Last Friday night in Finney Chapel, the Oberlin Orchestra gave their first performance of the semester.  Under the direction of guest conductor Robert Franz, the program included works by Aaron Copland, Bela Bartók, and Antonin Dvorák.  For an ensemble made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the orchestra’s playing was rather impressive.

Before the concert began, Dean of the Conservatory David Stull made an announcement dedicating the evening’s performance to James E. Pohlman (OC ’54).  A Trustee member for twenty years, Stull mentioned how Pohlman has been a major supporter for the college and conservatory.

The performance opened with the orchestral suite from Copland’s 1954 opera The Tender Land.  Taking place in the Midwest during the Depression, the opera’s story depicts two poor migrant workers interupting the quite solitude of a rural family.  After a series of tribulations, the opposing groups are able to live in harmony as they look forward to “The Promise of Living” (the title of the suite’s third movement).

It is rare that orchestras perform the suite from The Tender Land, and for good reason.  This work is by far not Copland’s greatest composition.  Though there were some pretty moments in the first and last movements, the obnoxious melodies and awkward orchestration of the second movement (“Party Scene”) made for an uncomfortable listening experience.  Despite this, the orchestra played the suite with the naivete that the work demanded. Another somewhat dissappointing work followed the Copland suite: Bartók’s Viola Concerto. 

It is a stretch to say this work was even composed by Bartók, for upon his death in 1945, he left only fifteen pages of sketches for this concerto.  The conductor Tibor Serly spent two years decoding and orchestrating the work, thus creating the Viola Concerto that is so popular today. It is a mystery to me why this work is  so appreciated among violists. 

There is simply nothing appealing or inspiring about the first two movements.  The third, however, makes upsomin part for the rest of the concerto with its energetic folk quotations. Senior violist Sophie Heaton performed the challenging solo with confidence and energy. 

The multitude of sonorities she created was magnificent – from dark, harsh sounds in the first movement to warm, heart-breakingly lyrical ones in the second.  The fact that Heaton’s is not even a viola performance major, but chooses to focus on history, made her performance all the more impressive.

Finally, in the second half of the performance, a work of true musical substance emerged – Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8.  Every section of the orchestra had its moment to shine in this work. From the second movement’s warm, rich sonorities in the string section to the wild horn trills in the finale, this group of underclassmen proved that they could, indeed, make beautiful music.  In addition, flutist Martha Cargo performed the infamously difficult solos of the first and last movements with ease and assuredness.

One noteably weak element, however, to the performance on Friday night stood on the podium.  Robert Franz may have done some marvellous work with the orchestra in rehearsal, but in performance, he was dull and uninspiring.  Making very little eye contact with the orchestra, Franz’s attention was primarily focused on the score in front of him.  His facial expressions were consistently neutral and his gestures were far from dramatic, even at the most climactic moments of Dvorák’s symphony. Despite Franz’s inability to lead the Oberlin Orchestra with energy and verve, the musicians took the initiative and offered a highly successful performance.