thedrifter
03-01-06, 05:47 AM
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; C09
Marine Chamber Ensembles
You might think chamber music in the United States Marines would be a rigid and formulaic exercise. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Monday night at the National Theatre, the Marine Chamber Ensembles program was left up to the musicians, as usual: in this case, 20th-century music by Elliott Carter, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Jean Francaix and Donald Reid Womack.
Carter, grandfather of American contemporary music, is still churning out compositions at 97. "Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for Woodwind Quartet," from 1949, is a breakout from his earlier, more accessible style. The players should be lauded for taking on this challenge; they worked hard at meshing the demanding rhythms, smoothly leaping large intervals and contrasting the dynamics.
"Two Choros for Violin and Cello" by Villa-Lobos were part of a series of pieces in which the composer combined musical elements from his native Brazil. While cellist Marcio Botelho captured the jazzy rhythms, violinist Peter Wilson labored to keep up; his tone and intonation slipped a few times, though his enthusiasm never waned.
Composed for the intriguing combination of violin and marimba, "Double Talk" by Womack showed off percussionist Christopher Rose's prowess and violinist Wilson's agility. The rhythmically intense piece required a great deal of accuracy, and both players were right on target.
Bassoonist Bernard Kolle's beautiful articulation was evident in Francaix's light and witty "Divertissement for Bassoon and String Quintet." The six played well together in this miniature concerto, which ended humorously with a solo bassoon flourish.
-- Gail Wein
Washington Symphonic Brass
Trumpeter Geoffrey Gallante, an Alexandria resident who is all of 5 years old, played two solos with the Washington Symphonic Brass on Sunday night at the National Presbyterian Church. This did not represent a particularly high-profile gig for the youngster, as he has recently taped segments with CBS's "Early Show" and the "Tonight Show" band.
Still, Gallante looked pleased as punch to be there, blowing his pocket trumpet with surprising force in an "Armed Forces Medley" and Richard Rodgers's "It Might As Well Be Spring," and conversing briefly (and very cutely) with Washington Symphonic Brass music director Milton Stevens. Though he didn't have his best technique with him on Sunday, it seems quite likely, given his age, that there are better days ahead for him.
The rest of Sunday's program was titled "The Best of the WSB," as the adults present offered choice selections from their recordings. For the most part, the Brass sounded wonderful, playing transcriptions written especially for the ensemble with fantastic precision and conjuring a cornucopia of appealing colors.
Although two arias by Puccini lost some intimacy in their brass garb, Alberto Ginastera's dance suite from the ballet "Estancia" bounced with infectious Argentinian rhythms, and selections from Carl Nielsen's "Aladdin" suite mixed movie-score exoticism with some intriguing complexities. Selections from Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" made for the most fun of all, as the brass rollicked through dances, rang out solidly in what had been stentorian choruses and made a satisfyingly apocalyptic sound in the closing "O Fortuna."
-- Andrew Lindemann Malone
Ellie
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; C09
Marine Chamber Ensembles
You might think chamber music in the United States Marines would be a rigid and formulaic exercise. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Monday night at the National Theatre, the Marine Chamber Ensembles program was left up to the musicians, as usual: in this case, 20th-century music by Elliott Carter, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Jean Francaix and Donald Reid Womack.
Carter, grandfather of American contemporary music, is still churning out compositions at 97. "Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for Woodwind Quartet," from 1949, is a breakout from his earlier, more accessible style. The players should be lauded for taking on this challenge; they worked hard at meshing the demanding rhythms, smoothly leaping large intervals and contrasting the dynamics.
"Two Choros for Violin and Cello" by Villa-Lobos were part of a series of pieces in which the composer combined musical elements from his native Brazil. While cellist Marcio Botelho captured the jazzy rhythms, violinist Peter Wilson labored to keep up; his tone and intonation slipped a few times, though his enthusiasm never waned.
Composed for the intriguing combination of violin and marimba, "Double Talk" by Womack showed off percussionist Christopher Rose's prowess and violinist Wilson's agility. The rhythmically intense piece required a great deal of accuracy, and both players were right on target.
Bassoonist Bernard Kolle's beautiful articulation was evident in Francaix's light and witty "Divertissement for Bassoon and String Quintet." The six played well together in this miniature concerto, which ended humorously with a solo bassoon flourish.
-- Gail Wein
Washington Symphonic Brass
Trumpeter Geoffrey Gallante, an Alexandria resident who is all of 5 years old, played two solos with the Washington Symphonic Brass on Sunday night at the National Presbyterian Church. This did not represent a particularly high-profile gig for the youngster, as he has recently taped segments with CBS's "Early Show" and the "Tonight Show" band.
Still, Gallante looked pleased as punch to be there, blowing his pocket trumpet with surprising force in an "Armed Forces Medley" and Richard Rodgers's "It Might As Well Be Spring," and conversing briefly (and very cutely) with Washington Symphonic Brass music director Milton Stevens. Though he didn't have his best technique with him on Sunday, it seems quite likely, given his age, that there are better days ahead for him.
The rest of Sunday's program was titled "The Best of the WSB," as the adults present offered choice selections from their recordings. For the most part, the Brass sounded wonderful, playing transcriptions written especially for the ensemble with fantastic precision and conjuring a cornucopia of appealing colors.
Although two arias by Puccini lost some intimacy in their brass garb, Alberto Ginastera's dance suite from the ballet "Estancia" bounced with infectious Argentinian rhythms, and selections from Carl Nielsen's "Aladdin" suite mixed movie-score exoticism with some intriguing complexities. Selections from Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" made for the most fun of all, as the brass rollicked through dances, rang out solidly in what had been stentorian choruses and made a satisfyingly apocalyptic sound in the closing "O Fortuna."
-- Andrew Lindemann Malone
Ellie