an afternoon of Brahms and Beethoven

August 7, 2005 performance, reviewed by Dave Conlin Read

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

Frequent BSO guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was on the podium for an afternoon of Brahms and Beethoven at Tanglewood, three choral works by the former, sung by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the latter's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, the first four notes of which may be the world's most recognizable music.

This was an immensely satisfying program, presented by de Burgos at a pace that allowed the audience to stay focused while the orchestra and the chorus explored far reaches of musical imagination and depths of emotion.

Despite the ponderous nature of their genesis, we had a feeling of exultation after hearing the Brahms choral works. As Michael Steinberg explained in his program notes, "The subject of these three compositions ... is divine indifference to the human condition."

In saying that, though, prehaps I'm speaking to something other than the sentiments of the composer, recognizing, instead, that although we mortals seem doomed to wreck everything, we can sure sound pretty along the way! In fact, isn't that what keeps us going - that we're all capable of reflection and compelled to expression, and that some very few of us are moved to put such great effort into communication?

The text of the first of the Brahms, "Nanie," Opus 82, written by Friedrich Schiller (whose "Ode to Joy" is at the heart of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9), full of mythological refrences, including Hades, Orpheus, Adonis, and Zeus, is pretty gloomy. But the Tanglewood Festival Chorus' performance of it was glorious, belying the poem's opening declaration "Even Beauty must die" and affirming its closing verse, "Even to be a lament in the mouth of the loved one is glorious."

"Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates)," Opus 89, was Brahms' last major work for chorus and orchestra, with text from a Goethe play, is about the imperiousness of he gods and closes with the wry image of the "banished one" who "thinks of his sons and grandsons, and shakes his head." upon hearing the "songs of old."

"Schicksalslied" ("Song of Destiny"), Opus 54, which makes no mention of song, is three verses, from Friedrich Holderlin's novel Hyperion, that simply state the opposite conditions of the "happy immortals" and "suffering humanity." Predating the others by more than a decade, this is one where the song is most deliberately framed by the orchestra, beginning only after a long languid passage from the strings and woodwinds and being followed by, in Mr. Steinberg's words, "... the wondrous serenity of Brahms's luminous orchestral postlude..."

The Boston Symphony Orchestra closed out the program with a robus rendition of what is probably the most popular work of symphonic music ever composed. Being heard at Tanglewood for the first time since 1996, Beethoven's Fifth was given an intoxicating performance, a testament both to the brilliance of the composer and to the artistry and professionalism of the musicians.

A bit of music trivia, worthy of note here because of the first half of this program, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 was the first time the trombone was included in the symphony orchestra - and the trombone is the instrument that most closely resembles the human voice!

At the close of this program, a weary expression showed the effects of Maestro deBurgos' great effort when he turned to face the applauding audience, which was intent on communicating their affection and gratitude to the musicians.

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