Bach Society Brass Needs More Polish

Last Friday, the Bach Society (BachSoc) Orchestra rang in Leap Day with a dazzling showcase of talent that featured their own members, as well as two guests: composer Elizabeth C. Lim ’08 and pianist Charlie Albright ’11. Music director Aram Demirjian ’08 led the orchestra with great poise, but Albright stole the show when he led the orchestra through Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1”—a notoriously difficult piece—with great polish and professionalism.

The evening began with Igor Stravinsky’s “Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra,” which showcased the woodwind players at their very best. The small size of the orchestra helped build an intimate atmosphere within Paine Hall.

In the first movement, a lilting flute and clarinet duet soothed away the cares of the audience, and the strings and woodwinds melded together like milk and honey.

Then the woodwinds leaped into action in the second movement, though the brass players offset their energy by playing somewhat off beat.

The strings delivered a dramatic performance in the third movement, though the brass section again writhed as if in its dying throes.

Balance was restored in the fourth movement, where the tune—inspired by the Russia of Stravinsky’s birth—smoothed out once again.

Then the orchestra performed “Night Dance Ritual” by Lim, the winner of the BachSoc’s yearly composition contest. Lim truly had a voice of her own. The piece was eerie, beginning uncertainly with a rumbling timpani. As the dissonant strings evoked a dark world—with the cellos mourning and the harp dancing—the flute flew in search of light.

Although the brass section sounded poor while tuning—a bassist could barely conceal his smirk—they were surprisingly polished at first while leading a melody, but they descended back into mediocrity.

After Lim’s masterful composition, the woodwinds—led by principal clarinetist Lee Dietterich ’10—guided the BachSoc’s rendition of Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin” with true polish. The high quality of their performance possibly has to do with the fact that this piece truly brings out the strings and woodwinds—the BachSoc’s strongest sections.

The highlight of the night, however, was the masterful performance of Albright, who won BachSoc’s concertio competition. As he swept through countless notes with flair, Albright stayed unassuming—which made it all the more refreshing. Bowed over the piano, his thin fingers gliding over the keys, he played with natural mastery. At a time when displaying excessive emotion seems in vogue among classical musicians, Albright let the music speak for itself—and the music did an excellent job of doing so.

The first movement began with legendary horn calls. Albright eased in the piano, carrying along the string section. Anxiety built up with string pizzicatos and more broken up notes from the piano—but then the orchestra transitioned back into the sweeping first melody that is so familiar.

The concerto then mellowed, and high notes from flautist Adrian L. Sanborn ’11 echoed Albright’s own. The orchestra then burst into full volume, a move that exposed the strident brass and strings sections.

The second movement began with a beautiful flute solo by Sanborn—soon joined by Albright—and ended with a solid bass pizzicato.

The third movement was more jocular—it was almost danceable. As Albright’s hands pressed down on the keys of the grand piano, the instrument became an orchestra in itself. The audience sprang into a standing ovation for the deserving Albright.

In response to the audience’s raving applause, Albright performed two encores, both of which fit his unassuming nature perfectly. First, he performed a cute variation on “Ten Thousand Men of Harvard” that he composed himself, and, after more applause, he performed Chopin’s Étude Op. 25, No. 2.

The most disappointing part of the night by far was the performance of the brass section. Nearly every time a brass instrument made a sound, the interruption would break dirsuptively through the strings and woodwinds. Perhaps this problem can be partly explained by the fact that many of the brass players that night were guests.

When Albright finished off his set, he received a pat on the back from Demirjian and the two exited together after providing their audience with an evening’s worth of masterful music.