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Mozart treatment
lacked fireMozart for the Millennium: Repeats 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets $15 to $50. Call 792-2000.
By Ruth O. Bingham
Special to the Star-BulletinALL-Mozart concerts remain a staple of symphonic repertoire in part because they celebrate "timeless quality" in the midst of constant change and pay homage to classical music's "greatest genius," all the while discretely commenting on the relative quality of new music. In fact, Mozart concerts have come to symbolize the late 20th century in a way its own classical music has not.
Yesterday, Honolulu Symphony presented its version, "Mozart for the Millennium," featuring new French horn principal Ken Friedenberg in his soloist debut, performing Mozart's Concerto No. 4, K. 495.
Playing French horn is not, and cannot be physically demonstrative: extraneous movement disturbs the performer's embouchure (mouth position) and the French horn is an unusually unforgiving instrument. Audiences are forced to listen not with their eyes, as they can in so many concertos, but with their ears and hearts alone.
Friedenberg stood stock still before the orchestra, his reddened face the only sign of how hard he was working, a very sweet, warm tone like melted chocolate flowing smoothly from his horn. His playing, which suited Mozart beautifully, remained well within traditional "Classical restraint" bounds, only hinting tantalizingly at more strident tones in his arsenal.
Friedenberg shone as brightly in lyrical passages as in technical displays, leaping between octaves and running through arpeggios. He even shone in the musically less-than-stellar first movement cadenza.
The high point was Friedenberg's rendition of the final movement, a popular romp, with its creative and varied returns to a hunting theme.
The concert included "Serenata Notturna," K. 239, for strings and timpani, a gem that maestro Samuel Wong dedicated to "all our dear mothers here today," and two symphonies, the Haffner, No. 35 K. 385, and the Linz, No. 36 K. 425.
Wong reduced the orchestra to about 40 musicians, more than as originally scored, but better in balance with today's larger auditoriums and brighter, more powerful instruments.
A smallish orchestra, coupled with Mozart's transparent orchestration, means more exposed playing, a feature that makes Mozart surprisingly difficult to play well. Every part sounds like a solo. Wobbles in intonation, imbalances and occasional questionable sounds made their not-entirely-unexpected appearances but remained thankfully momentary.
The Serenade exuded Austrian gemütlichkeit (geneality) in opposing a string orchestra against a rare quartet of principals: Ignace Jang (first violin), Hung Wu (second violin), Mark Butin (viola) and Kirby Nunez (bass). Nunez's subtle support was particularly impressive.
The symphonies were ... well, Mozart, so of course lovely.
Beneath Mozart's surface beauty, however, lies passion, joy, humor, even pain. Yesterday's concert settled for "nice": there were more than the usual number of nodding heads, at least until the final movement of the Haffner, when Wong broke free from that tyranny of niceness to reveal Mozart's inner fire.
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