Bach Society's Beethoven

MUSIC REVIEWS generally have limited audiences--the only people who read them either played in the concert or attended it. Which is too bad. Because this review is mostly for people who didn't go to Saturday's Bach Society concert in Sander's Theatre.

The message is simple: The Bach Society is good this year. Last weekend the orchestra, conducted by Robert Hart Baker, gave an excellent performance of the Bach Suite No. 3 in D, a credible performance of the Haydn "Clock" Symphony, and an exceptional performance of the Beethoven "Emperor" Concerto.

The Baroque-sized orchestra was capable of handling the rigorous program, displaying remarkable musicianship for undergraduates. With the small group used for the Bach suite the sound wasn't as full-bodied as contemporary audiences expect. And the piccolo trumpets--though excellent--occasionally sacrificed mellowness for clarity, thus reducing the string sound. The first movement, with its brisk tempo, was thoroughly satisfying; Baker never allowed the fugue-like orchestration of the melody line to confuse the theme.

The Haydn Symphony No. 101 in D, "The Clock Symphony" was not so lucid or melodic. Handicapped by a series of accidents, including emergency sirens, a lost cello peg, and falling sheet music, Baker and company preserved their concentration and did a first rate job on this traditional classical piece.

The only problem was a slight sluggishness, caused not by the tempo but by the attacks, which were not quite sharp, or quite clean. A pizzicato effect, in the second movement, was missing. The French horns and bassoons were excellent, and the symphony--like most well-known pieces--was a definite crowd-pleaser. One departure from the strictly traditional was the use of only one bass. Most orchestras the Bach society's size would have at least 3 or 4 double basses. Yet the use of only one was quite pleasant, giving the orchestra a buoyant sound.

THE HIGHLIGHT was the Beethoven Concerto No. 5 in E Flat, "The Emperor Concerto." Hugh Wolff is a brilliant pianist, and proved it throughout the piece. From the opening ritornello, introducing all the themes, he provided the orchestra with terrific energy which did not lapse in the entire first movement (the longest Beethoven ever wrote). The recapitulation was a great moment of artistry--both pianist, conductor, and orchestra demonstrating the origin of the word "concerto" in the Italian "to strive with". Each section of the orchestra was at its best at the end of the first movement.

The second movement was almost annoyingly reminiscent of West Side Story's "There's a Place for Us"--after all Beethoven was long before Bernstein, and hearing Bernstein should bring Beethoven to mind and not vice-versa.

Slight intonation problems in the bassoon section marred the dramatic opening of the third movement, but as Wolff relaxed he completely controlled the movement. The notes seemed to spin out from his fingers leaving webs of music suspended momentarily in the theatre. His technique is so finished that he sounds like a mature virtuouso, though he actually turned 20 the day after the concert. Hugh Wolff is definitely going places. His performance Saturday was but one indication of that.

The audience responded enthusiastically to the orchestra's performance of this difficult work, and gave a standing ovation--which was mostly for Wolff but was also for Baker, and the Bach Society. Because soloist or no soloist, accidents or no accidents, they're good.