Press

January 21st, 2010

Review of the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra concert of November 22, 2009.

By Jerome K. Stephens

This was the first concert of the 2009-2010 concert season by the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Susan Davenny Wyner. This was on Sunday afternoon, November 22, 2009, at Christ Episcopal Church. The concert was titled “Stories and Pictures!” A Family Concert. The program was varied, and mainly aimed at a younger audience. The centerpiece of the concert was Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf, narrated by David Vosburgh, the General Manager and Production Director of Opera Western Reserve.

Lone wolves are dangerous. Because they are not part of a pack they are always hungry, never having enough to eat, and have no inhibitions as to how they find food. Such a starving animal plays a central role in Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf. Prokofiev composed this story of how a young Russian boy and his animal friends outsmart a wolf in 1936. It was done for the Moscow Children's Theatre Center, and he wrote the narration himself. Prokofiev was a very difficult man in his relations with his colleagues, but he was always at ease with children, and wrote many compositions for them. Peter and the Wolf is the best known of these. It is somewhat atypical among his compositions in that it follows classical forms more closely than in most of his works. The best description I have found is that while the narrator tells the story, the orchestra gives illustrations like those in a picture book.

The illustrations are pictured by different instruments of the orchestra., wach character havinf a distinct sound and theme. Peter’s theme is played by the string section, Peter’s grandfather ,y a bassoon, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet, and the wolf by the horns.

Peter and the Wolf was the highlight of the afternoon. The orchestra was of the size Prokofiev had in mind for this. The performance was very good, and if the Warren Philharmonic wished to record something to show themselves off to the world, this would be it.

The concert opened with the “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from George Friedrich Handel’s oratorio “Solomon.” It opens the third part of the oratorio and is a sprightly short piece of festive music.

I obtained a recording of “Solomon” done by Sir Thomas Beecham many years ago. I found the work interesting, but, except for passages such as the above mentioned entr’acte, the work didn’t “grab” me as others by Handel have. It may have been Beecham. It has been said that like the little girl with the little curl in the middle of her forehead, when he (Beecham) was good, he was very very good, but when he was bad, he was horrid.. I played the recording once, and it has stayed on the shelf ever since.

Intermission was devoted to what was called an Instrument Petting Zoo. The idea behind this is to give the audience, especially the children and their parents a chance to talk to the musicians and examine, and even try out, their instruments.. It has been good public relations for the orchestra over the years. There was also a display of the artwork done by the schoolchildren based on the theme of “Peter and the Wolf.”

Before the orchestra returned for the second half of the program, there was a group that sang “You Are Music” to a piano accompaniment as a salute to the teachers and school children.

He second part of the concert included operatic arias and a duet, plus two opera overtures. The soloists for these were Brian Keith Johnson, baritone, and Dione Parker Bennett, soprano. Brian Johnson has performed extensively around the country in opera and oratorio performances. He is a Warren native who I first heard in a performance of the Fauré Requiem in March of 2000 with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. He also was the baritone soloist in that superb performance of the Verdi Requiem at Stambaugh Auditorium in April 2008, which was conducted by Maestra Wyner.

Dione Parker Bennett was heard earlier in November in the role of Micaela in the Opera Western Reserve production of Carmen. She is a native of Ohio, and is currently on the faculty of Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio.

Both soloists sang superbly, as befitted their now extensive professional experience. Mr. Johnson has come a long way since I first heard him in the Fauré Requiem.

The prelude to Bizet’s Carmen opened the second part. This is a standard concert piece, which was played very well, even though to many of the musicians it must have become “old hat” since the performance of the opera Carmen earlier in the month.

This was followed by MS Bennett’s performance of the aria, “Je dis que rien m’épouvante” from the opera Carmen. Mr. Johnson followed with a spirited rendition of “Largo al factotum” from Rossini’s Barber of Seville.

Musetta’s Waltz song from Puccini’s La Boheme followed, also done superbly by MS Bennett, and Mr. Johnson performed another Puccini aria. This last was the tonally very dark “Nulla, Silenzio” from Il Tabarro.

The two soloists concluded their part of the concert with a dued from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The Rossini overture is remembered by some as including the opening theme of the "Lone Ranger" radio broadcasts, and from early television programs. (However, that was not the only music played. The frequently played musical themes used it those broadcasts also included Liszt's "Les Preludes" and the second movement from Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7")

An afternoon at that concert was an afternoon well spent. More should take advantage of them through the season.