Reviewed by Bill Breakstone, Somers, NY
In the 1800s, performance practice usually dictated that major works be performed at the beginning of concert programs, followed by less substantial, though still serious fare. The rationale went that the major works needed the full concentration of the audience, which often waned as the evening progressed.
Thus the concert at The Tanglewood Festival on Tuesday evening harked back to earlier times, as the major work on the program, Brahms’ B Minor Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115, led of the evening’s performances. Thus autumnal composition received a warm and totally appropriate reading by The Boston Symphony Chamber Players and principal clarinetist William Hudgins.
The Brahms was followed by a spirited performance of Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F Major, K. 370. Composed in the same month as his brilliant G Major String Quartet, K. 387, the work calls for virtuosic oboe playing, which BSO principal oboist John Ferrillo amply provided.
After intermission, The BSO players treated the audience to the rarely performed “Bachianas brasileiras” No. 6 for flute and bassoon by Villa-Lobos, brilliantly performed by flutist Elizabeth Rowe and bassoonist Richard Svoboda; and the recent contemporary composition “Plain Song, Fantastic Dances” by American composer Michael Gandolfi, who currently teaches composition at The New England Conservatory of Music. This 20-minute work is scored for violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, horn and bassoon. What a combination of instruments! And how totally effective. The first movement is an elaborated and improvised Gregorian chant, dark in mood and skillfully developed. It is followed by a tango with improvisations, very bluesy and light. The final movement, “Quick Step,” is much longer and contains some fine contrapuntal writing. A coda brings back the opening theme from the first movement.
All in all, wonderfully varied and magnificently performed chamber music. A really fun evening.
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