November 6, 2004 7:30 pm
Great Hall, GBPAC, Cedar Falls
Tim Fain, violin & the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra
Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Barber – Violin Concerto
Elgar – Enigma Variations
Orchestra succeeds in impressing audience
By George F. Day
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
November 11, 2004
The latest concert of the 75th anniversary year of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra was presented last weekend in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. In addition to the orchestra, conducted by Music Director Jason Weinberger, violinist Timothy Fain appeared as soloist. The Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra joined WCFSO for the first number.
‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,’ composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams, the ensemble consisted of string instruments only, with 16 NIYO members playing alongside the WCFSO players. ‘Fantasia’ did not seem to fit our usual idea of a ‘fantasy.’ This one almost, though not quite, resembled a fugue. The original Tallis piece was written in 1567 for a Psalter and it does sound like church music: formal, stately, intense. The united ensemble played the piece with reverence, bringing out the gentle nuances of several inter-related sections of the score. Several instrumental solo voices spoke out, and the players distinguished themselves by the quality of their sound, especially in passages played by Kathleen Sihler, viola; Mary Grey and Therese Fetter, violins.
Next, the featured soloist of the evening, Fain, played the Samuel Barber Violin Concerto, accompanied by the orchestra. Fain plays – and looks – the very essence of a violinist in the Romantic era. He plays with a grand flourish, and his interpretation is exquisitely emotional. In the soaring, lyrical melody of the opening movement and the acrobatic passages later on Fain played with awesome fire. The orchestra was a force to be reckoned with as well, and it had great moments like the haunting oboe solo that opens the second movement, played splendidly by principal Tom Barry. The audience love Fain for his stylish delivery of the Barber work, giving him a long standing ovation.
The final work was Edward Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations.’ Like life itself, the ‘Enigma’ is filled with sudden changes of mood, a rich variety of them. It’s a marvelous piece, fresh as a breeze, yet it was composed more than 100 years ago.
In the orchestra’s playing and Weinberger’s conducting produced what I sincerely believe was one of the orchestra’s all-time best performances. The powerful, moving effect was a triumph of rapport between composer, ensemble and director. Not a flaw anywhere in my view. The orchestra obviously felt the same way as they applauded their conductor and resisted his efforts to have them stand and share the credit. Some of the loudest applause went to Kathleen Sihler, viola, and Jonathan Chenoweth, cello, for their superb rendition of moving passages in the Elgar score.
Note: All reviews are edited for length and spelling.