Friday January 5, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 01 |
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Sunday, Sep 07, 2008
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The great Beethoven Ninth castrated Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall |
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| The great Beethoven Ninth castrated Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall | ||
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by Rod Parke -
SGN A&E Writer What WAS I thinking?! That's what a friend asked me as we were leaving for this concert? "Why would you want to subject yourself to that&again?" he said. I replied that I hoped it might be different this time, especially with Jane Eaglen, Greer Grimsley, and Nancy Maultsby as part of the quartet. We were talking about the Seattle Symphony's weekend concerts of Beethoven's 9th. Two years ago I reviewed conductor Gerard Schwarz' Beethoven 9th (coupled with Beethoven's 8th) as the worst Beethoven I had ever heard. All but the beautiful third movement of the 9th sounded like a bad sight-reading. So, it was with considerable trepidation that I chose to review this traversal of the 9th with Schwarz again beating time. The good news is that this time was indeed better than two years ago. Balances were clearly determined and allowed the listener to hear all the parts. Phrases had shape, and most technical details were just fine. This was no sight-reading. The bad news is that, for all its technical finish, this performance lacked expression. For instance, the joyous, playful second movement lacked life in all sections except the French horns and tympani, which made them stand out in glaring contrast to the leaden playing of the rest of the orchestra. This movement is a joyous dance that should have you bouncing in your seat. Schwarz showed no change from the serious attitude of the heavy first movement. The third movement, which was so sublime two years ago, this time felt nervous and lacked the heavenly floating of long arched phrases. One missed the needed repose after the energetic first two movements. There were, however, wonderful moments near the end that made it once again the best of the four movements. The last movement, the so-called "Ode to Joy," so full of drama and celebration, was too careful and polite for my tastes. The street band music that accompanied the tenor solo was too terribly civilized to express joy. Tenor Dan Snyder sang carefully, with a very nice sound that however lacked enough "ping" to be heard over the orchestra in the louder moments. Bass-baritone Greer Grimsley, whose clear diction made it sound like he meant what he was singing, was the most successful of the soloists. Jane Eaglen matched Grimsley's volume, but it was impossible to tell what language she was singing. Her contribution was marred by astringent high notes that stuck out like jagged spikes in the otherwise smooth path of her phrases. Mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby was her usual reliable self but could have been a little more assertive. The Symphony Chorale was indeed assertive and impressed on many counts. Beethoven was such a passionate composer, and his music demands passionate performance. In no work of his is that more apparent than in his 9th symphony. Technical competence is not enough. This concert suffered from competent cool. Before the Beethoven, the SSO and our soloists and the Chorale gave us Bach's 'Cantata No. 91. The less said about this performance, the better! Some of the orchestral playing was enjoyable; but the Symphony Chorale was foggy mush, and the soloists seemed uninvolved. The organist, who was totally left out of the printed program, chose ideal registrations and perfectly balanced his contribution from that giant organ. (It was not Joseph Adam, the resident organist of the Seattle Symphony.) The brilliance of Bach's writing was mostly lost in this sloppy mess of sound, even though the SSO was greatly reduced in size. Again, Benaroya Hall seemed better able to handle large sounds and ensembles than more intimate compositions. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rmp62@columbia.edu. |
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