Philharmonic launches concert season

The IU Philharmonic Orchestra opens the concert season tonight with an ambitious project -- the "Carnival Overture" by Czech composer Antonin Dvorák. The next piece is being foregone in favor of the Fourth Symphony by the Austrian Anton Bruckner.\nWhen asked why the above pieces were chosen, conductor David Effron said, "(The Dvorák piece) is a great opening, especially for an entire season. It is a very flowery and happy piece."\nWith regards to the Bruckner symphony, Effron said he has something special up his sleeve. \n"We tried to take a different approach," he said. "Many think that Bruckner, especially in this symphony, is bombastic, which is not the case at all. It is a very lyrical work, so we want to bring out the colors and make the sounds melt together in order to achieve that effect."\nEffron said the lyricism he wanted to display in the symphony results from the treatment of the various themes.\n"Although the work isn't very difficult technically, it is extremely demanding conceptually," he said. "In the first movement alone, Bruckner uses five themes and in the last there are three themes with a restatement of the same theme as the very beginning, and each theme is completely different." \nEffron also explained his personal treatment of the themes.\n"We wanted to make sure the themes do have different characters and make a clear delineation between them," he said. "That's why we took some liberties with expression."\nTreesa Gold, who plays first violin, appreciated Effron's interpretation. \n"String players are brought up to hate Bruckner because in his works they rarely ever carry the melody, as is usually the case," she said. "Also, frequent tremolos (bow vibrations) during this 70-minute work can also be very tiring. This work, however, actually has more string melodies than it gets credit for, and Effron has managed to make the concept behind the work actually happen. It's unlike any other Bruckner performance I've done."\nBecause the brass carries most of the melody in Bruckner, first trumpet Brandon Craswell gave his perspective. \n"It's a real physical challenge because it calls for lots of endurance," he said. "Most brass tend to blast away on this piece, but Effron has brought out the lyrical side. Our sound is broader, fuller, and more unified."\nEffron said Bruckner uses Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as the model for all of his symphonies. \n"The similarities can be seen in this particular work through the use of tremolos and the similarity between the scherzos," he said. "More unique to Bruckner himself, the strings are used as a carpet for the brass melody, which they sometimes double."\nCraswell said Bruckner was a church organist, which shows in his symphonies.\n"The sound of the orchestra is big, inflated, and lyrical, much like the organ."\nDespite the works' depth and conceptual difficulty, as well as the unique new interpretation of it, the entire program is being fully assembled in only six rehearsals. Effron said he felt the orchestra was skilled enough to master the work in such a short amount of time.\n"It's fun to have a nice, short prep time. When things are overpracticed they can become boring," Craswell said.\nEffron, however, said he has no intention of this work being boring for tonight's audience. Since Bruckner has not often been performed here, Effron hopes the concert's effect will create new appreciation. \n"I would like the listener to come out of the concert with not just an understanding, but a liking of Anton Bruckner's music," he said.\nThe Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. tonight in the Musical Arts Center. Admission is free.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.