Press for Philharmonic
From Metropolitan Philharmonic: Risks and Some Rewards
Source: The Washington Post, Tuesday, February 13, 2007; Page C05
"It's a risk-taking 35th season for the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, whose redoubtable conductor, Ulysses S. James, is programming seldom-heard works alongside well-known ones. The resulting concerts are interestingly uneven.
On Sunday at Alexandria's Bishop Ireton High School, the most high-spirited playing came in a sort of pre-concert encore by the school's own percussion ensemble -- doing George Hamilton Green's "Charleston Capers" on xylophone, four marimbas, string bass and drum set.
The performance proper began with Symphony No. 1 by Adolphus Hailstork. Despite Haydnesque scoring, this work in no way resembles pseudo-Haydn of the 19th century (Weber) or the 20th (Prokofiev). There is a jazz-influenced opening Allegro, a broad-themed Lento reminiscent of Dvorak, a Scherzo featuring eerie strings, and a Rondo finale that repeats themes from earlier movements. Although well-played, the symphony had little emotional impact.
The first movement of Washington native Steven Gerber's Symphony No. 1 is built on a grander scale. The dark, portentous brass-and-viola opening leads to a main section featuring a 12-note ostinato punctuated by harp. It would be nice to hear the full work sometime.
Beethoven's Violin Concerto, the concert's standard-repertoire piece, got a straightforward reading, devoid of revelations if not of beauty. Soloist Elisabeth Adkins, the National Symphony Orchestra's associate concertmaster, played with sweet tone and mild vibrato, making soft passages very quiet indeed. The orchestra, especially the horns, seemed tired after the 20th-century works. The second movement's warmth was appealing, but the finale lacked playfulness.
The concert will be repeated Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington." —Mark J. Estren
Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic
Source: The Washington Post, Tuesday, December 4, 2007; Page C05
"There were winners aplenty at the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic's concert at Schlesinger Hall in Alexandria on Sunday. The first was Steven Gerber, the orchestra's composition winner for 2007; audiences last season voted him the composer whose works they would like to hear more often, so three will be performed this season. Sunday's was the Washington-born composer's Serenade for String Orchestra (1989-90), a subtle and rhythmically complex piece that calls for a multiplicity of string techniques. For example, the second movement, a theme and variations, at one point features the violins being strummed like banjos while the cellos play legato. As conducted by Music Director Ulysses S. James, the work flowed smoothly and effectively throughout.
The next winner was Wonkak Kim. He was first in the orchestra's concerto competition and performed Carl Nielsen's fascinating Clarinet Concerto (1928 -- but it sounds much more modern). Like the composer's Fifth Symphony of six years earlier, the concerto features a prominent snare drum, which often seems at war with the soloist. Kim evinced excellent breath control and fine command of his instrument's full range, with not a hint of screechiness.
Soprano Tiffany Bostic and the NOVA Community Chorus concluded the concert with Poulenc's odd and curiously affecting Gloria (1959). Conductor Mark Whitmire brought out both the surprisingly playful, almost trivial tunes and the more serious sections, in which Bostic's sweet and lovely voice floated ethereally above chorus and orchestra.
Those who heard this unusual program of 20th-century works turned out to be the biggest winners of all. The concert will be repeated Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Church of the Epiphany." —Mark J. Estren