By Miranda Wilson
Heroic is the project of conductor David Bernard and the New York–based Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. Composed of players from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life, this group meets weekly to rehearse, perform, and record warhorse symphonic repertoire, including Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. Their new album features Beethoven’s Third Symphony (Eroica) alongside Mahler’s Fifth. The conductor’s effusive liner notes explain the pairing by pointing out that both symphonies come from times of crisis in the composers’ lives: Beethoven’s from the realization of his impending deafness, Mahler’s from a life-threatening illness. Such challenges, according to Bernard, “catalyzed reinvention and rebirth in their compositional styles” in works that remind us of “the indomitable human spirit’s quest for meaning amidst suffering.”
Advertisement
The challenge for a chamber orchestra with big symphonic works like these is for the string sections to produce a big enough tone to stand up to the wind, brass, and percussion sections. Here, the microphone placement and production go some way to avoid balance problems, though a larger group of strings might have helped unify the exposed sections of Beethoven’s Scherzo and the beginning of the Finale. The orchestra copes well with the challenges of Mahler’s opening Trauermarsch, though at times the articulation and tone experience some unevenness in Stürmisch bewegt. Mahler’s cathartic Adagietto, always a favorite with string players, comes across well. Wisely, Bernard avoids the ultra-slow tempo of many recorded interpretations; this keeps the string tone at an equilibrium.
This was an ambitious project for an amateur group, and for the most part the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony players tackle it gamely. Though there are occasional lapses in pitch and unity, the enthusiasm of the conductor and instrumentalists goes a long way in pulling off a credible interpretation of well-loved classics.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or other streaming platforms.
Advertisement
