09
Mar
2004
Guest conductor David Effron turned toward the audience, ran his hand through his slightly wild gray hair, leaned forward for the opening Star Spangled Banner, and an afternoon of dramatic music and conducting began.
The Quad City Symphony joined Effron for a musical extravaganza celebrating dance on March 7 at Augustana’s Centennial Hall. The program was comprised of pieces by Alberto Ginastera, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Antonin Dvorak and showcased a diverse selection of dance meters, dynamics, and rhythms.
Effron, who has more than 40 years of conducting and instructing experience, provided a visual interpretation of the music, throwing himself into each rhythm and dynamic change, sometimes dancing a bit himself. Effron’s interaction with the audience minimized the separation of concertgoers and performers. Between the fourth and fifth movements of Sleeping Beauty, a few members of the audience began clapping, thinking the piece was over. “We’ve got one more,” Effron said to the crowd. “When they stop playing, I stop conducting.”
Each selection on the program was taken from a dance or had dance elements. Estancia, by Ginastera, was written in 1941 and is comprised of selections from his ballet of the same name. The four-movement piece follows the story of a country girl who wants her citified would-be suitor to prove he understands her life by completing challenges of country labor. The movements, The Land Workers, Wheat Dance, The Cattlemen, and the Final Dance, are inspired by folk music and are filled with repetitive rhythms, flitting winds, zipping runs, and disjointed meter patterns. Strong rhythms from the entire orchestra joined diverse instrumentation to convey a wild, yet beautiful, feel.
Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty was a melodic change from Ginastera’s work. The music follows the tale we know and love, from the carefree start through the evil middle, during which the beauty is cursed to die on her 20th birthday, to the glorious end when the prince kisses her awake from an enchanted sleep. Filled with light waltzes, the harp and woodwind section took the lead for much of the piece, conveying the feel of each movement with passionate dynamics and technical skill.
After the intermission, Effron jumped right into the most dramatic piece of the concert, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6. This surprising piece kept me on the edge of my seat. Each time I felt almost comfortable in a key, mode, or dynamic, Dvorak switched into a minor key or threw in a contrasting blaring section to keep me on-edge. Throughout, Dvorak introduced short melody lines, sometimes only a few measures in length, and then experimented with the line’s sound, changing dynamics, instrumentation, and key. The woodwinds took the lead with solos and ensemble playing, especially during the second movement; however, the melodic parts of the piece were interspersed with accelerating rhythmic sections, accented by the booming tympani. Fast, minor, and dissonant, the third movement began with a bang, followed by a more melodic section and then a return of the theme in a minor key. Nearing the end of the fourth movement, Dvorak seemed to play with the audience, leading up to what sounded like a conclusion several times before the final blazing chords ended the piece. The audience jumped to their feet, some cheering aloud for the symphony and its guest conductor.
I appreciated this concert’s casual, fun feel and Effron’s interaction with the symphony and the audience. The pieces’ pulsating rhythms and constantly changing movements were more awe-inspiring than relaxing, but I enjoyed the symphony’s ability to excellently execute a variety of styles under the hand of the visiting conductor.
The Quad City Symphony joined Effron for a musical extravaganza celebrating dance on March 7 at Augustana’s Centennial Hall. The program was comprised of pieces by Alberto Ginastera, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Antonin Dvorak and showcased a diverse selection of dance meters, dynamics, and rhythms.
Effron, who has more than 40 years of conducting and instructing experience, provided a visual interpretation of the music, throwing himself into each rhythm and dynamic change, sometimes dancing a bit himself. Effron’s interaction with the audience minimized the separation of concertgoers and performers. Between the fourth and fifth movements of Sleeping Beauty, a few members of the audience began clapping, thinking the piece was over. “We’ve got one more,” Effron said to the crowd. “When they stop playing, I stop conducting.”
Each selection on the program was taken from a dance or had dance elements. Estancia, by Ginastera, was written in 1941 and is comprised of selections from his ballet of the same name. The four-movement piece follows the story of a country girl who wants her citified would-be suitor to prove he understands her life by completing challenges of country labor. The movements, The Land Workers, Wheat Dance, The Cattlemen, and the Final Dance, are inspired by folk music and are filled with repetitive rhythms, flitting winds, zipping runs, and disjointed meter patterns. Strong rhythms from the entire orchestra joined diverse instrumentation to convey a wild, yet beautiful, feel.
Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty was a melodic change from Ginastera’s work. The music follows the tale we know and love, from the carefree start through the evil middle, during which the beauty is cursed to die on her 20th birthday, to the glorious end when the prince kisses her awake from an enchanted sleep. Filled with light waltzes, the harp and woodwind section took the lead for much of the piece, conveying the feel of each movement with passionate dynamics and technical skill.
After the intermission, Effron jumped right into the most dramatic piece of the concert, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6. This surprising piece kept me on the edge of my seat. Each time I felt almost comfortable in a key, mode, or dynamic, Dvorak switched into a minor key or threw in a contrasting blaring section to keep me on-edge. Throughout, Dvorak introduced short melody lines, sometimes only a few measures in length, and then experimented with the line’s sound, changing dynamics, instrumentation, and key. The woodwinds took the lead with solos and ensemble playing, especially during the second movement; however, the melodic parts of the piece were interspersed with accelerating rhythmic sections, accented by the booming tympani. Fast, minor, and dissonant, the third movement began with a bang, followed by a more melodic section and then a return of the theme in a minor key. Nearing the end of the fourth movement, Dvorak seemed to play with the audience, leading up to what sounded like a conclusion several times before the final blazing chords ended the piece. The audience jumped to their feet, some cheering aloud for the symphony and its guest conductor.
I appreciated this concert’s casual, fun feel and Effron’s interaction with the symphony and the audience. The pieces’ pulsating rhythms and constantly changing movements were more awe-inspiring than relaxing, but I enjoyed the symphony’s ability to excellently execute a variety of styles under the hand of the visiting conductor.
