American Classical Orchestra’s revamped opener brings fresh spirit to familiar music
On paper, the American Classical Orchestra’s Wednesday night concert in Alice Tully Hall was a standard affair. This fine period-instrument ensemble planned on launching their 40th season, with conductor Thomas Crawford at the podium, leading Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 7.
But there was a wrinkle: fortepianist Petra Somlai had a family crisis that kept her in Europe (she will play the concerto at the ACO season finale in May), so the orchestra quickly put together a new first half.
Though that meant replacing the concerto with the equally standard names Mozart and Schubert, the results were out of the ordinary. In the Andante from Mozart’s Serenade, K. 388, the Entr’acte No. 3 from Schubert’s Rosamunde, and Mozart’s Andante in C Major for Flute and Orchestra, K. 315, the ACO combined skilled musicianship with a winning stage attitude that stepped outside the constricting rituals of classical music culture.
This started with Crawford and his typical relaxed, entertaining introductions from the stage. There’s a technical value in how he primes the audience by highlighting key musical ideas in the compositions, as he did for the Beethoven symphony, and Wednesday night there was something else, a surprise. Crawford chatted about how he came up with the replacements, and spoke about his interest in numbers. Going by the year and anniversary, he tried to find music connected to both 24 and 40, and ended up with something that he didn’t announce, he just turned and cued the orchestra for the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor.
Something familiar became out of the ordinary. The playing wasn’t the crispest, but that didn’t matter with the eager spirit and verve in the performance. The simple shrugging off of printed concert program and typical bows and preparations changed the entire experience into something more like seeing a band play. With the mix of single movements that followed this was more than just a period instruments performance, it was closer to the kind of concert from the early 19th century than anything from large ensembles today. And it created the kind of sheer fun and social pleasure that every orchestra should dream about producing.
Of course, the quality of the playing was essential to this. Crawford spoke of how the woodwinds are essential to the orchestra’s sound, and the Serenade highlighted their great variety of colors, from nasal to creamy. The Entr’acte music had a lovely lyricism to it, with a shining, gentle solo from concertmaster Jessica Park. Flutist Sandra Miller came out of the ensemble for the Andante and played with a lofted, rounded tone. Despite the short preparation, the orchestra had an assured, relaxed manner to their playing, a feeling of real communication.
Crawford is expert in eliciting this. Before the end of the first half, he broke out tiny bits of the symphony, not just melodic phrases, but rhythmic ideas and key bass-lines, which is always invaluable. For casual listeners and experienced ones alike, it demonstrates how the great geniuses like Beethoven used simple means in new ways. For the former listeners, it invites deeper attention.
And so the audience was completely gripped throughout what was a terrific performance of the Seventh Symphony. The orchestra’s sound was colorful and lithe while still hefty. Rhythms were bouncy, and Crawford shaped fluid and expressive dynamics. There was great feeling in the playing, not just the vivacious forward rush in so much of the music and haunting power of the Allegretto, but deep emotions in the return of the hymn-like Trio section in the Scherzo, something not typically heard. But the entire evening was a refreshingly atypical take on a familiar formula.
Chamber ensembles from the American Classical Orchestra play Schubert’s Trout Quintet and Beethoven’s Piano Trio, Op. 70, no. 2, 7:30 p.m. October 30, at the University Club of New York. aconyc.org
One Response to “American Classical Orchestra’s revamped opener brings fresh spirit to familiar music”
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Posted Sep 20, 2024 at 8:17 am by Marget Bluefeld
The concert was an extraordinary evening! The audience delighted in every note as Tom Crawford, in his singularly informative and entertaining style, had prepared us so well. Bravo! Brava!