Word: haydn
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Handel and Haydn Society...
...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...
...second half of the program, mezzo-soprano Paula Rasmussen, tenor Richard Clemont and bass Nathan Berg joined Christine Brewer along with the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus. The work, Beethoven's Mass in C, was definitely the highlight of the evening. Written in 1807 on a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II, this was Beethoven's first setting of the Mass, and was a complete failure in the prince's eyes. Perhaps he did not appreciate Beethoven's extensive text painting (creating musical pictures of the text), and his application of personal feelings to the various parts of the mass...
...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...
...Variations on Saint Anthony's Chorale, the piece suffers from an identity crisis, although the crisis involves the composer and not any aspect of the music itself, which remains a brilliant showcase of the woodwinds and horns. Musicologists have yet to determine whether the theme was actually written by Haydn or by his student Ignaz Pleyel. Regardless of the nature of his piece's thematic roots, Brahms effectively unearthed a simple, hymn-like melody and molded it into an intricately layered set of variations. Even if the talents of the oboe, clarinet, flute and bassoon players did receive the spotlight...