Word: orchestra
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Last Friday the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. James Yannatos, opened its 190th season with an admirably diverse and contemporary program: Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on the Themes of Carl Maria von Weber, the premiere of Yannatos Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, performed by the Mendelssohn String Quartet, and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World...
...Stone, his second voyage into the deep waters of classical music, is a four-movement symphonic poem in which McCartney endeavors to suggest "the way Celtic man might have wondered about the origins of life and the mystery of human existence." The CD version, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, shot right to the top of Billboard's classical chart...
...Bach. The influence of the earlier work appears quite strikingly in some melodic and rhythmic allusions, though the Stravinsky definitely keeps its integrity as an entirely independent piece. (However, the connection between the two was complicated, not clarified, by the somewhat enigmatic program notes.) A reduced version of the orchestra managed Stravinsky's characteristically tricky harmonies, rhythms and meter changes, although somewhat shakily: this, and the thin orchestration of some parts, left the audience wondering at times if the group was on the verge of falling apart. Howeverall, the presentation of this charming piece was boosted by commendable performances...
...second half of the concert went to the Pastoral Symphony, one of those old favorites that many can hum from start to finish. The orchestra attacked it with zest and did a fine job handling this picturesque masterpiece. However, with so well known a piece, any orchestra has to work that much harder to present the music in an engaging and expressive manner. That extra oomph was lacking in the Bach Soc's standard, somewhat unoriginal interpretation of the symphony. The most lyrical moments sometimes came across as a bit too brisk and deliberate--as, for example, in the famous...
...general, the Bach Society Orchestra gave a skillful and mature performance of an intelligently crafted program. Most of the flaws undoubtedly stemmed from adjusting to a new conductor and the relatively short amount of rehearsal time for such a challenging set of repertoire. Altogether, the concert succeeded in making a pleasant evening, and left audience members humming or whistling the undeniably memorable tunes...