University of Virginia Library

Pleasant

The second half of the concert
began with Johannes Hanssen's
Valderes March, which conjured up
pleasant and nostalgic images of
summer band concerts in the park.
This work was followed by two
recent compositions, Stephens
Chmielewski's Overture and Walter
Ross's A Song to Keep Spring
Going, written especially for the
University of Virginia Concert Band
and premiered by it on Friday
evening. Both works seemed rather
bland and uninspired, but they
received thoughtful and well paced
performances.

Mr. Lazar brought the concert
to a delightful conclusion with a
well known piece of "Rotted palm"
music — the Polka and Fugue from
Jaromir Weinberger's operetta
Schwanda. I have always
particularly enjoyed the Fugue
because it gives a delightful hint of
what Bach might have done had he
chosen to write in a Bohemian folk
idiom.

Overall, Mr. Lazar's remarkable
interpretations and sense of tempo
and the superb playing of the
brasses stand out as the high points
of a first rate evening.

—Ed.)