Guest artist enlivens concert

I realize classical music is not usually considered to be a barrel of laughs. Sure, Victor Borge was pretty funny, but generally, if you want to yuck it up, try Peter Sellers or The Three Stooges. However, Sunday afternoon’s concert by the Bangor Symphony Orchestra was a heck of a lot of fun, primarily because of guest artist Jens Lindemann, who played three pieces: one like an angel, one like the devil and one like a stand-up comic.

It was a full house at The Maine Center for the Arts as the audience awaited the appearance of concertmaster Lynn Brubaker and BSO oboist Louis Hall in a performance of J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe. For this piece, Mary Jo Carlsen acted as concertmaster, tuning with a 20-piece string ensemble and welcoming Xiao-Lu Li, BSO director, to the stage.

After soloists Brubaker and Hall took their places, the concerto began, but not well. The major problem was not “integrity, integrity, integrity,” but “intonation, intonation, intonation.”

While Brubaker played with fluidity and a sweet, rich tone that should be heard in solo work more often, and while Hall played with finesse and emotion, the whole sound was sour. And the cellos, violas and basses, that should have driven the moving continuo part like an engine, were instead sluggish and sloppy. In the Finale, all the elements gelled somewhat, and the piece came to a satisfactory conclusion.

The rest of the orchestra then took the stage for a lively performance of Grieg’s Peer Gynt: Suite No. 1.

Where the Bach seemed lackluster, the Grieg shone. The woodwinds were top-notch during this piece, especially in the first movement, a beautiful sketch of morning.

After the intermission, the BSO returned, along with guest trumpeter Lindemann, a tall, blond man who was dressed for the evening in a brilliant turquoise jacket. Remarking on his sartorial choice, Lindemann said that he had just played with the legendary Doc Severinsen, and that Severinsen had told him to wear the jacket “with pride.”

Lindemann spoke directly to the audience, freely tossing in quips and anecdotes, before beginning an exquisite performance of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major. The piece is intrinsically lovely, but Lindemann crafted it anew with clarity and luminous sweetness.

Next Lindemann invited BSO bassist John Clark to accompany him in a gutsy rendition of “Sugar Blues” complete with toilet-plunger wah-wah trumpet and a quadruple bass fiddle flip from Clark.

After his second standing ovation, Lindemann returned for a hilarious Carnival of Venice, part of which he performed on trumpet mouthpiece alone.

Following this act would not be easy, but Maestro Li and the BSO concluded the evening with an energetic performance of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in D minor. Li reminded the audience to visualize not only Hungarian dance and culture, but also Bugs Bunny. Bugs starred in the 1946 cartoon “Rhapsody Rabbit,” which was based on this very piece.

For information on the BSO or guest trumpeter Lindemann, check out www.trumpetsolo.com and www.bangorsymphony.com.