The Elgin Symphony Orchestra Season Finale Concerts 2017-18

Elgin Symphony Orchestra Season Finale Concerts 2017-18

Organized by Music Director Andrew Grams on fifth, May 2018, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO) season finale concerts 2017-18 featured the celebrated American composer Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Suite. The concerts were in honor of the 100th anniversary of the late composer. A global celebration, it is conducted worldwide every year. Charlie Harmon arranged the Suite that borrows from the Bernstein operetta of 1956. The program featured emotional Symphony No. 5 performed by Gustav Mahler but authored by Leonard Bernstein, following a serious illness (Baker 259). He was a staunch supporter and promoter of Mahler’s music. The concerts were in near perfect coordination, thanks to the dedicated work and direction of Andrew Grams, the American conductor. He had an admirable combination of enthusiasm, intensity, as well as well technical clarity. He performed the tunes in a way that set the mood right. He struck the sad notes and the happy ones intermittently in a way that easily evoked emotions so that listeners easily empathized with the emotions the original composer underwent when he composed the symphony.

The Candide: From French Satire to Theatrical Repertoire

The Candide is French satire that was adopted from a novella written by Voltaire (Baker 263). Initially, the work was not received well by the critics and audience when it first debuted in 1959. However, it is currently a likeable standard in the view of theatrical repertoire. Going by the reaction of the audience one could tell that they enjoyed the melodious tunes of the pieces. They had a mix of descendo and crescendo, setting the tune for the themes of troubled emotions of sadness, happiness, love, and hope. For instance, the Symphony No. 5 was written after Mahler suffered a terrible hemorrhage. The piece conveyed an amazing spectrum of deep feelings. The fourth movement of the symphony was christened Adagietto. Most critics agree that it could as well be the most famous of the works. The song was about love and was dedicated to Ama, his wife. The couple had met at a composition of a musical piece and would later marry. Leonard Bernstein conducted the Adagietto at a funeral celebration of Robert Kennedy on the June o 1968. Later, it would be featured in a 1971 movie named Death in Venice.

The Powerful Performances of Symphony No. 5

The adagietto and Symphony No. 5 were favorite pieces that, in my view, were not just about refinement, but demonstrated the aggressiveness and sheer power of the original composer. The performers did not disappoint by their catchy and deliberate moves. They matched the tempo with body movements, letting the audience to enjoy every bit of it. Symphony no. 5 was particularly distinguishable by the unique styling, comprising strings and striking with the bow stick rather than sliding the string bow across the strings. Mostly, the tones of the concerto were played in A major. Perhaps most remarkable about the fifth symphony was the compelling energy of the performers. The opening consisted of four notes and every element derived from the motives. The contrasting subject built upon the first bars’ melodic outlines. The development part of the symphony used the motive both holistically and individually. The rhythm then drove frantically the movement, making the performers to gasp for breath. Overall, it was such an electric performance conducted in a well-lit theatre. The instrumentation comprised mainly of pianos and flutes, with performers dressed in white, black, and red perhaps to depict mourning, celebration, love and all the emotions the original producer had intended.

Work Cited

Baker, Beth. “Arts Education.” CQ Researcher (2014): 253-76.