Word: timpani
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Myriad details emerge: the skittering piccolo, singing out over the thundering trombones at the end of the Fantastique finale; the raw, plaintive solo of the cor anglais in the slow movement, forlornly wailing in response to the ominous, muffled strokes of the timpani; the four harps forming a powerful voice in the whirling waltz. Berlioz -- and such contemporaries as Weber, Schumann, Mendelssohn and even early Wagner -- can, and should, never be heard the same way again...
Benyukh, pleased, said it would be only right if the band followed up with The Star-Spangled Banner. Without sheet music, with a gulp or two, and with a roll of the timpani, the young scholars commenced, the cheeks on the horn players collapsing and filling like hearts. With the exception of two trumpets that fell shy of the highest notes, they acquitted themselves all right...
When the best Yugoslav ski jumper, Primoz Ulaga, 21, took his turn on the 70-meter sliding board, the pines of Malo Polje seemed outnumbered by fans. The hills echoed with "U-lah-gah, U-lah-gah," probably the loudest timpani in all the long history of men and banana peels. The amazing noise brought Ulaga out of the chute splendidly, but the track's icy grooves were too narrow to contain such enthusiasm. Backing up in mid-air like a duck in the path of buckshot, Ulaga flapped in every direction until he put down gracelessly...
...that Die Soldaten lacks arresting moments. The brutal prelude mixes the Dies irae with an orchestral primal scream, propelled by a relentless pounding of timpani that recalls the opening of the Brahms First Symphony. Along the way, several of the ensembles are strikingly crafted, such as a dramatically dilatory but musically effective trio for Marie (Phyllis Hunter), her sister Charlotte (Beverly Morgan) and a haughty but generous countess (RoseMarie Freni). And the final scene, in which civilization explodes in a brilliant burst of light and a final crash of the drums, is chilling...
...conceptions and Jarvi's interpretation began to shine, however, with the entrance of the harp's sustained chords. The composer glutted the music with fat harmonies and lines, which Jarvi wrings from the orchestra, at a cost; a wobbly beat in the strings during the difficult passages before the timpani and tambourines enter, playing rhythms camel riders know well...