Longwood: My first three months
Well this past Saturday was my second concert with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. I’m happy to say that I’ve been having a lot of fun playing in this group, and I’m sad that rehearsals don’t start again until January 15th! Unfortunately, Amanda will not be around much next year, and won’t be able to play with the LSO any more. But I’ve started making other friends in the orchestra, so the social aspect of it will still be fun. And I’ll still be able to play some chamber music with Amanda and Angus.
Anyway, now about the concert itself. We were playing Walton’s Crown Imperial, Wieniawski’s second violin concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s wonderful sixth symphony.
I must say I didn’t really like the Walton all that much. It’s so repetitive! And it does kind of sound like a band piece (yes, I’m saying that in a deragatory manner, sorry), for all that Jonathan said it wasn’t. Luckily having so many strings plus the beautiful acoustics of Jordan Hall made it sound a little better. But it still was a tad boring to play. And I’m a violist, and therefore not used to repeating a melody four or five times in a row. You can get too much of a good thing.
The Wieniawski concerto was amazingly virtuosic. Ayano Ninomiya, the soloist, was incredible. She played with such fire and technique! I was in awe of her up-bow staccato. I do think she played a little more confidently in the dress rehearsal than in the concert, but that might have been a result of the orchestra playing less confidently. The audience clapped enthusiastically after the second movement (which was attaca) and then at the end. Which was interesting, considering there wasn’t a sound after the third movement of the Tchaikovsky, where the rousing end of the movement often tricks audience members into thinking the end of the piece has been reached.
Tchaikovsky’s sixth symphony is one of my favorite symphonies. There are so many lovely viola moments in it. It’s a great work for bassoonists, as well (the bassoon being one of my favorite instruments besides viola). Though it’s interesting, I think maybe it was not as exciting to play as his fourth and fifth symphonies. It’s been a long time since I played those, so maybe the difference is in me, not the music. But I remember the fourth and fifth having a lot more hard, exciting, fast passages - ones that really give you an adrenaline rush when you play them. The sixth is maybe more about the overall sound of the orchestra as a whole, with the whole being more than the sum of its parts.
I really liked some of the things Jonathan said in the dress rehearsal about the Tchaikovsky - likening parts of the first movement to a crowd scene out on the street, and the second movement as being a waltz in a dream (since of course nobody can waltz in 5/4 time). Of course, these aren’t really new ideas, but he is very good at explaining things and putting them in the right context. Like Amanda said to me, he’s very good at rehearsing us. He lets us play through a good amount of music, but at the same time he doesn’t let us get away with anything either.
I’m glad I chose this orchestra to audition for. Did you know there are 17 violas in the section? It’s ridiculous. I’ve never played in a section with more than 12 or so people before. Usually it’s hard to find enough good violists. Anyway, the level of the playing is very high, the music is pretty interesting (though some Mahler or Stravinsky might be nice - maybe next year), and there are definitely people in the orchestra I’d like to get to know better (part of the reason I wanted to join an orchestra this year was the social aspect - meeting more people).
I’m not sure, but I think maybe we’re going to be reviewed by the Boston Globe for this concert. It should be interesting to read. There was an article about the orchestra that was printed a week before the concert. The MIT Symphony got reviewed once or twice by the Globe (with a very favorable review for our Ives 4th - how crazy is that for a college orchestra to play?) Hmm, now if only I were to have a chamber music concert reviewed… There’s just something cool about seeing a review of your performance in a real newspaper.
