Orchestra performs

Last Friday's Chamber Orchestra Concert, its first of the year, provided faculty, community members, students, and visiting parents with over 200 years of music, all masterfully played. Finney Chapel was filled with all kinds of glorious sounds that night from delicate solos to brilliant ensemble playing.

The evening began with Barber's overture to The School for Scandal, conducted by student conductor double-degree senior David Osenbach. Osenbach handled the orchestra masterfully with both finesse and a high degree of professionalism. This was an excellent piece with which to open.

After a chaotic beginning, Barber's lyricism took over, encompassing the remainder of the work. The balance of sound within the string section was incredible. The woodwinds - especially the oboe and the English horn - and the brass were equally effective behind Osenbach's interpretation.

Next on the program was the Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano. by Beethoven with soloists Marilyn Macdonald, Peter Rejto and Haewon Song, all faculty members of the conservatory. Though not one of Beethoven's masterpieces, the Concerto provided the audience with a great opportunity to hear some of Oberlin's finest faculty performers who don't get a chance to solo very often.

The first movement started rather plainly and continued in that manner until the very end. The coda was exhilerating, full of virtuosity and dexterity for the soloists. At time it was very hard to hear each of the soloists, especially the cello, but this was no fault of the performers. The use of three soloists in a concerto is very awkward. Beethoven handled the task of making each soloist independent of the others very well.

The interplay between the orchestra and the soloists was also nice, but as one musicologist in the conservatory recently said, "I don't think the instrument combination really works here."

The second movement, marked Largo, was essentially an aria for cello, played very well with much warmth and a sense of musical direction. The other soloists gradually enter, thus affecting a serene diologue. The most interesting spot in the whole work was the attaca into the third movement. The cello continued its flowing melodic lines and without pause began the next movement. The last movement had a rustic flavor to it and was very playful. With those final chords, Beethoven's charming, though less than perfect work came to a close, as did the first half of the program.

After intermission, Louis Lane led the chamber orchestra in Strauss' vivid tone poem "Death and Transfiguration" Opus 24. Clearly the best was saved for last. Lane was electrifying in his approach to the very complex work. He was incredibly animated and showed, through his gestures, a thorough knowledge and love for the music he was leading.

He was always in control of the instrumental forces playing, which resulted in a tight, energetic presentation. Of special note were the instrumental solos in the woodwinds and the solo violin as well as the brasses' ensemble sound. While not experiencing the "death" portion of the work, the audience must have been through a "transfiguration" as Finney Chapel became the playground for Strauss' magnificent sonorities.