The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra

The HRO showed off two supreme musicians Friday night: flutist Karen Monson '66, and pianist Ursula Oppens '65. They are quite a pair. Both won the concerto contest in their freshman years. Both spent three or four years becoming legends among Harvard concertgoers. Both face futures of great promise as professional performers. Both are very exciting musicians.

Unfortunately, Vivaldi's second flute concerto was not the best vehicle to fully exhibit Miss Monson's brilliance. The solo part is too constraining; the tutti parts are too dominating. She was simply not able to shine the way she can when given the opportunity. This concerto is frequently referred to as one of Vivaldi's "xeroxed concertos"--those he cranked out for his orchestra of girl orphans. Of course, with Vivaldi even a "xeroxed concerto" is a gem; and, given their masterly soloist, the HRO might have made something of this one--if only the strings and the harpsichord could have played together.

Symphony, Opus 21, is one of Webern's more interesting pieces. It is far more sonorous than most, more relaxed, and is said to be one of the best examples of Webern's orchestration of silence. (It is sometimes said that he has done with silence what Giacommetti, according to Sartre, has done with empty space.) Anyway, the appeal is more an intellectual than an emotional one. At least, I didn't notice anyone break into tears.

Technically, the orchestra performed best in the Webern, perhaps because it was limited to a small group. And assistant conductor William Conable had impressive control over the group's dynamics and rhythm.

As usual with the HRO, the second half of the performance was much better than the first. Ursula Oppens is really incredible. Despite an orchestra accompaniment that--well, about which it is perhaps kindest to say nothing--she made the performance of Brahm's first piano concerto a singularly exciting experience. She managed the big octave crescendos in the first movement without any of the woodenness of tone that frequently accompanies dynamics of that magnitude. She handled the rapid accompanying passages with facility and grace. She may have flubbed a few chords, but her communication of the pounding rhythms and building emotions hypnotized everyone. Especially impressive was the quality of sound she achieved in the beautiful second movement theme of triplets: every tone in the right hand sang.

It was the first time I'd seen a Harvard audience rise to its feet in a truly spontaneous, almost immediate, ovation.