THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702230165
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY LEE TEPLY, SPECIAL TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 46 lines
Just as spring was paying an early visit on Friday, the Virginia Symphony opened its program at Chrysler Hall with a fresh performance of Antonio Vivaldi's ``Spring.''
Music director JoAnn Falletta drew a vitality from the chamber orchestra of strings that matched the feeling of solo violinist Tomohiro Okumura.
Throughout the well-known ``Four Seasons,'' Okumura played with clarity and with a sweet tone that filled the hall. With fine intonation and virtuosic technique, he was able to concentrate on expressing the various moods of this work.
He was supported by an ensemble that was both energetic and well-controlled. In lively tempos, they had a range of effects, from bouncing excitement to a more threatening hammering effect used in the music depicting stormy weather.
Sharp contrast in dynamic levels heightened the dramatic shifts of atmosphere.
While the ``Four Seasons'' is played rather frequently in the Classical Masterworks Series, the great symphonies of the generation between Vivaldi and Beethoven - those by Mozart and Haydn - are rarely heard in Chrysler Hall. Thus, the performance of Mozart's ``Jupiter'' symphony was most welcome.
Like the Vivaldi, it goes through several moods, sometimes changing quite quickly with an almost operatic sense of drama.
Falletta emphasized the contrasts to help make the organization of the musical sections clear in the outer movements.
Even the smallest units, the shortest phrases, were given careful attention, producing a series of effective musical statements. With the addition of winds to the orchestra, the engaging dialogue, both among the winds and between winds and strings, moved the drama along.
A bit surprisingly, one of the most satisfying movements all evening was the third movement, a graceful minuet.
While this is usually tossed off lightly, it was here played with an elegance that fit this dance of royalty. The intimacy of a salon was achieved in the quieter parts of the trio.
Capping the symphony, the powerful structure of the last movement had its intended effect. In fast passagework, the lower strings did not match the clarity of the violins. But this did not prevent the concluding counterpoint from building great excitement.