Word: hro
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...warm sound and Romantic lyricism" of Alan Summers' rendition of the Tchaikovsky First Concerto can be heard on three out of four recordings of the piece. But the Harvard musical world, when it hears this concerto played with the HRO, should expect an originality and thoughtfulness of interpretation and a technical mastery that Mr. Summers did not display...
...superficial." In actuality, it was the performance I found myself listening most carefully to in order to pick out the subtle, sometimes eccentric, nuances and the intelligent ideas about the musical nature of the piece. Surely this sort of original music-making most deserves to be heard with the HRO...
Finally, the review suggests that any bias on the part of the judges against large Romantic concertors calls into question the validity of the whole competition. I am sure there is such a bias; but it is certainly not because these concertos are "too difficult for the HRO." It is simply a reflection of a bias in the Harvard community; and the judges must decide on the basis of both musical values and box office attractiveness. Prospective contestants must simply be aware of this bias...
First he laments that the opportunity of playing with the HRO did not draw a greater diversity of performers, and blames this circumstance on poor publicity and timing. I suggest that most past contests have received no more publicity than this, and that they have all been scheduled for the first or second week of reading period. This year's dearth of competitors is not symptomatic of any great trend: two years ago there was a much larger number (although the judges at that time felt that none of them were qualified to solo with the HRO...
...judges. I felt they were extremely well qualified: Dr. Yannatos and Mr. Corley are experienced conductors, and pianist Luis Vosgerchian, though carrying a heavy teaching load here as Lecturer in Music, has yet maintained an impressive reputation. He hints that they were prejudiced against "works too difficult for the HRO" or "large Romantic concertos in general," neither of which is the case at all, as a glance at our programs for the past few seasons will reveal. David O. Lehman President Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra