University of Virginia Library

Hague Orchestra
Borders On Brilliant

By Roy Bonavita

Two of the most famous orchestral
works in the classical repertory
comprised the major portion
of a concert given by the Hague
Philharmonic Orchestra in University
Hall on the 19th of January. It
was also the opening musical event
of the University's Sesquicentennial,
and a large number of state
and local dignitaries were rightly in
attendance for the concert.

In the concert, the outstanding
characteristics of a full symphony
orchestra were highlighted; indeed,
this orchestra borders on the brilliant
in its interpretations of
Mozart's "Prague" Symphony and
Beethoven's Seventh.

The easiest comparisons, in light
of this year's schedule, would be
made with the National Orchestra
of Paris. It is also the most enlightening
comparison since it indicates
the strengths of both groups. They
are very different. The Hague has
achieved, doubtless through its
close work with Dr. Otterloo, a
special kind of sound that is most
pleasing to certain tastes who like a
more "gusty" sound in string playing
than would presently be found
in the Paris Orchestra. The question
is really one of the type of music
sought, of style which is necessarily,
and happily, unprovable. The
Hague does not have the very sick
patina that is even now a hallmark
of the Paris Orchestra. The question
of authentic Mozart, moreover, has
been bandied about for many years.
It is much easier to accept Mozart
as a state of mind, and enjoy or not
within that acceptance. In this
performance one had authenticity,
beautiful pacing, and orchestral
fullness of sound rarely achieved. It
was extraordinarily musicianly, and
this is a particular gift of the Hague.

All Beethoven is popular with
concert-goers. The Seventh
Symphony is performed less frequently
than most. The Hague's
reading of the Seventh ran the
spectrum from somewhat disorganized
(the repeat within the Allegretto)
to absolutely first rate renditions
of the first and fourth
movements. Dr. Otterloo is one of
the very great interpreters of Beethoven.
He has long been renowned
in Europe as such, and has a
faithful following in this country,
principally from his recordings in
the early LP days.

Do not regard this performance
as a perfect example of his work
with Beethoven; it was nearly perfect.
Dr. Otterloo did achieve some
splendid effects within the performance.
The violin section was uncooperative
at times, and the admonitions
from the maestro could
be heard as well as seen from seats
in the lower house. This was particularly
true in the second movement,
when he had to wave the
violins down to a manageable level
of rapport with the rest of the
orchestra. They responded, but the
damage had been done.

The first and fourth movements
were inspired and held the audience
at a gripping level. The inter-choral
contrasts of these movements are
some of Beethoven's most demanding
music, and the Hague responded
to the maestro's well-chosen speeds.
Dr. Otterloo pays meticulous attention
to shaping of melody, but
allows his players enough time to
phrase well. It was the misuse of
that time by the players that caused
the brief difficulty in the second
movement.

The best part of the program
was the first, and it has been saved
to the last since it deserves the most
attention. The University was
treated to an exceptionally fine
Sinfonietta and Sixteen Wind Instruments
composed by Willem Van
Otterloo. Leonard Bernstein and
Pierre Boulez are conducting composers;
I have the feeling that Van
Otterloo is a composing conductor,
not despite the brilliance of his
Sinfonietta and other works, but
because he enjoys the intimacy of
"live performances" and wants to
enjoy them often. Time alone
would necessitate a choice.

The line of thought from
Richard Strauss to Dr. Otterloo is
quite obvious. Their works are
distinct more to emphases within
than their differences without. The
greatness of this Sinfonietta is the
concept of it. Rarely do works flow
as evenly from movement to movement,
with the essentially interlocking
motifs, as this. Dr. Otterloo has
mastered the spirit of the dance in
the Sinfonietta, and that spirit
completely eluded Strauss. It is a
happy piece, and Dr. Otterloo's
extroversion is seen in the tempo
and artful blending of the diverse
wind instruments, which were perfectly
balanced throughout. The
work will remain attractive to
highly disciplined wind groups for a
long time.

Dr. Otterloo spoke freely of the
Hague Philharmonic after the concert.
He finds great satisfaction in
the warmth of response the orchestra
gives visiting conductors in these
days of international "musical
chairs." This attribute is not, unhappily,
shared by the most publicized
American orchestra, the New
York Philharmonic, as is witnessed
by its most recent escapades with
Carlo Giulini. One of the great
abilities of older conductors like
Otterloo, Steinberg, Szell and
Krips, is to whip an orchestra into
shape - their desired shape - on
short notice. It is a quality that
comes from decades of experience
and hard work. Many of the American
orchestras are desperately in
need of such discipline. It is not
accidental that a country the size of
the Netherlands has two of the
finest orchestras in the world; and
if one had to choose the better,
tossing a coin would be the only
accurate measure.