SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Liszt, Strauss, and Dvořák: Elizabeth Stoyanovich, conductor, Jeffrey Fair, horn, Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, Bremerton Performing Arts Center, Bremerton, WA, 22.3.2008 (BJ)


So treacherous an instrument is the horn that according to one of its greatest players, Barry Tuckwell, you don’t say that a horn-player had a bad day; if nothing goes wrong, you say he had a good day. Appearing as guest soloist with the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Fair had a very good day indeed.

The young virtuoso is assistant principal horn with the Seattle Symphony. “Assistant principal” is number three in the pecking order (coming after the principal and the associate principal). But number three in what may well be the finest orchestral horn section in America (or perhaps anywhere) is no mean assignment, and Fair demonstrated his remarkable musical and technical gifts with a performance of Strauss’ testing First Horn Concerto that was as close to immaculate as any I can recall. His tone, commandingly forthright when the music required it, also encompassed many seductively delicate nuances; his phrasing was eloquent; and there was not a single spectacular cracked note of the kind you almost expect in a horn concerto, while the only note that momentarily threatened instability was instantly repaired in the most impressive fashion.

The Bremerton Symphony partnered Fair with punctuality and gusto. After intermission, the soloist demonstrated his commitment and good nature by sitting in with the horn section for Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, but the regular members of the group were not outdone, all of them playing solidly and well. The orchestra, indeed, sounded in excellent fettle here and in the rousing performance of Liszt’s Les Préludes that opened the program, and even the strings, despite somewhat depleted numbers due apparently to the rival claims of the Easter holiday, achieved considerable tonal sheen and a generally excellent accuracy of intonation.

Elizabeth Stoyanovich’s five years as music director have clearly produced remarkable improvements in the standards of this largely amateur ensemble. The artistry of William Ferman’s clarinet solos in the DvoÍák, and the warm tone of the cello section led by Michael Burkland in the recapitulation of the slow movement, were two among several features of the performance that might have been envied by some professional orchestras I have heard, and the conductor’s interpretation of what may be (with the possible exception of the Sixth) DvoÍák’s greatest symphony compellingly blended poetry with energy and power.

Bernard Jacobson


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