Orchestra lacks verve but ends up enjoyable

The Oberlin Orchestra stumbled at the beginning of its concert on March 1 but ended up smoothly. The concert, conducted by Conservatory senior Michael Christie and Maestro Louis Lane, was full of energy and verve, especially during Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (colorfully arranged by Maurice Ravel).

Although the Prelude from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde lacked the sense of urgency (it was a bit mellow) propelled by the famous "Tristan chord" introduced in the opening bars, it was performed at an acceptable college standard. It seemed almost too metrical, and quite static. The dynamics were not taken into serious consideration. One wonders whether the orchestra understood the work in a Wagnerian sense. The musicians did not seem to respond to Christie's energetic conducting.

The Glazunov Violin Concerto, played excellently by Conservatory senior Lisa Kim, was also executed well, despite the dullness of the composition. The uninspired performance of the orchestra was due to, well, the uninspired composition itself.

After a small brass ensemble announced the end of intermission, those too familiar first bars of Pictures blasted through the vanilla atmosphere left over from the first half of the concert. The orchestra, conducted by Lane, played this time at its fullest capacity.

The brass solos (particularly the opening bars of the first Promenade) were most impressive. The most expressive playing came by way of the wind section and the percussion, since it is a brassy, percussive and windy piece (all of the instrumental solos are in either the wind or brass sections.) The strings did a fine job, although their role in Pictures is secondary.

Most captivating were Gnomus, the mysterious Il Vecchi Castello, and the sinister Hut of Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga). The final movement of the piece, The Great Gate of Kiev, was absolutely astounding. Loud fortissimos and the softest contrasting pianos were wonderful as Lane took his orchestra through both extremes.