Word: string
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...group began as a collection of highly skilled string players primarily from Harvard and the New England Conservatory who, in their first concert, succeeded to a great extent in playing cohesively. Last Friday, they reached a higher level of unity--Metamorphosen, at times, took on the character of a single solo instrument...
This incredible development was most manifest in the last piece on the program, Hugo Wolf's "Italian Serenade." Wolf originally composed the one-movement "Serenade" for string quartet and planned further movements; he later adapted it for string orchestra. The piece has since become a frequent encore, as Yoo pointed out in a few words before the performance...
Metamorphosen dove into the "Serenade" with soloistic vigor, each violinist swelling through the lightly pitching opening phrases. Startlingly, all of their emotive swellings were perfectly choreographed and executed. As a result, the group brought far more levity and energy to the "Serenade" than any string section from a major orchestra could. For example, the recent recording by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's strings and Semyon Bychkov stands in stark contrast to Metamorphosen's performance...
...group's transformation into a single, energetic organ occurred less frequently in Dvorak's "Serenade for Strings," a bastion of the string repertoire and the oddly-placed anchor of the program's first half. In the first movement, Metamorphosen produced impeccable entrances in the strings' higher octaves and gave more emotional weight to the first two themes than they usually receive. The tempo for this Moderato was definitely stately but never too slow...
...bare sound from his period instrument even in the most declamatory of the solo passages. Metamorphosen dutifully played the accompaniment--an unusually sharp and pointed one--at exceedingly low volume while Trampler edged along, often missing articulations and intonations. The tuttis, however, brought the booming force of more modern string instruments to bear against Trampler's tiny sound in an almost embarrassing contrast...