We took in a program of Austrian and German favorites from the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra at Bing. Notably, we were treated to three encores, which might be a personal record for me. The conductor of the orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy, was an absolute showman, and the orchestra really looked like it was having fun.

They started with Verklärte Nacht by Schoenberg, which remains the only piece of his that I’ve been able to get into. Although the piece was written for string sextet, we heard a larger orchestral arrangement. The piece itself is really striking, with a a beautiful story and deeply atmospheric mood setting. I felt like the Verbier weren’t as crisp as they could’ve been here, but that might just be because I’m more used to hearing the sextet version. There were a few places where tempi changes didn’t move in unison.

Next, they did the Mahler song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). Here, they sized down the piece and did a Schoenberg arrangement for 11 people. The Baritone soloist, Johannes Kammler, was amazing. Just a beautfiul, sonorous tone throughout. Before each song, he recited a bit of the poem to the audience, and even his reading of the poetry was beautiful sounding.

The “conclusion” of the program was Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, an absolute workhorse of the German classical repertoire. All the members of the Verbier (except the celli) stood for this piece. Unlike with the Schoenberg, I felt like the Verbier were refreshingly nimble and the piece almost sounded like chamber music. I think it’s just a matter of expectations - I’m more used to hearing big large orchestras playing the Beethoven, so hearing the smaller Verbier doing it sounded better by comparison. Also, in keeping with more recent trends, they played the Beethoven at a blazingly fast tempo. The start of the last movement actually felt chaotic with their speed (in a good way).

Probably the higlight of the night is the three encores that the orchestra did. They started with Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5. Then they did a Strauss Polka, Éljen a Magyar (Long live the Magyar). Finally, they concluded with a very peaceful song in the last movement of the Fauré Requiem. I should note that throughout the evening, Takács-Nagy has been introducing the pieces to the audience in his very thick Hungarian accent. During the encores, it was clear that he was having fun, and the orchestra similarly responded. There were many smiles, both among the musicians, and in the audience. Overall, it was a memorable experience.

Topics: MusicMusic:Concerts

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