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David Whitwell European Conducting Reviews The public was pouring into the Hall...then began the extraordinary. For two hours the hearts of the friends of music were lifted higher and higher. Conductor, David Whitwell, conducted the entire concert from memory. Already from his very first motion, it was apparent that he conducts with an inimitable elegance and clarity. He shapes on a foundation of very precise pulse and attacks, sometimes with broad inviting gestures, sometimes with minute indications. The 52 young players follow, at the slightest wink, with discipline full of temperament. One hears every note, even every little note! Everything is perfect: Intonation, Articulation, Dynamics, Rhythm and Tempo.... The Schönberg Theme and Variations was a masterpiece masterfully interpreted. The Schmitt Dionysiaques was as fresh as if the notes had just come from the printer.... Everyone said, “It was an unforgettable evening.” Schwäbische Zeitung, July 20, 1981 (Germany) PERFECT WIND MUSIC FROM AMERICA A full-house enjoyed an emotional and highly musical concert, such as one rarely hears...one highpoint followed another.... The listeners were astounded by the perfect performance of the Strauss Rosenkavalier Walzes, played from the heart...it was an emotional highpoint.... It was a concert which wind music circles will talk about far into the future. Zuger Nachrichten, July 17, 1981 (Switzerland) A musical treat of perfectly interpreted wind music...not without reason is this ensemble considered one of the best in America. Zuger Nachrichten, July 15, 1981 (Switzerland) 1 SUPERLATIVE WIND MUSIC An astonished public enjoyed one of the best wind ensembles in America.... The concert ended with stormy applause. Luzerner Neuste Nachrichten, July 17, 1981 (Switzerland) VIRTUOSO AMERICAN WIND ORCHESTRA The concert was sensational, thanks to the technical ease and discipline with which this very virtuoso program was performed. David Whitwell conducted in an inspiring manner. The Schönberg was fascinating.... The Schmitt was formidable.... Both pieces were performed in a profusion of sound and unknown suppleness. De Limburger, July 24, 1981 (The Netherlands) SUPERB CONCERT It was unbelievable how the group could give a concert of such high orchestral quality. The Dutch Broadcasting Company made a live recording of this concert for broadcast. Hilverbode, July 23, 1981 (The Netherlands) WIND MUSIC DELIGHT IN THE LORETO SCHOOL Tonight the California State University, Northridge Wind Orchestra plays under the well-known conductor, David Whitwell in the Loreto Auditorium in Zug A special delight for the ears will be given tonight in the auditorium of the Loreto School in Zug.... This wind orchestra is one of the five best in the USA and their conductor is a leader in the field.... Luzerner_Neuste_Nachrichten (Switzerland), July 12, 1989 2 The young musicians performed the largely European program with an ability to adapt to the constant changes between transparent tones, precision, and well-marked atmospherically dense counterpoint. The well-tempered and harmonious sounds within the individual ranges and throughout the entire orchestra enthused the audience of Zug, who did not hold back the warmest applause. If it were up to the public, the Wind Ensemble from California could have continued playing much longer. Luzerner_Neuste_Nachrichten, (Switzerland), July 14, 1989 A composition of musicologist and conductor David Whitwell was the highpoint of the first-half of the concert. The Sinfonia_da_Requiem was created in 1988 after an intensive preoccupation with Mozart and is to be thought of as an homage to this great composer.... Most impressive was the perfect interpretation of the Grand_Sinfonie_funebre_et_triomphale. Vaterland (Switzerland), July 14, 1989 WIND ENSEMBLE AT SANTA CHIARA THE STEREOPHONIC EFFECT The Sinfonia_da_Requiem is a very recent composition, purposely indebted to the renowned Requiem, K. 626, by Mozart. Surely one of the best things of the evening was the sound of this work, characterized by an impressive power in its most emphatic moments. The American ensemble took advantage of the open gallery of the Cloister, to create pleasant stereophonic effects by locating the trumpets and trombones on the sides of the flight of steps that hosted spectators. The saxophone soloist [Bill Wilson] in the Lacrymosa created a very beautiful and successful effect, while in the Libera me (with the sky imperturbably perturbed) a tranquil melody of conciliation and thanksgiving was lifted up to the divinity.... Particularly significant was the presentation of the composition of Berlioz, an homage to the ideals of the French Revolution. Brescia_Oggi (Italy), July 15, 1989 3 TOTALY NEW SOUND AT THE ZELL CIVIC HALL Again and Again the Audience Applauded the Orchestra on the Stage An unique musical experience in the realm of wind instrument concert music occurred through the concert by the American Wind Orchestra from California State University, Northridge. The attentive audience in the Zell Civic Hall experienced a wonderful evening of music of the highest level. One highpoint of this concert -- the "Symphonie Brillante," composed only last year by the contemporary composer, Ida Gotkovsky -- produced an inferno of sound (principally woodwind) which transformed the audience, both acoustically and visually, into a mesmerized state.... In the "Sinfonia da Requiem," composed in memory of the last days of the great composer, Mozart, allowed the composer, David Whitwell, to place himself into the very moving last days of Mozart, who, as is well-known, composed a Requiem on his deathbed which, however with superhuman effort, he was not able to finish. Whitwell rendered the tragic and hectic of those last December days of almost 200 years ago in a grandiose manner. In the next to last movement, the "Lacramosa," the public experienced a wealth of tone and rhythm after an earlier movement, the "Dies Irae," the trumpets, horns, and trombones captured a defiant reaction against the deadly disease. In the final movement, the "Libra me," a measured movement, besides a monumental finale the heartache of the composer over the all too early death of the talented Mozart was expressed. The audience experienced the real ability of this orchestra where it was able to produce the finest nuances of tone at the softest dynamic levels. The composer Whitwell left the offering of his great composition on the last days of Mozart to his guest conductor Johnson who lived up to this task admirably and he had a real sense of what was needed to pull the orchestra with him. Also with the "Waltze Sequence," the grand and well-known waltzes from the "Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss, the conductor (Whitwell) with his orchestra was able to get into the moods of the very difficult phrases and cadences. The magic of Strauss's music was fully expressed. David Whitwell (also) appeared as conductor for the contemporary work by Ida Gotkovsky, "Symphonic Brilliante." Like a sovereign, and like his predecessor conducting without scores, he was able to pull the orchestra, and even more so the public, into a trance with this obviously great musical work. The public at the Zell civic hall has never experienced such expressive tones and such fantastic perfection. The same is true regarding the rhythmic support. An additional experience was the "Grand Sinfonie funebre et triomphale," by the great French composer, Hector Berlioz, which captures the aftereffects of the French Revolution and was placed on this European tour program by David Whitwell in honor of this commemorative year. An heroic work, which captures the depths as well as the heights of the great Revolution in a masterful manner, interesting in the first movement for the lonesome, and at the same time hard percussion strokes and rhythm, a grand musical work which was equal to the superb rendition by the orchestra. 4 Without encores of course this wind orchestra was not permitted to leave the stage, first with a well-known folksong of Irish origin which allowed the orchestra to express its full range of sound and harmony. The same can be said for the much loved Sousa march, "The Stars and Stripes," with which the Americans from California concluded their great concert. Markgrafler_Tagblatt (West Germany), July 19, 1989. American Orchestra Enthuses the Public in Zell IMAGINATION AND PERFECTION Last Sunday evening the Wind Orchestra of Northridge were guests in the Zell Civic Hall on the occasion of their European tour. The leadership of the Music Society of Atzenbach had been able to bring this tonal experience to Zell by having responded to an announcement about the orchestra in a professional journal. The orchestra attracted, on this very hot Summer evening, a surprisingly great audience awaiting the orchestra, after a greeting by the representative of the mayor, which serves a a model of American bands and enjoys a very high reputation. The leader of this Orchestra, David Whitwell, a conducting student of Eugene Ormandy, is well known as an authority on matters of wind instruments. Especially during the last years he has made a name for himself through his research and publication of historical wind compositions and offered the surprise at the beginning of the concert of a march-like "Allegretto" of Joseph Haydn based on his Symphony Nr. 100. According to the program notes, Whitwell has discovered a manuscript of Haydn's written in the composers own hand from the year 1794. The manuscript reveals clearly that Haydn intended this movement to be an example of so-called "turkische Musik" (an expression meaning military music with percussion). The second movement of this symphony, sounding somewhat foreign in its wind instrument setting, achieved a totally new effect. The orchestra performed in the historically correct smaller size with two bassoons as the only bass instruments. The performance of the "trumpet signal" was convincing and brilliant. The Requiem was then performed a full orchestra strength, a Mass which was composed by Whitwell after he had occupied himself intensively with the last years of Mozart. In addition to the four parts of the Catholic Liturgy (Introitus, Dies irae, Tuba mirum and Lacrymosa) there sounded a fifth movement, a "Libera me," which is to be found first in Verdi. Also reminiscent of Verdi was the dramatic power of the Dies Irae movement, which captures the terror of the Last Judgement with musical means. Surprisingly, this work was conducted not by the composer himself, but by Ronald Johnson, whose interpretation was able to lend full expression to the extraordinary qualities of the orchestra: a Pianissimo so soft that 5 one believe that the musicians had already packed up their instruments; then a Fortissimo which sounded powerfully, but never simply noisy or brutal effects, managing to capture nuances of tones and a breathless crescendo. The Waltzes from Richard Strauss's Opera, "Der Rosenkavalier," as arranged only for winds demanded of the horn players incredible heights and sequences. The fantastic whirlwind-like woodwinds, even though they were not quite the equal of the original orchestration, created the nuances of tempos lovingly interpreted by Whitwell. After a short pause, a move in the direction of contemporary music with the "Symphonic Brillante" -- the latest work of the French composer, Ida Gotkowsky. The student of Oliver Messiaen managed to produce a gem for winds, which managed to exploit all the shades of sounds of the 57 member orchestra. From English horn to bass clarinet, from piccolo to tuba, all musicians were able to participate in a playful delight of sound and tonal sequences. The "Master" David Whitwell took the lead in a sovereign manner leading his orchestra over all the cliffs, over the changes of beat and tempo, in a masterful manner. Badische_Zeitung (West Germany), July 19, 1989 SPARKLING WITH RICH TONE COLOR California State University, Northridge, with its 30,000 students one of the largest American state universities, has jazz bands, choirs, a symphony orchestra, opera, and a wind orchestra. A sample of its musical abilities was offered this weekend when the Wind Ensemble of the university, under the leadership of Dr. David Whitwell, offered a rich and interesting program in the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus. The concert opened with the Allegretto of the Symphony Nr. 100, the Military Symphony, of Josef Haydn. In this instrumentation for wind orchestra the work retained the typical lightness of Haydn's music, due to the woodwind character and effective use of percussion. Guest conductor Ronald Johnson led with great assurance and with economic gestures. The Sinfonia_da_Requiem, the second piece of the evening, was composed by the conductor of the ensemble, David Whitwell, in honor of and to commemorate Mozart. The five movements are constructed in the formal manner of the Requiem Mass, with the first movement featuring the brass. The "Tuba Mirum" can be compared to a funeral march which received an almost dramatic character through punctuation and tonal repetition. Ronald Johnson stressed dynamic contrast. Rhythmically, the "Dies Irae" was fascinating by the colorful use of lively timpani. The "Libra me" impressed with its full, round brass sound. Johnson led confidently and provided the generally conventional work with dignity and effectiveness.... Hector Berlioz wrote the Grande_Sinfonie_funebre_et_triomphale for the festivities of the tenth anniversary of the revolution of 1830. The first performance 6 outside under the sky was drowned out by the noise of the public. The "Funeral Marsch" was shaped by rhythmic precision and precise workmanship in its details. What bold introduction of the drums! More reminiscent of church music was the "Oraison," wherein Mike Steltzer offered a wonderfully clean and expressive trombone solo. Then followed the whole orchestral richness and tone color in the "Apotheose." David Whitwell produced incredibly dynamic highpoints with care and stability and with concern for exact synchronization of the instruments provided the work with much color and effect. The conductor and orchestra thanked the audience for its rich applause with three encores. Sudkurier (West Germany), July 18, 1989, appearing also in Schwabische-Zeitung (West Germany), July 18, 1989 The heroic leader of the Grande Symphonie funebre et Triomphale, a highly dramatic and effective composition in honor of the victims of the 1830 Revolution, was an American conductor, David Whitwell, a musician of international reputation. Fascinating to hear and see, Whitwell led the Laupheim Wind Orchestra with expressive gestures and the highest accomplishment. As he spread his arms for the sound of the tutti, so he also with the smallest finger motions indicated the finest turns of phrases. He gave smiles of thanks when phrases went especially well. The ensemble followed this greatly artistic conductor with the highest concentration. A thankful audience gave stormy applause and calls of “Bravo!” Laupheim Nachrichten (Germany), May 12, 2003 7