The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Arts December 14, 2007

Chamber Plays Beethoven's 5th, Schubert Lieder

The Oberlin Chamber Orchestra closed the semester with its concert on Wednesday, Dec. 12, in Finney Chapel. Oberlin Conservatory’s Bridget-Michaele Reischl conducted the orchestra in Erlkonig and other famous lieder by Franz Schubert, as well as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Conservatory fifth-year, baritone and winner of the Oberlin Concerto  Competition Jeffrey Hill was the featured soloist of the concert.

The program of Beethoven and Schubert provides listeners a window into the transition period from the Classical to the Romantic era in terms of musical style. Beethoven’s famous fifth symphony is the quintessential example of his “middle period.” Driven through the first moment by the ominous four-note figure (short-short-short-long), the work finally breaks through in the lead-up to the final movement, transforming “darkness to light,” as Beethoven scholars often put it. The presence of such a titanic and raw struggle within the piece (and possibly within the composer), together with other highly emotive elements of this piece clearly push the boundaries of the Classical style and look toward the future.

Beethoven’s contemporary and admirer Franz Schubert also helped to usher in the Romantic period. While the symphony was Beethoven’s most famous genre, many would say the lieder was Schubert’s. He is credited with making this song form a serious genre. Schubert’s melody-driven, highly dramatic songs, with their chromatic harmonies and exotic modulations and text painting, were unlike anything in the Classical era and would become a model for later composers who attempted to write in this form. Originally written for solo voice with piano accompaniment, these songs were arranged for orchestra by Johannes Brahms (later completed by Joachim Draheim), Anton Webern and Hector Berlioz, showing the interest that other composers had in Schubert’s lieder. 

Hill gave an excellent performance. He performed Nachst&uuml;ck, Romanze, Ihr Bild and Erlkonig. The highlight was certainly Erlkonig. An 18-year-old Schubert composed this setting of Goethe’s poem. It has always been one of his most popular compositions. Hill was incredibly effective in changing the character of his voice, facial expression and body language to portray the four different voices in the poem — the narrator, father, child and elf king. Hector Berlioz was very successful in his orchestral transcription of this piece as well. Perhaps this is not surprising given that the original piano accompaniment is actually quite awkward to play.

The Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s fifth symphony was solid. The first movement was played a bit on the slow side, but quite cleanly, as was the second movement. The third movement was somewhat uneven. The orchestra seemed to lose momentum toward the end while the strings were playing pizzicato and the woodwinds and strings were briefly out of sync. This moment quickly passed and the orchestra played well leading into the final Allegro. This truly heroic last movement was the orchestra’s high point for the night: Reischl led a crisp, energetic rendition of it to close the concert.


 
 
   

Powered by