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Review of concert Boston University Wind EnsembleTuesday, April 25, 2006, 8:00 PM Your reviewer has covered several presentations by the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. But they're not the only game in town, as this concert by the Boston University Wind Ensemble amply demonstrated. Their program of music was a strong one, performed reasonably well. Scored for the smallest forces this evening (a jazz-combo-derived configuration consisting of four percussionists, bass guitar, and two each of alto sax, trumpet, and trombone), Dance Mix by Rob Smith was originally a Continental Harmony commission. It's highly approachable and tonally focused, essentially in a post-process style with distinct pop, jazz, and funk colorings. Splayed out in a clear ternary outline, this is simple but alluring stuff bristling with kinetic drive. Theodore Antoniou's Sinfonia Concertante for Trombone and Symphonic Wind Orchestra was also a winner. Even though three of its four movements are in a slow tempo, there's no resultant monotony. And as in many Antoniou works, eclectic mixing of elements imparts variety without confusion; here, flinty verticals coexist happily with aleatoric procedures and (in the quicker third movement) Greek folk idioms. The finale neatly sums up ideas from previous movements, further grounding scattered tendrils. Like the Antoniou and the rest of the program, American Games by Nicholas Maw employs large wind and percussion forces. Stylistically, it updates the rather conservative approaches found in high school band compositions -- varying degrees of tonal scalar writing with a dash of film score sound. But it's a pleasing opus to encounter. American Games speaks in a cogent, compelling voice and features a nicely balanced seven section construct that puts a personal spin on marches, scherzos, and hymns. A convincing example of New Tonalist thinking. Of the two older selections, The Sinfonians by Clifton Williams is precisely the type of piece that inspired American Games , an extended concert march that uses strophic form with some interruptions -- competent stuff, though not essential listening. Albert Roussel's concert overture Glorious Day , however, is well worth reviving. It's an adherent to the early twentieth century French post-Impressionist school of Stravinsky and Milhaud, full of octatonic scales and polytonal writing, but generally featuring more euphonious textures. While not flashy, it is substantive and attractively spun out. And best of all, it speaks with its own distinctive and charming voice. Performances were generally good. The group sometimes suffered from coarse tone and dicey intonation, but put forth everything in a strong and committed manner. Conductor David Martins descends from the spit-shine school of direction (which aided with ensemble coordination) but fortunately never kept the approach too rigid or dry. Trombone soloist Don Lucas was terrific in the Antoniou; his tone had no trouble cutting through the fullest texture yet never lost its round, felicitous quality. And his control of extreme high and low register notes was rock-steady. --David Cleary |