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| Photo: Avi Koren |
In recent years, the Israel Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra has been winding up
its annual concert season with the audience having its say, “When the Public
Decides”. The 48th season was no exception. Under the direction of Christian
Lindberg (Sweden), the NKO’s principal conductor ( house conductor: Shmuel Elbaz)
subscribers were invited to vote for one out of four symphonies to be performed
at the final concert; the majority of votes went to Schubert’s Symphony No.5.
The rest of the program took listeners into the unbounded world of opera, with
young singers of the Israeli Opera’s Meitar Opera Studio joining the orchestra
to present opera numbers by Mozart and Rossini. This writer attended the
concert at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on July 13th, 2019.
Franz Schubert’s Symphony No.5, written at age 19, the finest of his early
symphonies, radiates youthful optimism. Scored for chamber orchestra, it shows
the influence of Mozart, for whose music Schubert seemed to have felt a special
affinity A few months before completing Symphony No.5, on October 3, 1816, Schubert
wrote in his diary that “the magic notes of Mozart’s music still gently haunt
me...which no time, no circumstances can efface, and they lighten our
existence…” After its premiere - one
private performance soon after its completion – the symphony was subsequently
forgotten for 50 years. Lindberg’s own love of the work was reflected in his
exuberant reading of it - in his performance of the brisk, sunny opening
movement, the lyrical, songful yet gently reflective Andante con moto movement
with just the occasional touch of unease, a somewhat forthright presentation of
the Minuet, contrasted by the sweet freshness of its trio, then to move on to
the carefree caper of the finale. This is delightful concert fare, its beauty
enhanced by the NKO’s consistent and fine woodwind playing.
Gioachino Rossini reused the overture from his opera “Aurelia in Palmyra”
for “The Barber of Seville” (or “The Useless Precaution”), which actually did
not matter, since Rossini did not use themes from the relevant opera in any of
his overtures. The NKO’s rendition of the overture, to what Rossini (in all
modesty!) referred to as ”the most beautiful opera buffa there is”, bristled
with gorgeous melodies, some exciting tutti and several lovely solos.
Performing a scene from Rossini’s opera “La Cenerentola”, sopranos Veronika
Brook and Efrat Hacohen-Bram, mezzo-soprano Maya Bakstansky and bass Pnini Leon
Grubner displayed fine bel canto technique and playful Italian theatricality,
setting the scene for what is, in fact, the story of Cinderella. The singers, all
graduates of music academies presently receiving intensive opera training at
the Meitar Opera Studio (director: David Sebba) before joining opera companies
as soloists in Israel and overseas, had audience (and conductor) well
entertained with their communicative, dedicated singing of pieces selected from
Mozart operas, some humorous, some dramatic and even the Magic Flute’s “Queen
of the Night” aria (Veronika Brook).
Maestro Christian Lindberg is a renowned trombonist and composer. When he conducts NKO concerts, he talks to the
audience in an informal, friendly way, providing information on the works
performed and making for a sense of community.
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