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DRESDEN STAATSKAPELLE (4-9-05)
OLD ORCHESTRA BRINGS NEW LIFE TO CLASSICS
By Lawrence Budmen
The Concert Association concluded its season on Saturday evening with
the Dresden Staatskapelle, one of the world’s oldest orchestras,
playing two of the monuments of Western culture – the Third and Sixth
Symphonies of Beethoven. The Staatskapelle has played continuously for
over four and a half centuries. The orchestra was a favorite of Richard
Strauss who premiered many of his scores with the Dresden ensemble.
Under the dynamic baton of Myung Whun Chung the venerable ensemble
delivered lithe, invigorating performances that brought new life to
familiar music.
The Symphony No.6 (Pastoral) is as close as Beethoven came to writing
program music. This bucolic work paints a sound picture of country life
and nature. Chung set crisp, lively tempos in the symphony’s opening
movement. The entire performance was enhanced by the orchestra’s warm,
Central European string sound and mellow brass and winds. The lyrical
flow of the Andante was almost operatic. Chung brought rustic energy to
the country dance and made the thunderstorm fiercely powerful. The calm
eloquence of the concluding Hymn of Thanksgiving after the Storm was
magical in its sheer beauty. The Chung-Staatskapelle performance combined
the taut vigor of Toscanini with the mellifluous sound of the
Vienna Philharmonic.
Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 (Eroica) is one of the composer’s most boldly
original statements. By introducing bracing dissonance and breaking the
classical rules of formal symphonic structure Beethoven changed music
forever. The strong forward thrust and momentum that Chung brought to
the opening Allegro set the pace for a striking performance. The conductor gave due
gravity to the funeral march but the musical
momentum never flagged. The accuracy and precision of the horn quartet
in the Scherzo was remarkable, particularly at Chung’s headlong pace.
The concluding theme and variations was masterfully shaped by Chung who
exhibited a keen sense of dynamic contrast. The glowing sweetness of
the wind playing was a joy to hear. For once the final coda was not an
anticlimax but a true apotheosis of divine musical creation. The great
Dresden ensemble and its gifted conductor offered inspired music making
that produced an ecstatic response from a large audience.
Copyright Miami Herald
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