Brass Spectacular solid, but not flashy
By Sarah Bryan Miller
POST DISPATCH CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC
1/24/08
But the sold-out audience of about 1,300 seemed to appreciate the artistry on display. Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra brass section and regular extra players joined forces with three hard-working percussionists, organist Robert Lehman and the massed teenagers of the Missouri All-State Brass to make some big sounds.
The latest edition of the "Brass Spectacular," the admirable joint effort of Cathedral Concerts and Symphony principal trumpet Susan Slaughter, benefited from the clear, informative conducting and clear, informative spoken program note of the guest conductor, Capt. Michelle Rakers of the U.S. Marine Corps. Clad in black civvies, Rakers was a strong presence on the podium, and the eight-second reverberation of the chilly, breezy Cathedral Basilica didn't seem to faze her in the least.
The concert started with occasionally muddy playing in a transcription of Walton's "Crown Imperial" Coronation March. The high point of the first half was Alan Hovhaness' "Prayer of St. Gregory," which takes the haunting tonal world of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and transforms it for horn, trumpet and organ. Tod Bowermaster, Slaughter (up in the eastern gallery) and Lehman were superb soloists.
Most of the memorable programming came in the second half, starting with Marcel Dupré's "Poème Héroique (Heroic Poem)," for brass choir and organ. Three transcriptions of Brahms motets worked well, as did two intriguing movements from "Fanfares, Marches, Hymns & Finale for Brass and Percussion," by Bruce Broughton, who has built a career in film and TV music. Rakers saved the best for last: Richard Strauss' "Feierlicher Einzug (Festival Procession)." It opens with echoes of Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" and traces of Stauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra," and develops impressively from there. It wasn't all quite in tune at the beginning but pulled together quickly for a satisfying end to the program.
John Romeri, executive and artistic director of Cathedral Concerts and director of music for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. St. Louis, had back surgery last week, but was there to greet and introduce the concert. Lehman was an excellent not-quite-last-minute substitute.
4 comments:
Thanks for another great evening! The Brass Spectacular was just that -spectacular. The program was interesting - The last 2 pieces - especialy the Strauss Festival Procession was as good as it gets. The Symphony musicians with the Missouri All State Brass along with Robert Lehman, organist were truly spectacular.
I attended the Brass Spectacular concert with my husband, brother-in-law and 2 sisters-in-law. Honestly we were disappointed. The music was largely unfamiliar, in cases dissonant and difficult to sit through. The organ could barely be heard over the brass. Such a waste of talented musicians. I am not sure we will attend again.
It was a wonderful, exciting evening of music. Based on the enthusiastic ovation at the end at the concert, I know that the rest of the audience loved it as much as I did.
It was, indeed, "great music in a great space".
Paul Arenberg
Regional Arts Commission
I really enjoyed the Brass Spectacular! The music was varied from haunting to stirring played by really talented musicians, both professional and teenage! The conductor really informed the audience of the prupose of each piece and led the musicians without a lot of personal fanfare or drawing attention to herself.
Perhaps if the reviewer had not made such a spectacle of herself by refusing to sit in the reserved seats but insisting on sitting in the rpoed off and indeed, boarded off section, she could have sat back and enjoyed the music as I did a paying customer! It was wonderful to see our professional musicians mentoring our upcoming ones. It was a great evening and thank you!
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