Word: orchestra
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...excellent reputation. The performance opened with a solid rendition of Danish composer Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture, Opus 17, led by assistant conductor Daniel Altman. HRO's command of dynamics is spectacular, and the various crescendos and decrescendos were subtle and nuanced, yet vivid and exciting as the orchestra swelled and faded dramatically. The violins shimmered over the rapid-fire rataplan of the brass as the overture progressed. Dancing staccato strings quickly relinquished prominence to legato passages for a fuller ensemble, until finally the hall exploded with a burst of trombone fanfare. A subdued orchestra, with piccolo decoration, receded once...
...faced and supremely self-possessed, and immediately filled Sanders with his charismatic stage presence. Yannatos exchanged a few words with him, then plunged into the beginning of the concerto. Lin remained imperturbable as he hoisted his violin onto his shoulder during the silky orchestral introduction, then abruptly interrupted the orchestra as he entered. Norton Lecturer Joseph Kerman described the violin as "ruthless" in the first movement of the concerto; Lin's fiery performance did indeed seem threatening. The assaulting violin grew almost unbearably loud, until--SNAP!--broken string brought the concerto to a crashing halt. Buzzing murmurs controlled the theater...
...violin, and the stage seemed a kinesthetic blur of motion as the insistent, piercing violin relentlessly piled the tension higher. Huge silences punctuated the cadenza; Lin masterfully made the gaping gaps of sound as arresting and palpable as his pure high melodies or mellifluous low phrases. He dared the orchestra to return after the end of his virtuosic turn with cleanly executed runs of eighth notes, and the first movement ended shortly thereafter...
...there is life after Lin, as HRO proved after intermission in its performance of Shih-Hui Chen's Moments for Orchestra. The piece was commissioned as a children's work, and the programmatic nature of the music was easy to hear. The first movement, "Two Ghosts," sounded as spooky as the name might have implied. Eerie, gentle phrasing underscored the motion of the "High Ghost" and the "Low Ghost" between the chimes and glockenspiel and the tuba and low strings. An unusually quiet orchestra exquisitely realized the dissonance. (HRO is master of the loud; exuberant finales seemed continually...
...more tranquil work, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2, closed the concert. Unfortunately, various events so depleted the ranks of available singers that the choral component of Ravel's score remained unsung. Fortunately, the lack was hardly noticed in the grandeur of the orchestra's performance. The opening rills for wind and harp, although punctuated by two unmerciful squeaks, created a setting of pastoral calm. Dense, lush orchestration frequently dissolved into the quickness and light of lighter sections; this is clearly recognizable as music for the ballet. Clear articulation was a hallmark of the performance of this epic...