Going from the brutality of hell to heaven in the course of a single concert isn't an easy feat to accomplish gracefully.
But Thursday night at the Tennessee Theatre, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and pianist Jeffrey Biegel did precisely that, with performances of William Bolcom's challenging "Prometheus," and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.
"Prometheus" was written for Biegel, with the KSO joining eight other organizations in commissioning the work. He not only played the piano with consummate skill, but he also physically expressed the beating down of Prometheus, who is subjected to the vengeance of Zeus for giving sacred fire to mortals.
It was Biegel's idea for "Prometheus" to use the same orchestral and choral forces as Beethoven employed in his ninth symphony, intending the newer work as a concert companion piece and counterweight to the symphony, as well as a strong piece on its own.
It isn't a piece one claims to like, in the usual sense of enjoyment, but credit certainly goes to conductor Lucas Richman for taking on a work that is as challenging for the performers as it is for the listeners, and in the same concert as Beethoven's ninth.
Using Lord Byron's poem about Prometheus' ordeal as the choral text, the Knoxville Choral Society chanted the first two stanzas, set against crashing, brutal chords from the piano and often sharp, angular sounds from the orchestra.
While Byron relates Prometheus' pain and agony, Bolcom is delivering his warning that modern man is risking being overpowered by technology.
Although "Prometheus" accomplished a lot more, its demands on the audience give some indication of how the first hearers of Beethoven's symphonies must have felt upon hearing a kind of music they had never been heard before.
Richman's handling of the opening of the first movement of Beethoven's symphony, with its shimmering background and fragments of theme being provocatively introduced, was a pure delight to hear.
The back and forth of the bitterness of struggle and the exhilaration of overcoming it were especially beautiful moments.
Then the unleashed joy of the second movement, with the hymn-like melody in the oboes and clarinets, was genuine pleasure.
By the time the finale arrived in this wonderful performance, with both the power of chorus and the soloists joining in, it was easy to see why Beethoven's ninth symphony has stood the test of time.
Magnificent!
Harold Duckett is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
- |
Comments » 1
woodcutter writes:
Well, after eleven years as a regular Knoxville Symphony subscriber, (Thursdays) I will have to say this was the worst performance I have experienced. I thought Prometheus was a terrible composition, although many around us were kind and said it was “unusual” or “different.” The chorus was fairly strong, but the members couldn.t sit still, and this was very distracting. The symphony seemed off on Thursday, not up to their usual high standard of performance, and Beethoven's ninth suffered from it.
Magnificent? No. Not the performance I attended.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.