"A Night in Vienna"

REVIEW OF ASHLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2006
8:00 PM HUGO YOUNG THEATRE
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By Rowland Blackley, Associate Professor of Music, Ashland University


“A Night in Vienna” under the baton of Music Director Arie Lipsky was presented by the Ashland Symphony Orchestra on Saturday. The composer of each selection spent significant parts of his career in Vienna, a city which has been an important musical center since the Middle Ages.

Hugo Young Theatre resounded to the strains of Franz von Suppé’s “Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Overture,” the concert’s opener. Despite a few minor glitches, the orchestra joyfully captured the spirit of those light-hearted, buoyant melodies. A hauntingly beautiful solo was sensitively played by principal cellist Miles Richardson.

“Wine, Women, and Song,” the first of numerous Johann Strauss, Jr. selections, is a set of cheery but understated waltzes. The ASO played well, but I can see how this music clearly works better on the dance floor than the concert stage. In contrast, Von Suppé’s “Light Cavalry Overture” is a perennial favorite among the light classics, and Maestro Lipsky’s ensemble did not disappoint. Sturdy brass section playing, clean articulations, strong dynamic variations, and a rich string sound (especially on that “gypsy” melody) all combined for a rousing ending to the first half of the concert.

Featured soloist for the evening was soprano Lauren Cotton. She tackled two devilishly tricky Mozart arias plus the Alleluia from “Exsultate, jubilate,” but was more than equal to the technical demands throughout. Ms. Cotton was completely at ease with both the dramatic and musical aspects of “O zittre nicht,” from “The Magic Flute” and “Durch Zaertlichkeit” from “The Abduction from the Seraglio.” Her clean, controlled coloratura sparkled in “Mein Herr Marquis,” from “Die Fledermaus,” and the captivated audience gave her a standing ovation at its glorious conclusion.

The entire second half of the concert consisted of music by Johann Strauss, Jr., beginning with the Overture to “Die Fledermaus.” This collection of tunes had many difficult transitions, which the orchestra handled well. The Egyptian March, in which the orchestra sang for a while, contained several stereotypical middle eastern sounds.

Maestro Lipsky invited a guest triangle player onstage (Ann Guthrie) for the “Pizzicato Polka,” a light-hearted romp - not exactly a masterwork, but a lot of fun for both musicians and audience. The “Champagne Polka” receives the prize for cheesiest piece of the night, but it did include audience participation in the form of the sound of popping a champagne cork: on cue, of course.

The final selection was the Beautiful Blue Danube, the most famous, rhythmically infectious, and beloved of all waltzes. Its theme has been excerpted, arranged, and transcribed into countless beginning piano books, but here we heard the true piece - an elegant treat which really made one imagine a 19th-century European ballroom.

The ASO rarely plays an encore, but this evening they offered the lively Radetzky March by Johann Strauss, Sr. The audience clapped along, even following the Maestro’s directions on how loudly to clap, then finally rose to their feet at the conclusion for a second standing ovation. We had a fine night in Vienna, courtesy of your local symphony orchestra.