This past weekend, the American University Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert of the spring semester in the Abramson Family Recital Hall at the Katzen Arts Center.
The concert featured the AUSO 2006-2007 Concerto and Aria Competition cowinners Laura Petravage and Josiah Lambert, as well as the debut of guest conductor Anna Binneweg. Cellist Lara Mones, a College of Arts and Sciences graduate student, said she was pleased with how the program turned out under the interim conductor.
"Anna has been wonderful to work with," she said. "Thanks to her solid preparation and the focus and hard work of all of the orchestra members, I think the concert was a great success."
The performance opened with two brief pieces featuring mezzo-soprano Petravage. She sang "Parto, Parto" from "La Clemenza di Tito" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and "Va! Laisse couler mes larmes" from "Warther" by Jules Massenet, with accompaniment from the orchestra.
This was followed by soloist Josiah Lambert playing "Movement No. 1" from Samuel Barber's "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra." These selections impressed one member of the crowd.
"I might not be a music expert, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of those songs," Brad Benson, 1964 AU graduate and concertgoer, said.
Benson and his wife were invited to the concert by AU alumni and orchestra member Melissa Sims. This was their first time in the Katzen Arts Center and they thought it was a great venue for the orchestra.
"I really love the building and this is a great place for the orchestra to play," Benson said. "We haven't even had a chance to walk around and see it all yet."
After intermission, the orchestra played "Symphony No. 5 in E Minor" by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. According to the program notes, this was the first symphony Tchaikovsky wrote after the death of a close friend and one written while Tchaikovsky believed he was losing his creative powers.
Although Tchaikovsky dealt with depression and death, the fifth symphony is never monotonous. The first movement uses syncopation and cross-rhythms to hide the rhythmic drive within the greater tonal theme.
Binneweg said it was a perfect symphony to play because it is filled with rich string writing.
"It such a tuneful symphony," Binneweg said. "It is one of the pieces that you will be singing in your head long after you are done listening to it."
Binneweg also said it was appropriate for its cyclical nature.
"Many of the same musical themes come back throughout symphony. It makes it a lot more interesting for the performers," she said.
Mones concurred. "The orchestra seemed to really get into the four very different pieces that we performed and we had a lot of fun up on stage making music," she said.
The AU Symphony Orchestra will next perform with the American University Chorus on April 25 through 29 and will be performing Brahms' "Requiem"
