Word: berlins
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...thought encore performances only occurred at rock concerts, where the screams and chants of die-hard groupies eventually convince the stars to return to the stage. Despite a definitive absence of screaming and chanting in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory (NEC) on Sunday, March 1, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra bestowed the rare gift of an encore performance upon its audience. Brought to the NEC in the midst of the 1997-98 BankBoston Celebrity Series, the orchestra, with conductor Joseph Silverstein and piano soloist Derek Han, already possessed a well-packaged program of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann--one could...
...world-class orchestra that has been performing for a little more than three decades, the Berlin Symphony was directed on Sunday by Joseph Silverstein, who currently heads the Utah Symphony. An unusually liberal expression of enthusiasm in the conductor was immediately apparent; his smiles were a welcome divergence from the stoic grimaces of most highly-acclaimed conductors. Also absent was any indication of restraint within the orchestra; the woodwinds leapt directly into Brahms' Variations on a theme by Haydn only a few moments after Silverstein took his position at the front of the stage...
After a quick rearrangement period, Derek Han emerged from backstage to take his place at the grand piano now obscuring the conductor. Touring with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra in its current debut tour of the United States, Han's accomplishments range from graduating from The Juilliard School at 18 to playing at a gala event for President Nelson Mandela last season. During the opening strains of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Han fixed his gaze upon the baton, bobbing his head slightly and effortlessly threading his melody into that woven by the full orchestra. Every note...
...flat Major, "Spring." Here the layering of textures is much deeper than in Brahms' work, with a fanfare from the trumpets heralding the arrival of a multitude of entrances from all sections of the orchestra. Mimicking the bustle of springtime with trilling ornamentation and a robust tone, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra lost none of the momentum it received with Derek Han's performance; even the more placid Larghetto was imbued with the anticipation of motion and activity to be delivered in ensuing Scherzo. At the piece's conclusion, Joseph Silverstein returned three times to receive the praise of his listeners...
They may not be The Peking Acrobats or The Chieftains--other names on the diverse BankBoston Celebrity Series roster--but they can certainly surprise and entertain an audience, which is exactly what Joseph Silverstein, Derek Han and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra accomplished by tossing in a wholly unexpected encore performance. They may not draw the types of listeners who normally request encores of the performers, but orchestras--especially those with unfailing energy like that of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra--should have every right to be as impulsive as they wish...