“Chapin Hall was opened in 1912, and had problems from the beginning,” writes Priscilla McLean in a review in Monday’s (10/26) Times-Union (Albany, NY) of the Berkshire Symphony’s October 23 concert in the newly renovated hall, located at Williams College. “103 years later, the concert Friday night featured a widened hall and stage area, so the orchestra could sit spread in the front like other orchestras. … Immediately the clarity of tone was apparent, and they gave an excellent performance.… The Berkshire Symphony, with its ambitious conductor Ronald Feldman, plays better than it should, as half of the orchestra consists of undergraduate students, with only a few majoring in music. After intermission … the hall’s new brilliance shone forth, and every note could be heard. Perhaps it was this that made the orchestra play its heart out in Beethoven’s Symphony #7. The celli were especially fine in the popular second movement, with soulful playing of the melodies and sensitive phrasing.… The joy of hearing a strong, clear, and sweet orchestral sound was a happy experience for the audience and reviewer both.” Also on the program was Brahms’s First Piano Concerto with Simone Dinnerstein.
Posted October 27, 2015
