Word: beethoven
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...Beethoven's Egmont Overture--massive sound, intensely impassioned playing, all of the raging emotion of the Romantic era packed into a nine-minute punch that should simply overwhelm you with its sheer volume of sound and feeling. Sound right? Not if you were Christopher Hogwood and you were directing the Handel and Haydn Society's all-Beethoven concert last Friday. Hogwood's Period Instrument Orchestra presented Beethoven as he would have been heard in the early 1800s, offering the listeners a challenging yet very satisfying way of experiencing his music...
...concert, at Symphony Hall, opened with Beethoven's Egmont Overture. It was obvious from the get-go that this was not the Beethoven of Bernstein's New York Philharmonic or Solti's Chicago Symphony. The first powerful f minor chord, an expression of force that often drowns the listener with its weight, had a subdued, chamber-like quality not normally associated with the work. The timbre of the period woodwinds, as heard in their ensuing dialogue, differed slightly from the sound of a modern performance. This distinction in tone colors became more noticeable in the well-executed solo horn sections...
Hogwood's controlled and more restrained interpretation makes more sense when considered historically. Beethoven wrote this piece in 1810 as incidental music for Goethe's play Egmont, a story of enlightened monarchy struggling against despotic oppression. Who today would ever think to characterize Beethoven's Egmont as "incidental," as just some minor work, secondary to some greater artistic creation? Modern audiences are so used to hearing this piece by itself, that we forget it was meant to summarize the important themes of a play and to warm up the audience. Even if at times the orchestra's execution lacked...
Following the overture, in her Boston debut, the soprano Christine Brewer sang Beethoven's concert aria Ah! Perfido. Brewer navigated the recitative, an abandoned woman's diatribe against her lover, with confidence and ease. The first slow half of the subsequent aria showcased her delicate control and artistry in the upper register. The second half, speckled with piercing cries directed against the faithless lover, called for a quicker, more agitated approach, which Brewer delivered well. The aria closed on a satisfying note with the reprise of the first theme. Throughout the piece, the intimate quality of the period orchestra proved...
Classical music connoisseurs, get down and Baroque with the Bach Society. Appreciate the torrential strains of Stravinksy's "The Soldier's Tale," Prokofiev's "Classical Symphony" and Beethoven's Symphony #3, "Eroica." 8 to 10 p.m., Paine Hall. $5 students, $8 general...