A POP-CLASSICAL FUSION THAT WORKED
Orchestra, Trio Together on a Level Playing Field
By D. Rane Danubian
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
and dance
Week of April 17-24, 2011
Vol. 13, No. 91
OAKLAND---The
Oakland East Bay Symphony commissioned four world premieres over the
past 12
months, seeking out composers from totally different genres---pop,
jazz, Latino. Finally, with the
last one on April 15, Scott Amendola, 41, achieved a desired fusion of
the two
media in his gratifying new 27-minute “Fade to Orange.”
The other
composers had tiptoed gingerly around the orchestra and used it
either as prelude or as background, attaining more a oil-and-water
concoction
than any real mix. Amendola however got the orchestra into
the heart of the action, without his
electric trio drowning them all out. Reveries in fact
dominated---sometimes
sustained orchestral tones, sometimes with the serenity of distant
strings,
with repetitions of a lyrical glissando melody. He spun an atmosphere,
with a
slow three-note brass ostinato dominating the opening movement.
Along the way,
Amendola tapped away on his stage-set drums
and put the audio through electronic loops repeating patterns. His
sidemen on
guitar and electric bass added improvisations, with furied tremolos
before the
fury abated once again and the piece exited with restrained
composure. And the guide dog in the center aisle, who
I thought
woujld have his ears standing on end, remained in seeming passive
ecstasy lying down.
Clearly,
Amendola had more than done his homework in
orchestration, and the result reflected that input. But
as soloist, he also showed his prowess
with flying drumsticks, while Music Director Michael Morgan held the
entire mélange
together from the podium. Although glass-screen sonic
baffles were mounted around the trio to
protect
orchestra members’ ears (raising my decibel-apprehension level to 120
db), the
sound intensity was far below those ear-drum-break levels you might
have feared.
So clearly,
“Fade to Orange”
was one of the rare successes of pop-classical fusion, giving the bold
OEBS experiment some impetus
to trying future ventures.
Music Director
Morgan is dull to watch on the podium, but he
gets the job done in rehearsal---all the nuances, crescendos, and
fade-outs that
provide so much added dimension to performance. Oakland is lucky to have him. And
other conductors
could take lessons on how to turn pre-concert announcements into
endearment and
humor rather than boredom.
The concert
ended with Tchaikovsky’s massive Symphony No. 4,
with brasses giving a Russian twist to the “blows of fate” recalled
from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 half a century earlier. (Credit Stuart
Gronningen and his horn brigade, among others, for stirring
play.) This piece is as if tailor-made for the
Paramount, resonating to
the farthest corners of the mighty massive structure. But it
suited the guide dog perfectly as he reclined in total relaxation mode,
savoring that nice piece of counterpoint by the cellos in the opening
movement. Perhaps he's a music critic too??
Oakland East Bay Symphony,
Michael Morgan music director, April 15 at the Paramount
Theater, Oakland.
For info: (510) 444-0801, or go online.
©D. Rane Danubian 2011
#
D. Rane Danubian has been
covering
the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with
relish
-- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)
will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local
artists as well.
#
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