With HRO, Bassoonery Takes Center Stage

Whoever programmed the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra's concert last Friday night clearly wasn't looking for crowd-pleasers; there wasn't a Beethoven symphony or Mozart concerto to be found in Sanders Theater. Instead, the orchestra gamely offered up a trancelike Wagner overture, a defiantly modernist Stravinsky ballet and--strangest of all--a bassoon concerto. While Wagner and Stravinsky are hardly obscure, it's not every day that you get to hear the bassoon--an instrument that ranks with the tuba and bass in ungainliness--dominate the stage.

Still, the audience, bolstered by a large contingent of beaming parents, was undaunted. HRO could do no wrong on Friday night and it wasn't just because of the paternal and maternal affection that radiated from the three-quarters-full auditorium. The orchestra earned its ovations, moving through three very dissimilar pieces with grace and energy; the sheer scale of the undertaking, especially in a work as complex as "Petrushka," was impressive.

The evening's centerpiece was Carl Maria von Weber's Bassoon Concerto in F Major, a piece which even the concert program admitted "lacks something in originality." At best, the concerto is lively and clever, taking advantage of the bassoon's peculiar, step-like dexterity; the third movement's themes are almost jolly. But at other times it's hard to tell whether the composer intended what sound like humorous effects; the second movement's creeping themes were reminiscent of the Pink Panther's sly theme song. Similarly, the soloist's first entries in the first movement are preceded by total silence, with only a bass thumping in the background, as if something clandestine were about to happen.

Soloist Shoshana "Shasa" Dobrow '97 won HRO's Concerto Competition with the piece and it must be a godsend for a bassoonist--there's not much opportunity to shine with the instrument. Probably the best-known bassoon writing is Stravinsky's, such as the solo that begins "The Rite of Spring;" but Stravinsky produces a plaintive, wailing tone which is far from Weber's classical vocabulary.

Certainly, Dobrow handled the piece expertly and her tone improved as it went on--or, perhaps, the ear became accustomed to what the bassoon should sound like. But she was hampered by a fairly uninteresting piece and her technique was probably better appreciated by those more familiar with the instrument and its limitations. Again, however, the audience was wildly appreciative, as the fluorescent "SHASA" sign that dangled from the balcony proved.

The Bassoon Concerto was preceded by Wagner's Tannhauser overture, a taste of lush orchestral beauty about as far as you can get from Stravinsky's astringent, polyrhythmic ballet. This piece showed the archromantic composer in full bloom, retelling the legend of Venus and Tannhauser in a series of exquisite themes and shimmering orchestral textures. The string section shone in the controlled chaos of Wagner's glistening chromaticism. Student conductor Brian Koh matched the music's passion blow for blow, his emphatic gestures turning almost violent by the end of the overture.

The orchestra's ability was most in evidence in "Petrushka," a complex work which incorporates Russian folk tunes and avant-garde rhythmic experimentation. Just the number of instruments involved was impressive: everything from piano, harp and celeste to xylophone, snare drum and triangle found a place on the crowded stage. It makes one wonder what HRO would do if the admissions committee ever forgot to admit a harpist.

Some parts of the ballet are simple and lyrical, such as a pastoral-sounding flute solo; others, like the bassoon's aggressive blats, are humorous. The most characteristic and memorable passages, however, are those involving several different rhythms and themes played simultaneously in different parts of the orchestra. That HRO could remain crisp and confident in even the most jagged parts of the score is worthy of applause. Katherine Evans' trumpet solos had a gorgeous tone seldom heard from student brass players and won her a well-deserved ovation. Friday night proved once again how lucky we are to have HRO, even if there are empty seats in Sanders when it performs.