Schubert work highlights concert

The orchestra teamed with the Youngstown Symphony Chorus and Shenango Valley Chorale.
By ROBERT ROLLIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
On Saturday night, the Greenville Symphony, under conductor Michael Gelfand, presented an interesting and varied program in the William A. Passavant Memorial Center. The highlight of the evening was the solid performance of the Schubert Unfinished Symphony in B Minor, composed in 1822. This highly romantic composition, never performed until nearly 40 years after the composer's death, has become a mainstay of modern-day symphonic programs.
From the darkly serious opening statement in cellos and double basses, it was clear that the work had been carefully prepared. Though the tempo could have been livelier, the wonderful first-theme melody, expressively played by principal oboe Shawn Reynolds and accompanied by the rapid repeated-note string figuration, created the magical feeling of two tempos that is Schubert's most original contribution. Rays of sunshine cast by the bright second theme provided a beautiful contrast, and the development had the requisite intense power of strong brass tuttis. Especially poignant was the first theme return to start the extended recapitulation. The movement's dark moody quality came across well in this performance.
The second movement, Andante con moto, starts with the bright key of E major and seems more positivistic until it reaches the shadows provided by the C Sharp Minor second theme supported by a graceful syncopated accompaniment. Principal Clarinetist Ruth Rea did nicely with her solo, but some orchestral intonation problems made the second movement not quite as effective.
Joined for performance
The Greenville Orchestra joined with the Shenango Valley Chorale and the Youngstown Symphony Chorus for a rare and ambitious performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Though the piece was abbreviated to 12 of the 24 movements, omitting all the soloist sections, it was delightful to hear a large chorus joined with the orchestra.
The texts, in Latin, old German and a doggerel mix of old French and German, stem from a medieval 13th-century manuscript discovered in the early 1800s and include pagan spring songs, secular tavern songs and courtly love songs. The music, Orff's own, is a catchy modal melange of lively and repetitious melodies that come across immediately on first hearing. Orff is successful in setting the text's bawdy, devil-may-care nature.
The orchestra, supported by a large percussion section and two pianos, provided punctuation to the choral sounds, and was especially effective in O Fortuna, used to open and close the piece. There is nice variation in forces, with choral accompaniment sometimes limited to pianos and percussion. The performance was workmanlike, but sometimes the tenors and basses were difficult to hear.
The concert opened with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Dance of the Tumblers," a fast challenging piece that had some ensemble problems. Conductor Michael Gelfand brought out the wonderful expression of the Mascagni Intermezzo from Cavaleria in a gorgeous version that employed only strings and organ.