Turmoil and triumph at the Symphony
The forceful narrative of its last two movements — in which the eerie minor-key shadows of the scherzo are dispelled, not once but twice, but the triumphant blaze of C major — marked a new sort of dramatic plan for the symphony, which Beethoven’s followers have been reckoning with ever since.
The first two movements of the piece rolled out forcibly enough, but there were clipped corners here and there in both phrasing and tempo.
The coiled tension in that movement verged on the unbearable, and the potent blasts of the brass — arriving on the scene to herald the finale like some gleaming rescue squad — brought a flood of relief.
The entire program had been carefully plotted to prepare that moment, with a series of graduated steps that increasingly complicated the emotional landscape.
The outer movements bustle along with all the joy and vitality that marks Haydn’s music at its best, and the minuet and scherzo — replete with a delightful micro-concerto for oboe splendidly delivered by principal Eugene Izotov — only increase the bumptious charm.
Perhaps just a bit in the slow movement, which sets sail on a shimmery, slightly rueful bed of string harmonies, and offered concertmaster Alexander Barantschik a chance to sing everyone a soulful lullaby.
[...] in between comes the heart of this wonderful symphony — an extended, ruminative dance that keeps shifting emphasis and tone in an elusive play of harmony and color.