Throughout January, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra has devoted three concerts to a celebration of Beethoven and his timeless music. Many classical music lovers likely grew up listening to Beethoven, developing an thorough knowledge of his music. In fact, the man sitting next to me conducted practically ever bar of the concert with his hand in his lap; he barely missed an entrance all night. And I'm sure he wasn't alone.
It begs the question, what purpose does a mini-festival of solely Beethoven's music--with the exception of a Mozart horn concerto--serve? Personally, I can't get enough. Beethoven was history's greatest composer, and I deeply love his music. Much like the New York Philharmonic, which has presented "Brahms the Romantic" (duh, could Brahms be anything but a romantic?) and "The Tchaikovsky Experience" in recent years, the SSO now celebrates a composer we all know intimately.
For me, the series is a marketing strategy, which is perfectly reasonable. To remain viable, orchestras need to make money, and Beethoven is big business. His masterpieces put bodies in seats--a major issue for the Syracuse Symphony, which has struggled with meager attendance all year. The orchestra included several attractions not typically found at a classical music concert--a clever listening station where people could hear music "through Beethoven's ears," taking his deafness into account; a pianoforte, the type of keyboard on which Beethoven performed and composed; and a wide variety of recordings of Beethoven recordings. Ideally, orchestras should present festivals spotlighting the composers we should know more intimately--Mendelssohn, Schumann, Schubert, or one of many important 20th century masters. Bard College has done this at its summer concerts, focusing on Shostakovich, Copland, and Janacek in past season. But they are well financed; orchestras like the Syracuse Symphony will continue to program based on both artistic and monetary considerations.
The performance itself was uneven. After a plodding, sluggish reading of the Coriolan Overture, pianist William Wolfram joined the orchestra for the Second Piano Concerto, a work in Beethoven's classical style. Wolfram and conductor Daniel Hege seemed in disagreement throughout the performance, struggling to establish a consistent tempo and expressive approach. I felt that Wolfram wanted a more fluid, flexible beat and phrasing; Hege and the orchestra responded with bland, shapeless accompaniment. If the first half of the concert was a painting, the artist would have needed only one color.
After intermission, however, Hege and the musicians perked up, delivering a brisk account of the revolutionary Third Symphony, Eroica . Hege brought out many details in the score, particularly in dynamics and articulation. I disagreed with many of his choices, but it was refreshing to hear Hege more invested in the music, with something specific to convey. His gestures were intense, often punching and throwing his hands toward sections, like he wanted to start a fight with them. Unfortunately, the orchestra responded with a comparable sound--piercing, ugly, and harsh. In fact, the orchestra, especially the winds and brass, played quite poorly throughout Eroica; they suffered from sour tuning, poor tone quality, and stiff phrasing. Even when Hege tried to shape their passages, they failed to react. The strings were more in sync with Hege, but their thin sound kept them projecting any dynamic range.
The Beethoven Festival concludes on January 25 & 26 with the Second Romance for violin, Seventh Symphony, and a concert performance of Act II from Fidelio.
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