Cantabrigia Orchestra

THE CANTABRIGIA Orchestra's program notes included the following observation which spoke significantly of the concert which was about to begin. "The Harvard Summer School brings a zeal for and dedication to music and the arts that is unmatched (hardly even reflected or echoed) by the 'Year-round Institution,'" Especial thanks are indeed in order to the School's enlightened directors Thomas Crooks and Francois Wilkinson, for nurturing a relatively stable and adventurous musical environment--which, in the case of the Cantabrigia, resulted in the rarity of a program consisting entirely of excellent and generally neglected works which needed to be performed here.

Conductor Gerald Moshell and all personnel of the orchestra are to be commended for their strong musical integrity. None of the music presented Thursday evening was, in the traditional sense, fun to play or conduct, as are the massive 19th century war-horses usually undertaken by transient orchestras comprised of widely diverse individual talents. Equally commendable is the fact that there was only one ringer in the group (as it happened, the Summer School just didn't attract a tuba player this year). And while the quality of performance was often less than ideal (although it was never distressingly so)--better this state of affairs than a dull program with a lot of last-minute professional support.

The concert opened with "three short pieces to be played (without break) in the form of a suite." Moshell's intriguing idea of flanking Ravel's Pavane pour une infanta defunte by two works of Stravinsky (Scherzo a la Russe and Feu d'artifice) worked well. But there was a lack of crisp rhythmic and textural precision in the performance of the Stravinsky pieces (problems which were evident in most of the orchestra's playing); the "Fireworks" in particular included some ambiguous string playing and a weak transition back to the fast material. The Ravel Pavane, however, was well played in a manner that was impressionistically hazy without degenerating into slush, despite some over-subdivided retenus on the part of Moshell. Cyrus Stewart's delicate phrasing of the horn solo was especially praiseworthy.

Following the "suite" was Bartok's last completed work, the Third Piano Concerto, in which soloist Debbie Sobol provided the most satisfying music-making of the evening. Miss Sobol's lyrical, carefully-shaded conception of the concerto was brought forth with remarkable technical assurance and relaxed poise. Generally, the orchestra did not approach the buoyant subtlety and control of her playing in the first and last movements, again because of rhythmic and textural insensitivity. Moshell's monochromatic manner of conducting is at least partially responsible for such problems: a beat which does little to emphasize legato and staccato, piano and forte, and the relative importance of the various voices, is less than appropriate for a work which, like the Bartok, is essentially large-scale chamber music.

IN THE CONTEMPLATIVE second movement, solo and ripieni were more closely intertwined. Here, Miss Sobol's playing was exquisite; happily not overphrasing the opening chorale section, for instance, she saved the intensity for the long middle phrase, even then maintaining the appropriately reserved, religious atmosphere inherent in the writing. The orchestral playing, with the exception of some overzealous interjections by solo winds, was here very good, especially in climactic tutti just before the end of the movement.

The orchestra seemed stylistically most comfortable in the Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. The string playing was warmer in tone and well controlled (especially the violins in the second song), as were most of the various wind solos which punctuate the work. Contralto Jane Struss was disappointing: she brought out little of the wide dynamic gradation, richness of quality, and dramatic intensity required by these songs.

Considering the difficulty of the Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements, the Cantabrigia brought it off quite well. There were some glorious moments--such as the tricky and very exposed bassoon duet played by Gregory Rewoldt (who was noticeably outstanding all evening) and colleague Winifred Ramsey; likewise, the trombones were often exceptional. But, as throughout the program, I felt that things could have been much more exciting. As is so often the case, with a bit more attention to dynamics, rhythm and clarity on the part of both players and conductor, what was overall a commendable concert might have been outstanding.

And now one must ask the obvious question: if the temporary Summer School orchestra can do so well when free of box-office worries, what might happen if Harvard supported her orchestras all year round?