Brilliant riffs on Mozart concerto

From The Register-Guard
By James Bash

In a concert that nicely juxtaposed the music of W.A. Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, conductor Jeffrey Kahane inspired the Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus in exceptional performances that deserved a larger audience.

Inside the Hult Center on Wednesday evening, Kahane and Company again plumbed the depths of challenging works with the intellect and artistry found only at other major music festivals.

Unfortunately, the sullen and drizzly weather outside didn't encourage more folks to fill the cozy confines of Silva Hall. The no-shows missed a concert that would have warmed their earlobes and brought sunshine to their hearts as well.

Opening the program with Mozart's Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, Kahane directed the Festival Orchestra with comprehensive understanding of Mozart's brilliant, yet deceptively difficult music. Kahane led the musicians from the keyboard of a 9-foot Fazioli, which he played flawlessly and with super-smooth fluidity.

The orchestra accompanied him with grace and elegance, bringing out various textures of the piece. The superb flute playing of Adam Kuenzel deserved special praise.

During the first and third movements, the orchestra stopped playing so that Kahane could improvise - as Mozart would have done back in his day. For his first improvisation, Kahane reeled off a stunningly beautiful fantasia in a Mozartian style that included themes from the movement. Toward the end of his solo he brought in the timpani, played with just the right touch by Charles Dowd, which made a charming and unusual duet before bringing the rest of orchestra.

Kahane's second improvisation was equally classy and poignant, which he enhanced with delicious pauses. Kahane made it all look so easy and natural, and he directed the concert and played the piano from memory, too. Wow!

After intermission, the Bach Festival Chorus and a quartet of soloists collaborated with Kahane and the Festival Orchestra to perform Beethoven's Mass in C Major, which he wrote at the age of 37 in 1807 as a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, who was F.J. Haydn's patron. The Mass does contain some of Beethoven's individual voice, but it doesn't seem to hint all that much to his great Symphony No. 5, which he completed just one year later in 1808.

Although there are no big solo arias in this work, each of the soloists added color and texture to the music. Soprano Elissa Johnston, alto Roxana Constantinescu and bass Leon Williams were joined by tenor Corby Welch, who filled in for an ailing James Taylor. Together, they provided a sound that was beautiful and well-matched to each other and to the rest of the ensemble.

The Festival Chorus also exhibited a marvelous blend throughout the piece, balancing the sound of each section with care. The choir also expertly articulated the text, spitting out their Latin so that the audience could easily follow along with the aid of the supertitles above the proscenium. The credo, in particular, can always be a juggernaut with a lot of words, including tough ones such as consubstantialem (of one substance), but the choir handled it all superbly.

Kahane directed the combined forces of choir, orchestra and soloists confidently and with style, selecting excellent tempi and making sure that the entire enterprise held together. I was especially impressed with his deft ability to alternate between the baton and using only his hands.

An older couple next to me thought that this was the first time that Kahane had directed the Festival Chorus. If that is true, let's hope that it's not the last.