ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 TAG: 9604230179
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: CONCERT REVIEW
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Jeffrey Sandborg had one edge Monday night on the other five Roanoke Symphony Orchestra conductors this season: his chances for a nifty new job weren't riding on his performance.
Sandborg conducted the orchestra and the Roanoke Valley Choral Society in the great "Requiem" of Giuseppe Verdi only a few days after the symphony board announced that David Wiley would be the orchestra's new music director and conductor. Sandborg was the only conductor this season who wasn't a finalist for the post.
It was a blazing finale to a memorable season that earned an almost immediate standing ovation, repeated curtain calls and shouts of bravo, and it set the bar pretty high for Wiley. If he can top this performance when he takes the baton himself, the Roanoke Valley can look forward to some great concerts.
Verdi's dramatic setting of the words of the requiem Mass has been called his "greatest opera," usually by people with a distinctly disapproving tone of voice who believe the work is vulgar, showy and more suited to the stage than church.
It's indeed a lot more dramatic than the average liturgical setting, but the fact that it's unsuitable for a real funeral Mass detracts not a bit from its status as one of the greatest choral works of the 19th century.
The RSO and the Choral Society did complete justice to this magnificent creation Monday night. It was one of the most beautifully balanced collaborations between singers and players that these musicians have ever produced.
It's true that real Verdi fanatics might have wished for more horses - the modest-size orchestra (even with eight trumpet players!) was far smaller than the humongously augmented ensembles that frequently perform the work.
But a bigger orchestra might have marred the almost perfect sonic proportions of instrumentalists and singers, which enabled Sandborg to turn in one of the most nicely detailed and finely sculpted readings I have heard from these musicians. The ensemble and dynamic control of the combined RSO and Choral Society were truly impressive.
Not that everything was perfect. The cello section had a brief period of serious intonation problems toward the end of the "Offertorium" movement, but that cloud quickly vanished.
All four soloists were strong singers, with soprano Judith Raddue sounding especially beautiful in the final "Libera Me." Bass-baritone Charles Austin was great.
Sandborg has made his reputation as a choral conductor, but he seems equally at home with the orchestra. In the "Ingemisco" movement, in which tenor Carl Tanner pled for mercy from the Lord, there was a difficult passage with sustained tremolo from the violins and a lovely oboe obbligato, but it came off flawlessly. From the back of the hall, every detail was clearly audible.
This "Requiem" got a fast standing ovation and noisy shouts of approval from the Roanoke Civic Center audience, which seemed reluctant to let Sandborg and his soloists get away.
When the applause finally died away, new music director Wiley briefly spoke to the audience and outlined next season's programming.
Seth Williamson produces feature news stories and a weekday classical music program on public radio station WVTF (89.1 FM) in Roanoke.|
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