Megafon
ORNA LANGER
Wellber’s ability to maintain full control of the orchestra was astounding, as he whipped up a light and airy Viennese atmosphere. Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 (“The Drumroll”) is written in the same key – E-flat major – that typifies a light Viennese dance. Yet its opening has a muted depth with cellos and deep brass instruments, and then takes a dramatic turn with the sudden drumroll.
Haydn’s playful, spirited style, and especially the profuse bowing etiquette of the Viennese minuet, which invites the guests to a palace ball, contrasts with the tension built by the conductor during the slow movement. The entire wind section, the clarinets and bassoons, played with sparkle while the conductor strictly maintained the contrasts in the dynamics and slower sections that helped to highlight the conclusion, which was played with blazing accelerando (an increase in tempo that occurs simultaneously with an increase in pitch). The orchestra responded lovingly to the conductor’s baton.