Louis Roney: Review of Orlando Philharmonic Nov. 14 concert

On Nov. 14, my good friend Victor went with us to the Plaza Live Theater where we enjoyed a chamber concert by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mendelssohn’s “Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with fairy music whispering on the violins, started the evening.

The concert’s first half included music with whispering, trembling, shaking, repeating notes and phrases, and sometimes nothing more. A side-by-side playing of 19th century Schubert and 20th century John Adams compositions suggested the ways in which the two complemented, as well as contrasted, with each other.

John Adams’ “Shaker Loops” (1. Shaking and Trembling) came first.

Shakespeare might have said to Mr. Adams: “Your music is ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing.’” One was highly tempted to ask once more, “When does organized sound become music?”

Next came Schubert’s “The Brook’s Lullaby” from “Die schöne Müllerin (The Miller’s Beautiful Daughter).” Here was a good example of the thorough bass technique to provide the setting for Schubert’s memorable melody.

Adams’ “Shaker Loops” (IV A Final Shaking) did little, if anything, to find music in oscillating sounds (same as the first presentation). “Gretchen am Spinnrade: In (Gretchen at the spinning wheel)” Schubert promptly combines a rhythmic fundament representing the spinning wheel with flowing legato melody.

Comparison of Adams and Schubert is an interesting exercise, but leaves us with the “unanswered question” of “when sound becomes music.”

The rarely played gem Schubert’s Symphony No. 4 opened the programs final half. Curiously, this handsome work is labelled “Tragic” a word that seems a misnomer! Yes, the composition opens in a minor key, but after a short lugubrious opening, “glorious” Schubert triumphs. Eric Jacobsen had an erudite handle on things, and the orchestra sounds to my ear better than ever.