Orchestra's final concert, elegant

Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, led by Louis Lane, performs at Finney

The Oberlin Chamber Orchestra's final concert of the year opened Thursday with an unusual piece, Paul Dukas's Fanfare to "La Peri," originally for the ballet of the same title.

This brief work, scored exclusively for brass, was a suitably rousing opening for the evening's presentation. The brass section, normally relegated to the back of the orchestra, had the rare opportunity to play from the front row, thus prominently displaying their rich and powerful sound. Louis Lane led the ensemble with the necessary clarity and broadness of gesture, moving the music smoothly from the dramatic opening gestures to the smooth chorale towards the conclusion.

After a stage rearrangement, the full orchestra proceeded with Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major . As a lesser known member of his last group of symphonies known as the London symphonies, the Symphony No. 99 was actually composed in Vienna shortly after Haydn's first major concerts in England. It subsequently received its first performance in London in 1794. The four movement work begins with a slow introduction and proceeds into a lively Vivace. The Chamber Orchestra's performance achieved a full expansive sound rather appropriate for these later symphonies yet avoided sounding muddy or overbearing. Slightly faster tempos might have been welcome in the Menuetto and even in the final Vivace, although this was quite exciting as played. Had the final Vivace been any quicker, it might have taxed the already occasionally questionable clarity of the rapid passage work in both strings and winds. Overall, the string playing was excellent, and aside from the occasional disappointing entrance from the horns, it was quite a satisfying rendition.

The second half of the concert was the major highlight of the evening. "Pulcinella," for orchestra and three solo voices was the featured piece. Written by Igor Stravinsky in 1920 as a ballet score for Sergei Dyaghilev, the work is based on music attributed to the early classical composer Giambattista Pergolesi. The piece is played without interruption, but it is clearly divided into some 20 short movements each of differing character. Carefully crafted structure and thematic coherence result in a work which is quite accessible. Eight of the movements included text, sung in Italian, on various subjects of love and betrayal. The three vocal soloists were junior MaLeata Carson, soprano; senior David Miller, tenor; and graduate student Scott Hogsed, bass-baritone. While each soloist generally performed quite well, there was the occasional lack of rhythmic unity between orchestra and soloist. Hogsed seemed to fare best in this area. As in the Haydn the string playing was quite fine, and included some nicely played solos from concertmaster senior Lisa Kim. Stravinsky also gave some excellent opportunities for solos from all principals in the wind section. Of particular note was some exquisite oboe playing from senior Clara George.

Louis Lane led the orchestra handily through the rhythmic complexities while always maintaining his elegant sweeping style. This was some thoroughly enjoyable music.