Review: Vancouver Symphony closes out the season with exciting Beethoven's 9th

iPhone photo by yours truly

It was great to see a full house at Skyview Concert Hall (June 1) for the Vancouver Symphony season finale. The parking lot was completely stuffed before concert time, and many drivers had frantic expressions on their faces as they realized that they would have to park in a nearby neighborhood.

Fortunately, a few introductory remarks allowed latecomers to find the few remaining seats before the downbeat of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This was the first time in twenty years that the VSO had played the iconic work. This time around, the orchestra collaborated with the Portland Symphonic Choir and soloists: soprano Megan Belov, mezzo-soprano Grace Skinner, tenor Katherine Goforth and baritone Anton Belov. Music Director Salvador Brotons led the musical forces, impressively directing from memory.

The first movement of the Beethoven was played extremely well with the strings fashioning an exceptionally unified sound. When the brass section made its entry, it didn’t overpower the strings. Principal timpanist Florian Conzetti pummeled the kettle drums vigorously to create thunderous eruptions.

The intertwined themes in the second movement motored along smoothly, although it would have been more interesting if the phrases could have had more shape – like sometimes tapering off a bit at the end. Sometimes the orchestral balance got a little off centered, but the intricacies of each line came through very well.

The slow and elegant third movement received lovely playing – with the spotlight falling on the very exposed passage for the four horn, which he delivered in fine style. The refined and gentle mood came to an abrupt end with the dramatic blast at the beginning of the fourth movement. That took the music in a new direction and the voices of the singers leapt into action. That led to the grand, barn-burning finale with everyone going full tilt.

The choir was stuck about as far back as possible on the stage. The acoustical shell didn’t quite close the gap on the right side. That meant that the singers had to work a bit extra to project the sound over the orchestra. No problem. They were expertly prepared by Alissa Deeter and rose to the fierce demands of the piece, which requires the sopranos to make the double-forte crest of endless high Gs and As sound easy peasy. They did that and topped it off with a beautiful, centered tone. The alto, tenors, and basses matched them with gusto. The rolled r in Bruder from the men was absolutely stunning.

The soloists soared over the heights and depths of the piece. Megan Belov excelled, but shot a little out of bounds before landing nicely on the high B at the very end of the final quartet. Both Skinner and Goforth sculpted forceful passages. Anton Belov started with a racing vibrato, but smoothed it out. The soloists were place on a small platform in front of the stage, which meant that they had to rely on the big screen behind the audience to follow the conductor. That worked well except for one moment when Brotons suddenly decided to up the tempo. Being professions, the soloists quickly adjusted, and sailed on the rest of the way.

Even though Beethoven’s Ninth is well-known, projected titles of the German text with translation would have improved the concert experience. Of course, that would have been an added expense to an already pricey production. Otherwise, a sheet with the text would have been nice, but that would mean that the lights would have been turned up. Oh well, maybe next time.

Concertgoers really paid rapt attention to the entire piece. There was applause after each movement and an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end. People didn’t just applaud for a minute and leave. They stayed and generated a cascade of cheers for an outstanding job.

Now, let’s hope that the financial outlook for the orchestra continues onward and upward so that we don’t have to wait twenty more years for the next Beethoven Ninth.