Браво!
WSO rocks in Russian
by Christopher Key
Let’s get the disclaimers out of the way first. I served as executive director of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra back in 2000-2001. I also know just enough about music to be danger to myself and others, but am by no means a musicologist. When I worked with the WSO, I was continually amazed by how good the orchestra was given the size of the community. They’ve gotten considerably better in the intervening years, thanks, in large part, to the inspired leadership of artistic director Dr. Roger Briggs. Much larger cities would be grateful to have a symphony this good.
One of Briggs’ many gifts is the ability to assemble programs that are both interesting and musically logical. The opening concert of WSO’s 34th season showcases that talent superbly.
The orchestra won over the audience immediately with a scintillating performance of Fidelio Overture Op. 72 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven’s only opera is subtitled The Triumph of Married Love and he spent years revising the opera and the overture itself. Immortal Beloved, indeed.
Featured artist Alexander Ardakov delivered a fiery, passionate performance of Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op.18, by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a convincing musical argument that only Russian musicians should be allowed the play the music of Russian composers. Apparently the audience agreed. They gave Ardakov a standing ovation and brought him back for two encores.
After the intermission, the orchestra gave an enchanting performance of American composer Joseph Schwantner’s Chasing Light. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Schwantner is considered to be one of the top two or three composers working in America today. He is also a favorite with Briggs, who studied with him and has been instrumental (if you’ll excuse the expression) in bringing his work to Northwest audiences. Schwanter is an unparalleled genius in using percussion and this work expands on that reputation.
Chasing Light is inspired by the sunrises he witnesses from his New Hampshire home and portrays that magical light vividly. The repeating theme of the bass drum suggests nothing less than the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Pay particular attention to the performance of percussionist Kay Riley, who works out on about eight different instruments with equal virtuosity. That alone is worth the price of admission.
WSO executive director Mary Kay Robinson points out in her program notes that the Russian government owns all the performance rights to many of the top composers. They seem to have adapted to capitalism with great enthusiasm, decreeing that the music of Modest Mussorgsky, for example, cannot be purchased, but must be rented at about five times the fee paid for the works of non-Russians.
It was certainly worth it to hear the WSO’s closing work, Pictures at an Exhibition. I have a soft spot in my heart for this composition, perhaps because I owned and managed art galleries for many years. Mussorgsky takes us on a musical tour of an exhibition by his friend Victor Hartmann. He uses music like his friend used pigments. Pictures at an Exhibition was originally composed as a piano suite and later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. I have never been able to decide which is the better interpretation and usually fall back on whichever version I heard last. The WSO performed Ravel’s orchestration and that is my current favorite. Despite a shaky moment or two in the brass section, it was more than enough to earn the second standing ovation of the night. I still have goosebumps.
There is only one more chance to hear this program on Sunday and I can’t urge you strongly enough to do so. It’s at the acoustically astonishing Performing Arts Center at Western Washington University. The PAC box office opens one hour before the concert.
My gratitude to Ed Rutschman whose erudite notes in the concert program make me look like I know what I’m talking about.
And the headline? That means Bravo! in Russian.
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