It’s two down, four to go for the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (LBSO) Classics series. With that said, it’s safe to say the LBSO is off to a good start in its 2006-2007 season.
This second concert of the LBSO’s Classics series, titled “Shakespeare and Shostakovich,” was another birthday celebration in the Terrace Theater under the baton of Music Director Enrique Arturo Diemecke.
While the first Classics series concert celebrated the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the second one celebrated another, “younger” composer: the recently-turned 100-year-old Dimitri Shostakovich.
Unfortunately, Shostakovich died years ago and was not physically present at this concert. His musical legacy, however, lives on with talented musicians like those in the LBSO.
The program of the evening featured Felix Mendelssohn’s “Incidental Music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Carl Maria von Weber’s Bassoon Concerto in F Major, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 and film composer David Newman’s bassoon movement from “Concerto for Winds.”
Though musically talented, Mendelssohn was, in his day, the type of privileged silver-spooned child we see in “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.” He was never a starving artist, moneyless and discontent with the world around him.
Nevertheless, his works are still impressive today. The LBSO played all five movements from “Incidental Music” well. The orchestra played many of Mendelssohn’s delicate passages with admirable precision. Also notable was the excellent French horn/bassoon duet in the “Nocturne” movement and the famous “Wedding March” that “awakened” a dormant trombone section, that sat silently during the other four movements.
Second on the program was the Bassoon Concerto in F Major, with LBSO principal bassoonist Julie Feves. A Julliard graduate, Feves showed a clear mastery of what is perhaps the most mysterious instrument in all the orchestra.
The bassoon’s unusual timbre is a difficult one to conceptualize in words, especially considering it sounds so different than all the other instruments of the orchestra.
French horns can sound golden, pure and even raspy. Trumpets sound edgy but triumphant. Flutes can sound gentle, contemplative and even slight promiscuous.
But the bassoon is a different story, and is perhaps only describable as sounding wooden or tree-like. But whatever you call the tone of a bassoon, that sound was made into a perfect, beautiful reality with Feves.
The many lyrical passages of Weber’s work under Feves’ playing clearly explained why the New York Times and now the Daily Forty-Niner have both praised her “virtuosic flair.”
Third on the program was the world premiere of Newman’s bassoon movement from his “Concerto for Winds.” Newman, known as the composer for such films as “Anastasia,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “Ice Age” and “Death to Smoochy,” shows a different side of his creative efforts in “Concerto for Winds.”
The bassoon movement, in addition to the flute movement premiered at the previous LBSO concert, has been avant-garde and uses jazz string bass, atypical orchestral colors and percussion. Notable was a fascinating and repetitive effect with the low brass that made its collective sound resemble an accordion.
Lovers of romantic melody and songs are not likely to appreciate the work. But for listeners with a taste for the sinister-sounding, abstract works, Newman’s new concerto is likely to please.
The last selection of the evening was Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9. Though short for many symphonies (it only runs approximately 27 minutes), the LBSO skillfully executed much of the brilliance behind this work.
The symphony’s comical circus-like theme in the first movement by the piccolo player, as well as the beautiful somber passages by the clarinet section, flutes and bassoons, were musical reminders of the symphony’s Russian flare.
With two successful concerts under its belt, the LBSO is maintaining an excellent track record for musical achievements this year. Long-time fans and symphony newcomers will have much to look forward to as the symphony continues is Classics series next year on Jan. 20 with works featuring LBSO principal oboist Leslie Reed and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
