THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503190044
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY MARK MOBLEY, MUSIC CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The hardest-working man in show business - this weekend, at least - was Virginia Symphony concertmaster Vahn Armstrong. After playing one of the most challenging concertos, he returned to his chair at the head of the violins for Berlioz's ``Symphonie fantastique.''
Friday's Virginia Symphony concert at Chrysler Hall was more than the usual stroll through masterworks with conductor JoAnn Falletta. It was a chance to examine Armstrong, who spent a decade in the New World String Quartet before joining the orchestra last season.
Orchestral musicians are required at least to be accurate and at most to be intermittently captivating in short solos. But it's customary for concertmasters to play the occasional concerto, and Armstrong's choice was bold: Bartok's rigorous Violin Concerto No. 2.
Like the ``Symphonie fantastique,'' which precedes it by a century, the concerto shows how large a canvas the orchestra can be. The solo part, by turns fiercely aggressive and comfortingly sweet, is set against a luminous background.
It's a very difficult piece, for both soloist and ensemble. Armstrong had a light sound and much agility. He announced the main theme with an earthy swagger and drove fearlessly through the sawing passages.
Armstrong's performance was another example of the rising standards of instrumental proficiency in Hampton Roads. A decade ago, area concert-goers would not likely have heard a creditable traversal of the Bartok concerto, unless a visiting soloist deigned to play it. And Armstrong is not the only symphony violinist to acquit himself well in solo situations.
His most memorable moment may have been his encore. After several curtain calls, he squared to play and launched into ``Happy Birthday.'' The orchestra looked puzzled. At the end, he looked into the audience and said, ``Happy birthday, Dad.''
The ``Fantastic Symphony'' was, if not fantastic, at least impressive, with gorgeous solos. In the rangy, pastoral middle movement, English hornist Phillip Koch played his heart out and oboist Sherie Lake Aguirre answered him in kind. The bassoons were tops. And why is it always surprising when the Virginia Symphony brass comes leaping in at full volume?
Falletta was not always a searching interpreter, and the ensemble played tentatively, especially in soft entrances. In the waltz movement, which she shaped alluringly, she went to the trouble to restore a cornet part that gave the music a sentimental sound. But in the march she omitted the repeat and tried out a few tempos. The final pages of the finale blazed gloriously.
The concert opened with Verdi's ``Nabucco'' Overture. With its opening brass chorale and clipped fast music, it was a fit companion to the Berlioz symphony. MEMO: MUSIC REVIEW
The Virginia Symphony Friday at Chrysler Hall, Norfolk. The program
was repeated Saturday. For details about upcoming Virginia Symphony
events, call 623-2310. by CNB