An Old New Discovery: Beethoven's 8th Symphony

I have the Beethoven symphony collection performed by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan (Deutsche Grammophon, 1963) and symphonies 7 and 8 share a disk. Now, the 7th symphony is one of my favorites (unlike Star Trek movies, Beethoven's considered best symphonies are his odd numbered ones ;-), particularly the second movement, and I have to confess I normally switch disks after it's over. But, today, I was busy doing something else and let it go onto the 8th symphony.

What a pleasant surprise! Now, I'm sure I've heard it before, either on CD or live, possibly (when I lived in Chicago, for instance), but today it was like hearing it for the first time. It's a bit like having an older relative that one sees occasionally at family events and everyone rather ignores, thinking that relative a bit dull, but then one day happening to get into a conversation with that relative and realizing you were mistaken all along.

It has some very dramatic moments, particularly the passionate call and answer sections between the upper and lower strings, and is reminescent of the happy 6th symphony, but with its own voice. Beethoven thought it his best symphony at the time and it is different in being much shorter than the other symphonies. Apparently, the Italian composer Rossini told Beethoven he ought to essentially lighten up and Beethoven took his advice.

I will definitely be adding this one to my "must listen to" list :-)

Concert Review: UNL Symphony Orchestra

Who: UNL Symphony Orchestra; Tyler Goodrich White, conductor and Kenneth Meints, graduate associate conductor
When: Friday, December 3, 2004 at 7:30pm
Where: Kimball Recital Hall, UNL Campus, Lincoln, Nebraska
Works:

• Overture to La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 (1791) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Concerto for flute and orchestra, Allegro moderato (1926) - Carl Nielsen [Javier Montilla, flute soloist]
  
• Suite Hebraique, Rhapsodie (1951) - Ernest Bloch [Chris Hofman, viola soloist]
  
• Concerto for flute and orchestra, Presto (1992) - Lowell Liebermann [Marcus Oatis, flute soloist]
  
• Concerto for bass trombone and orchestra (1983) - Frank H. Siekmann [Jason Faas, bass trombone soloist]
  
• Romeo and Juliet: Overture-Fantasy (1869/1880) - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Note: The Ballade for trombone and orchestra (1940) by Frank Martin (Andrew Binkard, trombone soloist) was postponed until February of 2005 because the obscure sheet music arrived too late for adequate rehearsal.

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As this was the first symphonic performance I had attended since moving away from Chicago in 1996 (I'd been to the Nutcracker ballet and a small chamber group in the interim, but those don't count the same), I was very excited! I took a younger cousin along who had not ever experienced "live" classical music and she was as entranced with the encounter as I believe I was the first time I saw an orchestra perform nearly 22 years ago, in that very concert hall.

The program was dedicated to showcasing the undergraduate and graduate musicians who had recently won solo competitions. They were a delight to listen to and also watch - their love for their instruments and the music really showed. The orchestra itself performed splendidly, as well - it was interesting to note that the gender balance was about even, perhaps even weighted toward more women.

My favorite piece was definitely the Tchaikovsky, but what is there not to like about Tchaikovsky? The Mozart was a nice starter piece and the solo selections nicely displayed the soloists' talents - even the bass trombone, not an instrument one normally considers for concertos. I think the best solo work was the Bloch - Ms. Hofman made her viola sizzle with all the vibrant emotion of the piece. Bloch himself said of the instrument, "The viola has always been one of my favourite instruments. It can express the whole range of feelings and passions with an intensity and colour that very few people imagine."

All in all, a wonderful evening with note-worthy student performances. Brava! Bravo!

CNN.com - Schoolkids get first taste of opera - Dec 3, 2004

The Lyric Opera of Chicago gave free performances of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in school auditoriums from October 5 to November 5 to celebrate the Opera's 50th anniversary.

Amazon.com: Music: Pavarotti's Opera Made Easy - My Favourite Opera For Children

The famous Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, has gathered a collection of child-friendly opera pieces (none of which he appears to be singing on, interestingly enough). Actually, children of all ages have probably heard most of these pieces watching "Bugs Bunny" (or maybe "Gilligan's Island" ;-).