Sarah Bryan Miller
12-20-2004, 04:19 PM
By Sarah Bryan Miller
Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic
12/11/2004
Friday was a damp and dreary night. But conductor Jane Glover, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra joined forces to offer a light, bright and happy program, and drive the damp away.
Glover, who manages to be simultaneously elegant and sensible in her music-making, has been a welcome presence in the pit at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It was a pleasure to get to actually see her on the podium this time around, in her Symphony debut.
The LAGQ- John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott ennant and Andrew York - is very much a known and popular quantity in our town; they've been visiting, under the auspices of the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society, singly and in ensemble, for years. But this was their first foray with the orchestra.
The program opened with a souffle - er, an early symphony - by Haydn, No. 6 in D major, "Le Matin." Glover and a reduced orchestra gave it a lovely, crisp reading. This piece provides a solo for virtually every principal player, and most of them did very well. It was a pleasure to get to hear principal bass Erik Harris step out, and assistant principal viola Christian Woehr handled his solo passages with aplomb.
The LAGQ took the solo violin parts in Vivaldi's Concerto in B minor for Four Violins and Orchestra, RV 580, transcribed for guitars. The guitarists were miked (and possibly amplified a hair too much, while insufficiently differentiated), due to the softness of their instruments and the strength of the orchestra; despite a couple of mild cases of fumblefingers early on, they played well.
They were accompanied by a tiny string orchestra: four first violins, four second violins, four violas, four cellos, two double basses and a harpsichord, all exquisitely attuned to the conductor. The work was short, sweet and nicely done.
But the main event of the first half was Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto andaluz." Written for the first family of guitarists, Los Romeros, it is very Spanish and doesn't have any of the limitations of transcription for its guitarists. It received a bright, smart reading from all concerned, but particularly from Glover and the soloists; there was energy aplenty throughout. They were rewarded with a particularly enthusiastic Standing O, and, in turn, rewarded their audience with an encore.
The second half was an illuminated, illuminating rendition of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. Bright (there's that word again), spirited and zestful throughout, it was a joy to hear. In the second movement, Larghetto, in particular, Glover achieved a delicate, transparent sound that too seldom comes through in most takes on Beethoven's symphonies.
She had first-class assistance from the orchestra throughout the evening. Concertmaster David Halen and principal flute Mark Sparks (after a slow start) were particularly notable in their several solo passages. It all added up to a memorable conclusion to the Symphony's regular concert series for 2004: may Glover return, and soon.
IF YOU GO: Jane Glover, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in music of Haydn, Vivaldi, Rodrigo and Beethoven.
Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic
12/11/2004
Friday was a damp and dreary night. But conductor Jane Glover, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra joined forces to offer a light, bright and happy program, and drive the damp away.
Glover, who manages to be simultaneously elegant and sensible in her music-making, has been a welcome presence in the pit at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It was a pleasure to get to actually see her on the podium this time around, in her Symphony debut.
The LAGQ- John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott ennant and Andrew York - is very much a known and popular quantity in our town; they've been visiting, under the auspices of the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society, singly and in ensemble, for years. But this was their first foray with the orchestra.
The program opened with a souffle - er, an early symphony - by Haydn, No. 6 in D major, "Le Matin." Glover and a reduced orchestra gave it a lovely, crisp reading. This piece provides a solo for virtually every principal player, and most of them did very well. It was a pleasure to get to hear principal bass Erik Harris step out, and assistant principal viola Christian Woehr handled his solo passages with aplomb.
The LAGQ took the solo violin parts in Vivaldi's Concerto in B minor for Four Violins and Orchestra, RV 580, transcribed for guitars. The guitarists were miked (and possibly amplified a hair too much, while insufficiently differentiated), due to the softness of their instruments and the strength of the orchestra; despite a couple of mild cases of fumblefingers early on, they played well.
They were accompanied by a tiny string orchestra: four first violins, four second violins, four violas, four cellos, two double basses and a harpsichord, all exquisitely attuned to the conductor. The work was short, sweet and nicely done.
But the main event of the first half was Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto andaluz." Written for the first family of guitarists, Los Romeros, it is very Spanish and doesn't have any of the limitations of transcription for its guitarists. It received a bright, smart reading from all concerned, but particularly from Glover and the soloists; there was energy aplenty throughout. They were rewarded with a particularly enthusiastic Standing O, and, in turn, rewarded their audience with an encore.
The second half was an illuminated, illuminating rendition of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. Bright (there's that word again), spirited and zestful throughout, it was a joy to hear. In the second movement, Larghetto, in particular, Glover achieved a delicate, transparent sound that too seldom comes through in most takes on Beethoven's symphonies.
She had first-class assistance from the orchestra throughout the evening. Concertmaster David Halen and principal flute Mark Sparks (after a slow start) were particularly notable in their several solo passages. It all added up to a memorable conclusion to the Symphony's regular concert series for 2004: may Glover return, and soon.
IF YOU GO: Jane Glover, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in music of Haydn, Vivaldi, Rodrigo and Beethoven.