Summer just isn’t summer without the local River Concerts at Southern Maryland’s Cote de Crabbe. The first concert of the season, entitled “Birthday Boys”, opened on Friday, June 18th at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on a gorgeous late spring evening with near perfect temperatures and a large crowd of music lovers.
The theme of the concert celebrated the 200th birthday of Robert Schumann and the 100th birthday of Samuel Barber. Maestro Jeffrey Silberschlag opened with Schumann’s “Konzertstucke for Horns”, featuring a quartet of French horns. The piece had 3 movements beginning with the horns playing mostly in unison with some repeating melodies, and later moving into more separate parts, showing off the dexterity of the soloists. The highlight of the presentation was Samuel Barber’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra”, featuring world prize winning pianist Jeffrey Chappell. Mr. Chappell studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory and Curtis Institute and performed at Carnegie Hall, Wolf Trap Park, Rio de Janeiro and Japan, just to mention a few of his many accomplishments. The Barber Concerto featured 3 movements beginning with Allegro Appassionato, which had lots of pouncing jerky notes and dissonant strings. Jeffrey Silberschlag called it “dark and smoky”. There was an oboe solo, followed by harp, lots of repeating melodies through different sections of the orchestra, some almost pounding piano notes which later resolved into a lighter more tuneful section. Mr. Chappell played many fast paced sections which showed off his skill with lots of crossed hands.
In the middle, there was a more melodic section with a piano part that reminded me of flowing water. The Allegro Molto started out fast with a bang, and was again dissonant. One section sounded like an army on the march followed by some dancing flutes.
There was a strong ending, followed by much applause and a standing ovation for the talented Mr. Chappell. The Finale was Robert Schumann’s “Symphony No. 1 ‘Spring'”, appropriate for a concert a few days before the beginning of summer. The four movement piece began with a sunnier pleasant sound with lots of strings and flute, which turned into a lively romp. Later the music was a little more “held back” then dancelike and playful. Jeffrey Silberschlag ended with an aside about the Chesapeake Orchestra as if he was teaching a music class to the audience. “They’ve been very good tonight and so have you, so I’m going to let you go home before dark.” A rare occurrence, since the concerts typically end in darkness.
Next week’s concert on Friday, June 25th features compositions by Strauss, Ponce (with guitar by Orlando Roman), Mozart (featuring Giuseppe Nova on flute and Floraleda Sacchi or harp) and Stravinsky. (Jeffrey Chappell pictured)
