Spring Concert of Stamford Symphony and Greenwich Choral Society a Mixed Blessing

By Linda Phillips

In the tradition of its annual collaborative pre-Easter concert, the Stamford Symphony and Greenwich Choral Society presented two works by wildly disparate composers, John Cage and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The pairing was a jarring juxtaposition for listeners, as the minimalist, 20th century Glass work preceded an oddly musically unbalanced Mozart Requiem.

Preceded by a welcome and a call for support from Barbara Soroca, CEO and President of the Stamford Symphony, Conductor Eckart Preu welcomed the audience and gave opening remarks, posing the question of what the works and composers had in common, then answering …”nothing”.

Scored for a small string ensemble, the Symphony #3 of Glass is textbook minimalism, meditative, with repeated pulses, hints of Gregorian chants, and cellular figures. Langsam and sehnsuchtsvoll, as the first movement is mysteriously titled in German, was repetitive with slight variation, some mild dissonance in brasses and some pizzicato in the strings, reminding us of the era of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

Allegro, with its robust opening and ascending scales, sounded like a draft, as indecorous as it was unmelodic. Interesting strumming and plucking and high energy informed, but the movement was analogous to falling asleep or going unconscious, set to music. Adagio featured string twaddling, with the slightest variations in tonality and harmony. The dynamics of this movement were good, the first violin in minor key, and a melody erupted, moving to second violin, then third and 4th, swelling eventually to all six strings when something like harmony broke out.

The finale was whirring, energetic and seaching, and the entire work was characterized by half note intervals, a Glass trademark. The music ended “not with a bang, but a whimper.”

The Greenwich Choral Society in full complement (Director Paul Mueller among the singers) took the stage for the profound and moving Mozart Requiem k. 626, with four fine soloists: Rachel Rosales, soprano, Teresa Buchholz, mezzo, Rufus Müller, and Mischa Bouvier, who all sang movingly.

Opening the Introius with bassoon and clarinet, the deeply emotional work turned the Palace Theatre into a cathedral, heralding Easter. The Kyrie Eleison, a powerful paean, and featuring interaction between choral sections and orchestra, was beautiful, ending with its deceptive cadence and a caesura.

Sequentia featured bass Bouvier, in a quiet interplay with trombone, joined by the ringing voice of tenor Müller, then Mezzo soprano Bucholz and soprano Rosales, voices clarion clear in a lovely quartet. Offertorium featured the chorus, While Sanctus was scored for singers in counterpoint.

The Agnus Dei, profound and punctuated by kettle drum was sacred, and the closing Communio called upon eternal light, opened by mezzo soprano, joined by the chorus.

This massive and eternal work was somewhat out of balance, the chorus oversounding the orchestra, and the trombones less than integrated, often blaring.

With a Mozart work that transcended the concert hall, the Stamford Symphony and Greenwich Choral Society nonetheless brought us an inspiring concert. The two conductors, Messrs. Preu and Mueller, were given standing ovations and applause.

For upcoming spring performances of the Stamford Symphony, go to www.stamfordsymphony.org, and Greenwich Choral Society, www.Greenwich Choralsociety.org.

*Linda Phillips’ classical music reviews have won four “Best Column of the Year” awards from the Connecticut Press Club, and have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism. She is the author of the novel, “To The Highest Bidder,” also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

Contributed photo: Stamford Symphony Orchestra Maestro Eckert Preu.