Garden State Philharmonic Presents: Master

Garden State Philharmonic Presents: Master Works IV

Sitting quietly reading my program for the evening, I notice the first piece will be the Overture of the Bartered Bride. I do remember that this is a piece from a comic opera by Bohemian composer Bedrich Semtana. Most overtures are written as an afterthought of an opera but Semtana thought so much of the lovely story of the opera (a love story that comes out with a positive twist) that he wrote the overture before he wrote the rest of the opera. I am anxious to experience this piece with the Garden State Philharmonic.

The lights are dimming and Maestro Anthony LaGruth is advancing towards the podium. A thunderous applause erupts and Maestro LaGruth turns to take an appreciated bow. He turns and is now tapping his baton impatiently, calling the entire orchestra to attention. The quiet is then interrupted by strings; violins, cellos as if there were thousands of bees singing happy melodies. The quiet sounds now burst into a forte; full sounding music of dance and merriment. I am enjoying this happy, uplifting music with great fervor.

The cellos are now leading the orchestra giving a heavy, boisterous sound, including drums. The lighter violin strings are playing giving way to drums and going back and forth from wind instruments and then drums ushering in the light dance music again. The maestro is weaving back and forth as he passionately brings full orchestra into a resounding conclusive forte. The audience is now whistling and applauding as Maestro LaGruth is bowing to the audience and then to his famous orchestra.

The Bartered Bride was first performed May 30, 1866 in Prague. It is a lively entertaining story of a young rural girl who outwits her family and her marriage broker to marry the son of a wealthy landowner whom she loves instead of marrying his half-witted brother whom her family wants her to marry.

Bedrich Smetana was a pioneer of a music style which identified with his country's aspirations of independence. In his homeland of Czechoslovakia he is known as the father of Czech music. He was a gifted pianist and had his first concert at the age of six.

He started his career in Prague but became entangled in the politics of the Prague uprising in 1846. He then left for Sweden and in Gothenburg became a teacher and conductor. This is where he began writing his large scale orchestral works.

When the politics began to become more liberal in Bohemia, he returned to Prague. That is when he premiered two of his first operas the "Brandenburgs of Bohemia" and "The Bartered Bride" in 1866.

In 1874, he became completely deaf but was able to continue composing until the end of his life. Unfortunately in 1884, he had a mental collapse which led him to an asylum and then subsequent death.

I see now that Alex Chang is approaching center stage with his cello. According to my program he will be playing David Popper's Opus 24 in E minor.

The applause was deafening as Mr. Chang sat down and carefully steadied his cello between his knees. As he began playing David Popper's Opus 24 E minor I could see why the audience was so anxious to hear him play. The soleful sounds from his cello were exact and compelling. The first few chords were almost "crying" with his passionate rendition of the famous David Popper's Opus.

The piece began then to turn into a more active almost "upbeat" sound as the second movement of the piece. Amazingly, the cello seemed to speak as if it were telling a sad tale in the rural parts of Czechoslovakia.

Composer David Popper was born in Prague and studied at the Prague Conservatory. He studied the cello under Julius Golterman. He made his first tour in 1863 in Germany and was praised by Hans Von Bulow, son-in-law of Franz Liszt. He made his debut in Vienna in 1867 and was the principal cellist at Hopofer. Popper resigned his post at Hopofer to tour with his wife for larger scale concerts throughout Europe. An old edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians stated that he "His tone is large and full of sentiment; his execution highly finished, and his style classical."

He later died in Baden.

I found the most amazing part of the cello solo the mood changing with the fingers sliding effortlessly down the cello. Popper was a master at writing with ranges from low to extremely high. His fingering was perfection and brought a sadness to the audience. It was definitely the highlight of the concert. At the conclusion of the piece, Mr. Chang rose quietly bowing to the audience and praising with his gestures the fine work of the orchestra behind him.

The final piece of the evening, according to my program, is Antonin Dvorak's 7th Symphony in D Minor. The Maestro is now adjusting his stance from the audience, returning to the attention of his orchestra while tapping, again, his baton impatiently demanding the full attention upon himself.

The audience is hushed in anticipation of the next Master's piece. As the baton is raised the cellists began their performance, followed by the flutes and piccolos. The audience could feel the emotional turbulence that Dvorak had composed in this piece.

This symphony was the only one he had ever composed under commission. He had hoped that this symphony would be the one that would be "stirring the world." Listening to the changes with each movement and the fervor in which the orchestra is playing out that theme, I believe that he did execute exactly what he intended.

This symphony was written in four movements. The first is the Allegro Maestoso, "fast and lively," between 120 and 168 beats per minute. The Garden State Philharmonic does indeed hold to the fast and lively portion of this piece.

The second is Poco Adagio meaning "slightly" or "little." This movement is so much more of a "slow, walking pace." The orchestra led this piece from lively to "little" with a smooth bridge of perfection.

The third is scherzo: Vivace -- Poco meno mosso meaning, "little by little." This movement was soothing but inspiring. It begins to build "un poco a poco." The feeling is getting larger and larger but not in sudden surge. Towards the end of the movement, the drums bring the listener into a largo, ready for the finale.