OCME honors Richard Hoffman

Wednesday evening's concert in honor of Professor Richard Hoffmann was a moving musical celebration. The title of the concert, "Ever More Returning," gave a sense of nostalgia to the evening, as his career was being celebrated. Professor Hoffmann has had an interesting and varied career. He has been professor of Music Theory and Composition at Oberlin since 1954. During 1947-1951, he worked for Arnold Schoenberg as his secretary. He has also been the director of the Schoenberg Seminar and the Internationale Schoenberg Institute in Vienna. Over the years, he has also taught at various universities around the world, including the University of New Zealand and Vienna University.

The concert featured two works by Hoffmann, as well as two works by two of Hoffmann's former students: Walter Winslow (1947-1998) and Fred Chance (1961-1992).

Hoffmann's two works sounded like opposites. The first work performed was his "String Quartet No. 3," which was composed between 1972 and 1974. The St. Petersburg String Quartet was the featured guest for this performance. One distinctive characteristic about this piece was its stark contrast between very low and very high notes. Each member of the quartet would play in piercingly high registers, which sounded out of the range of the instruments. Another defining quality of this piece was the interrupting nature of the instruments. One instrument would begin to play a theme, which might not be completed, even as a second instrument would begin to play a completely different theme. Each voice contrasted starkly with the themes preceding it. With this contrasting nature throughout the piece, there was also much use of dissonance in this piece, especially noticeable when all four members would play together.

Hoffmann's second composition, "Die Heimkehr," composed in 1997, was a complete change of pace to the "String Quartet." The piece was performed by the Oberlin College Choir, the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, and Gerald Crawford, professor of singing and director of vocal studies. It was apparent, almost from the start, that it was a much more lyrical piece with beautiful melodies that were supported by layered harmonies. At times, the melody sounded like it had influences from Far-Eastern music. The combination of the choir with the soloist did not cause any overpowering of one sound over the other. To the contrary, the voices were layered in careful order that made it possible to hear each note and word sung by either the choir or professor Crawford. Each word was enunciated clearly, and his rich bass-baritone voice itself to the mellow mood of the piece.

It was interesting to notice similarities between Hoffmann's works and the works by his former students; both Winslow and Chance were influenced by Hoffmann's compositional techniques. Both Chance's composition, "Bloom," and Hoffmann's "String Quartet" use high registers and technical runs which are often played intensely and in changing rhythms. Winslow's work, "Conversations with the Muse at Pele'ilia Creek" had related tone colors to the "String Quartet," with its percussive elements and the relationship of the instruments. The pieces use very intense passages that commanded attention and that overwhelmed the other instruments. Finally, "Bloom" has a singer as a soloist, as does Hoffmann's "Die Heimkehr." Both vocal parts sound challenging in their rhythm and vocal range. Antoinette Arnold, OC '92, the soloist for"Bloom," sang the vocal with vitality, which was caused by the spirited mood of the piece.

This concert was not only a fitting tribute to Professor Hoffmann, but was also important as a document of Hoffmann's compositional output. It is rare that listeners can hear an all contemporary music concert; it was a welcome change.