Maestro Samuel Wong called it a "poverty of words." Magnificent, stirring, profound, cathartic: Nothing comes close to describing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, one of Western civilization's greatest monuments and the focus of Honolulu Symphony's end-of-the-year concert. Beethoven’s 9th performed
perfectly in year-end concertReview by Ruth O. Bingham
Special to the Star-BulletinPerformed frequently around the globe, Beethoven's Ninth offers hope to a struggling world perpetually in need of its message: "Oh friends, not this tone of voice!" the bass chides the quarreling orchestra, "Instead, let us sing something more pleasant, more full of joy," for the magic of joy unites mankind.
Honolulu Symphony scheduled Beethoven's Ninth long before the events of Sept. 11, but as Wong pointed out, those events have altered how we hear the music. He added, "It is not about winning a holy war ... (but about asking) 'What do we have in common?' "
Wong's vision and leadership created an exceptional performance with strong definition, sculpted phrases, and excellent pacing. Wong's dramatic reading yielded numerous memorable moments: fortissimo timpani thunderbolts, attacking the fourth movement so stormily that people in the audience literally jumped in surprise, the third "before God" that raised goose bumps, the surprisingly elegant Turkish march, the hushed piety of "Do you sense the Creator, World?"
Wong chose a humanly paced Scherzo, losing some of the movement's frantic edge, but his tempo for the Andante was peerless, creating a lyricism so compelling that imagined words seemed to lie just beyond recall.
Beethoven did not so much compose for voices as he used voices to achieve certain effects. In his Ninth, the soloists deliver words and even have some nice solos, but they are not the focus, making the work somewhat ungrateful to perform.
Three of the four soloists were from Hawaii: soprano Lea Woods Friedman, with a strong, clear voice; mezzo-soprano Lorna Mount, with the least grateful part that she nonetheless sang well; and bass-baritone Quinn Kelsey, with that famous opening line. Daniel Weeks of Kentucky presented a light and pure tenor.
Most astonishing was Kelsey, still a University of Hawaii student, who has a large, velvety voice that he tempered when singing with others. He shows great promise.
Beethoven, stone deaf and living in his own world, gave nary a thought to the logistics of performing. Singers stand to face demanding music after sitting quietly for three long movements, so long that the audience tends to forget them until they rise in a flutter of music, startling everyone. Nonetheless, the Honolulu Symphony Chorus, formerly the O'ahu Choral Society and still under the direction of Timothy Carney, performed beautifully.
To partner Beethoven's Ninth, Wong chose Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 because "Bach is the source of this great Germanic tree trunk" that led through Mozart to Beethoven.
In addition to the usual strings, oboes and harpsichord, Suite No. 3 features a trio of high trumpets, which were played by Michael Zonshine, Mark Schubert and Kenneth Hafner. Tense at first, the trumpeters were best at the beginning of the Gavotte.
Wong used an orchestra of just under 40, large for Bach but small for Blaisdell. The trumpets seemed more exposed than featured and the two oboes were overpowered throughout, but Steve Dinion's tasteful timpani and Beebe Freitas' delightful harpsichord fit perfectly.
The Suite was beautifully polished, and Wong's Air was exquisite. A relatively simple piece, Air remains one of the most beautiful ever composed. It is probably too gentle and leisurely for our fast-paced world, but it settles with familiarity ever more deeply into one's soul, a wordless prayer giving voice to Bach's signature "S.D.G.": Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone the glory.
Ruth O. Bingham is a free-lance writer who has
a Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University.
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