert also features pre-teen prodigy pianist Peng Peng as soloist in Mozart?s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor. Dvorak?s bumptiously tuneful Carnival Overture rounds out the concert. The music starts at 8 p.m. at Keefe Auditorium; for tickets or info, call 595-5196 or visit www.nashuasymphony.org. Later, conductor Kenneth Kiesler will lead the New Hampshire Symphony in Beethoven?s Symphony No. 5 in concerts on Friday, May 5 at the acoustically superior Stockbridge Theater at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, and again on Saturday, May 6 at the Music Hall in Portsmouth. The season-ending concerts also include performances of three stirring works by American composer Aaron Copland: a Lincoln Portrait, Letter from Home, and the familiar Fanfare for the Common Man. Both performances start at 8 p.m., with Kiesler giving an informal talk about the music one hour prior to each concert. For tickets, call 669-3559 or visit www.nhso.org. ? Chamber music: Thursday, April 20 brings ?The Art of the Piano? with gifted pianist George Lopez in a 7 p.m. recital at the Gruber Recital Hall at Manchester Community Music School. It?s the latest in the school?s Manchester Chamber Players series. No word on the program but Lopez has recently been venturing in new directions, including some demanding Rachmaninoff pieces. Finnish music hits Manchester The performance includes two big orchestral works by Sibelius?the Symphony No. 2 in D minor and the Finlandia tone poem?as well as a seldom performed Requiem by Joonas Kokkonen, a noted Finnish composer who died in 1996. Why Finland? Perkins, conductor of the Manchester Choral Society, is also on the faculty of Plymouth State University; this semester, he?s working with his student choirs to study Finland?s surprisingly rich musical heritage. As part of the program, about 100 singers have learned the Kokkonen Requiem, a featured work on this weekend?s program. Soloists are soprano Debra Lawrence of Baltimore and baritone Steven Small of Worcester, Mass. The singers will be joined by an orchestra of 65 musicians, all under the direction of Perkins, who has a knack for picking vibrant contemporary works and bringing them to life. The concert is Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m. in Ste. Marie?s Church, 378 Notre Dame Ave. on Manchester?s West Side. Tickets are on sale at Ted Hebert?s Music Mart or at the door; for more information, call 535-2367. (Can?t make Friday?s performance? The program will be repeated on Saturday, April 22 at Plymouth State University?s Silver Arts Center.) Comments??Thoughts? 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03/09/2006 NH Philharmonic stages family concerts
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