SYMPHONY REVIEW
Symphony showcases its talent within
By Gregory Shepherd
Advertiser Classical Music Critic
One of the hallmarks of the Honolulu Symphony is its wealth of individual talent among the ensemble, and first among equals has to be principal oboist Scott Janusch.
With Scott Janusch on oboe; also, "Berlioz Brief" • When: 4 p.m. today • Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall • Admission: $15-$57 • Information: 792-2000
In Friday night's concert, his handling of Mozart's Concerto for Oboe in C major reconfirmed his stature as one of the foremost classical artists in the state.
'Mostly Mozart'
The concerto begins with a light allegro movement with hundreds of rapid-fire notes that Janusch negotiated with flawless technique and a singing tone.
Mozart's trademark sunny spirits infuse every measure and Janusch emphasized that quality by allowing passages to spin effortlessly out of the instrument. One of the most difficult instruments of the orchestra, the oboe requires constant air pressure on the hard reed and thin tube, but Janusch makes it look as easy as a kazoo.
The second movement, an adagio, offers an almost bittersweet contrast to the first, and Janusch's versatility of tone production made it sing like an aria. Especially impressive is the way he is able to jump an octave or more without force or any loss of tonal focus. His trills were another delight to hear, starting slowly and gradually tightening into filaments of spun gold.
Most soloists take the final movement quite a bit faster than what the allegretto calls for, and while the extra speed can enhance the playful quality of the movement, it can also cut down on its coherence. Janusch takes it at just the right tempo for the ear to latch on to details such as grace notes and subtle dynamic shadings.
The orchestra under guest conductor Harvey Felder ably supported the soloist in every movement, although Felder was taken by surprise once or twice with tutti entrances after solo passages in the oboe.
Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," on the other hand, is a work that Felder seems to know forward and back, and he treated the audience to a 15-minute mini-lecture complete with live musical examples before the actual performance of the work. This was surely helpful to those in the audience who had never heard the symphony before, but probably old-hat to those who have attended the orchestra's several performances of the it over the past several years.
The opening "Reverie" section is a prime example of what Felder referred to in his lecture as a "sonic picture" of the type that Berlioz was so adept at painting. Felder himself was an able intermediary, bringing forth a wealth of details of sonority in the section.
Fine solo work was heard from Scott Anderson on clarinet, Jason Lichtenwalter on oboe, and Susan McGinn on flute. The other movements of the Berlioz symphony featured a wealth of solo contributions from orchestra members who included Norman Foster on E-flat clarinet and, in particular, the entire percussion section.
The program opened with a breezy rendition of Mozart's somewhat forgettable overture to the opera "The Impresario."
Gregory Shepherd has been The Advertiser's classical music critic since 1987.
