The Orchestra Now (11/19/17)

Symphony Space, Gerard Schwarz, Conductor

Jubilee Variations (1944) New York Premiere – Eugene Goossens
(1893–1962)
Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, Romantic – (1874, rev. 1878/1880) – Bewegt, nicht zu schnell; Andante quasi Allegretto; Scherzo: Bewegt—Trio: Nicht zu schnell, Keinesfalls schleppend; Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell – Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)

Well, that’s a mouthful! And I didn’t even list the movements of the Goossens, since there were ten Variations preceded by a Theme and end bracketed by a Finale. Goossens wrote the Theme and Finale but commissioned the ten Variations. I can’t quite find the info on how the variations came to be organized, but here they were by (in order) Paul Creston, Aaron Copland, Deems Taylor, Howard Hanson, William Schuman, Walter Piston, Roy Harris, Anis Fuleihan, Bernard Rogers, and Ernest Bloch. Many names I knew and some that were brand new.

OK, stream of consciousness here. The Goossens Theme was slightly modern/dissonant but bold. Variation (“V”) 1. Richer, lush, but still modern in feel; V. 2. More brash, with ‘open’ Copland writing style—very American; V. 3. Gentle. Harp and strings with added instruments (jeez, it’s hard writing in the dark!), calm and rich, and lengthier than some; V. 4. Muted brass, closer to Copland style, but still distinct—could be part of a film score; V. 5. Muted strings and very calm;
V. 6. Brisk, in your face, rhythmic and jaunty; V. 7. Sweet, lush string writing with that Americana sound again; V. 8. Film score sound from the get-go, lush and symphonic; V. 9, Slightly mystical with an oriental cast to the sound but an American feel; V. 10. Broad, full sound, more abstract feel, modern but accessible. The Finale was tympani and running strings, with the winds brought in and then the brass and percussion, with a more spiky feel—it synthesized many styles, essentially into kitchen sink time, but it worked!

The Bruckner opened with quiet strings followed by a rather lengthy horn solo—a spare opening in general though the full orchestra expounded on the opening with a tuneful and pleasant mix of themes, volume and tempos that were enjoyable, finishing with a flourish. The second movement also had a quiet opening, sort of like walking along on a journey, slightly somber yet purposeful. The third movement had a chorus of horns and other brass, fanfare-esque, then perking along quite nicely, at times sweeping and romantic, full of joy, with many contrasting sections, a few false endings, and finally a real one. The final movement had a fairly mysterious opening/intro followed by a very dramatic section with, once again, contrasting sections that, unfortunately, began to feel arbitrary. In fact, the interesting and pretty sounds that followed didn’t quite mesh together for me, so I didn’t enjoy the piece as a whole as much as I enjoyed the individual parts. Not a huge problem, and I’d be interested in hearing the entire work again sometime, to see whether or not my initial reactions change.

ConcertMeister