EVERETT – Everett Symphony Orchestra’s first classical concert of 2007 was titled “Of Emperors and Masters,” featuring work by Richard Wagner and Ludwig van Beethoven, two titans among German composers whose work certainly is imbued with imperious tones.
The program’s first half was comprised of Wagner’s overture to his comic opera “Die Meistersinger” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93.” The second half featured the return of prize-winning Polish pianist Pawel Skrzypek, who commanded his keyboard masterfully in his performance of Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto 5 in E flat Major (The Emperor).”
Wagner began work on “Die Meistersinger” in 1845, but did not complete it until 1867. It tells the story, set in the 16th century, of two contestants in a singing contest, one more traditional in his approach, the other more adventurous and less orthodox. The more traditional singer was meant to be a satire of one of Wagner’s more vociferous critics, and the opera’s popularity seemed to validate Wagner’s compositional style. The Everett Symphony performed Wagner’s pleasing overture with a balanced tone that was imperious yet inviting.
Beethoven’s eighth symphony, the shortest of his nine symphonies, comprises four movements (Allegro vivace e con brio; Scherzo: Allegretto; Menuetto; and Allegro vivace). Maestro Paul-Elliott Cobbs was ever gracious before his audience Friday, even as applause interrupted the pause between movements. Woodwinds were especially energetic, and the bass underscored the downbeats so familiar in Beethoven’s work.
Cobbs kept an intense baton in motion that at one point went flying toward the first chair. The incident never marred his conductor’s prowess; his hands continued to keep his musicians in balance and rhythmic control.
The “Emperor’s Concerto” was the real treat of the evening. Concertmaster Fred Chu joined the orchestra for the work
The concerto in three movements (Allegro; Adagio un poco mosso; and Rondo: Allegro) was the longest piano concerto ever written when it was completed in 1809. At the time, not only was Vienna under attack and soon occupied by Napoleon’s army, but Beethoven himself was mostly deaf. Despite being written under such depressing conditions, the work was an utter triumph.
In the concerto, Beethoven applied the fuller range of a larger, more resonant piano he had acquired. The result was that this concerto gave the piano equal billing with the orchestra. It remains the most popular of Beethoven’s piano concerti.
Pawel Skrzypek’s performance was magnificent and earned him a well-deserved standing ovation. His hands flashed over the keyboard with great dexterity and strength. He handled arpeggios and scales with absolute precision. Toward the end of the first movement, he intensely pounded out octaves with every bit of inspired fury Beethoven had intended.
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