HK Guber's eccentric Frankenstein!! highlights Oregon Symphony concert

It was a mixed bag sort of evening at the Oregon Symphony’s concert on October 30 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The program, led by the orchestra’s new music director, David Danzmayr, offered a musical sampler of German and Austrian nougats that ranged from the high Baroque to contemporary music. But no piece topped the uniqueness of HK Gruber’s “Frankenstein!!” with the composer himself as soloist.

Laced with sardonic humor that bordered at times on the macabre, “Frankenstein!!,” (subtitled “A Pan-demonium for Baritone Chansonnier and Ensemble after Children’s Rhymes”) used text by Hans Carl Artmann to warn against monsters, vampires, werewolves, and the like. That fell in the tradition of “Max and Moritz” and Grimm’s “Fairy Tales.” Gruber’s Sprechstimme – from falsetto highs to basement-basso lows – terrifically conveyed the teasing, cheeky text that caused some chuckles from the audience. He skillfully commanded an array of toy instruments that included a slide whistle and a tiny bugle.

The orchestra supported Gruber with glee from the get-go with timpanist Jonathan Greeney blowing up, popping, and tossing paper bags into the horn section. The musicians doubled the fun with melodicas and colorful whirligigs. At one point they stood up – with the strings using their bows to make the sign of the cross – and sang a ditty about stopping an attack by a baby vampire. Overall, “Frankenstein!!” created some mirth in a nod to Halloween, but, as the program notes mentioned, it may have some subtext that questions who the real monsters are.

Another highlight of the evening should have been Bach’s Concerto in C minor for Oboe, Violin and String Orchestra, but it was difficult to hear the soloists, Martin Hébert and Sarah Kwak. It seemed that the new Constellation Sound System was turned off or that the accompanying string section was just too large. Hébert’s elegant and rich tone and Kwak’s silky lines came through best during the pianissimo sections, and it was impossible to hear the harpsichord except for the very last chord at the end of a phrase. One of the coolest moments in the piece came when Hébert reached over to Kwak’s music stand to turn a page of her score while he was holding at note. I’ve never seen that before!

Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”) received a superb performance by the orchestra, replete with dynamic contrasts that made each passage in the piece intriguing and delicious to hear. The beautiful duet in the third movement was outstandingly played by flutist Martha Long and oboist Karen Wagner. Danzmayr’s dazzling conducting contributed to the stellar effort by his colleagues. Dipping, stretching, crouching – you name it - every gesture was distinct and perfect for the each phrase and never repeated. Amazing!

The concert concluded with an impressive rendition of Johann Strauss Jr’s “Kaiser Walzer” (“Emperor Waltzes”). Again, the orchestra excelled with dynamics, delivering dramatically bold statements and delicate diminuendos among many other nuances that sent the audience out the door with a smile.