Philharmonic: an intense experience

Those who missed out on Wednesday's orchestra concert missed a truly spectacular show. The Philharmonic Orchestra, IU's most elite ensemble, under the baton of David Effron, gave a truly passionate performance of two phenomenal pieces -- The Carnival Overture of Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) and the Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major, "Romantic" of Anton Bruckner (1824-1896).\nThe Carnival Overture, aside from being a spectacular piece in itself, was extremely well-suited to open the concert season. The composition's style allowed no room for error by the orchestra -- dexterous fingering on the fast passages had to be counterbalanced by a very expressive handling of the slower ones. Sudden changes in tempo, key and melody certainly did not help to ease the technical challenges's the instrumentalists faced.\nThe Philharmonic managed to pull this piece off quite well. Every transition in both technical and stylistic aspects was made with such ease and grace that it seemed almost second-nature to the orchestra. The coordination between the various sections was remarkable -- and crucial to the successful performance of the piece. Also quite amazing were the solo parts on violin, viola and woodwinds.\nOver all, the Dvorak was a grand and successful display of the orchestra's many talents and communicated immediately the potential this ensemble has for being truly spectacular.\nThe gem of the performance, however, was the Bruckner symphony. Effron's interpretation of the work is like none other. Even such renowned orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic have lacked the character and feeling that Effron brought out on Wednesday. The themes were clearly delineated so that the various elements of the symphonic form (exposition, development, etc.) were distinct, as is unusual in works that develop the themes organically like this one.\nIn addition to thematic distinction, the first movement was taken at a faster pace than usual, which added a considerable amount of power to the overall effect. Transitions between sound volume were emphasized. The part with the melody always stood out without obscuring harmony, and shifts in mood were clearly defined without being disjunctive. The expressiveness of the string parts emphasized the power generated by the eight members of the trumpet and low brass section immensely.\nThe overall effect of these stylistic interpretations was to bring out the emotion, lyricism, and expressiveness inherent to the symphony (hence the subtitle "Romantic") to create a powerful, yet sentimental, and very moving concert experience.\nThe orchestra's chief assets are its strings and woodwinds. The string section stood out as the chief conveyor of the mood in both pieces and their skill of expression are virtually unrivaled. The woodwinds possessed a clear, crisp tone and a practically perfect pitch, noticeable especially in the soloists. Both sections are beyond reproach in their technical execution.\nThe only noticeable error was several sour notes in the horn parts. In light of the overall effect of the concert, however, this matters very little.\nJustice was truly done to the greatness of Bruckner's symphonic music on Wednesday, and both Effron and the Philharmonic deserve much praise in performing a much underappreciated composer's music to its full potential. If this concert is a foreshadowing of future performances, then a phenomenal season has just begun.