Concertoganza
by Jeff Dunn
San Francisco Classical Voice,
January 17, 2004
SANTA ROSA---An extravagance of concertos was set to embrace patrons of the third subscription concert of the Santa Rosa Symphony. An overture, a Bay Area premiere, three concertos, four soloists, two conductors and an encore later, the cup ranneth over and a cheering audience was left as satisfied as a dog with his master's steak.
Have you ever wanted to throw the whiney baby away and slide carefree into the warm bathwater all by yourself? Then Dvork's Noonday Witch Overture and its
follow-up would be just for you. A noisome child portrayed by an oboe keeps interrupting its mother's spinning, so it's carried away by the aforesaid bogeywoman at the stroke of twelve. Dvork was not the equal of Strauss in the pictorial field. The Czech's character motifs are not well integrated, and the momentum generated by the jouncy spinning music and exposition/repeat structure gets dissipated in the fits and starts of the "development" and coda sections. Conductor Jeffrey Kahane nevertheless brought considerable commitment to this curiosity and fine playing from the large orchestra.
With the child away (along with much of the orchestra, since the remaining works were chamber-scaled), the program proceeded to a marvelous back-to-nature loll for bassoon and orchestra. The composer/bassoonist, John Steinmetz, completed a trio of premieres from the commissioning orchestras with his performance. (Prior outings were with the L.A. Chamber and the Keene Chamber Orchestras.).
A Busy Artist
Steinmetz has been described as "a worker bee bassoonist in the great musical hive of Los Angeles, buzzing between concerts, operas, and movie soundtracks, everything from Tristan and Isolde to Leave it to Beaver." Nature seemed abundantly represented in the woodwinds, with evocative and expertly orchestrated twitterings taking center stage in many passages while the soloist rested or performed subsidiary accompaniment. Self-effacement and mutual respect seemed to be the modus operandi here, although one short cadenza was allowed for illustration of tonal slides and other unobtrusive virtuoso tricks.
The very eclectic, laid-back style of the concerto, with ghosts of Lou Harrison, Vaughan Williams,
Hovhaness, and Rautavaara along with pentatonic Asian and African elements, seemed like an epitome of the "California" fusion mentality. Especially ingratiating was the dance-like third movement, with polymetric "groove" music designed to increase physical involvement with the sound.
The concert resumed after intermission with with Arthur Honegger's 1948 Concerto da Camera. It remains to be seen whether Honegger will turn out to be the Raff of the 20th century, a former "top 10" composer becoming relegated to obscurity. But his works are rarely played now (although the San Francisco Symphony will take on his Second Symphony soon). Kathleen Lane Reynolds on flute and Laura Reynolds Chrisp on English horn, both Santa Rosa Symphony principals, made a fine case for this music. The somewhat dry High Neoclassic style, expertly put together, was mellowed somewhat by the more impassioned melodic writing in the middle movement.
A New Hand
Since conductor Kahane was to be the soloist for the pice de resistance of the evening,
Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No.2, the Honegger was directed by the aspiring native of Hunan, Shenyeh, a former Houston Symphony violinist and student of David
Zinman. Shenyeh shows remarkable energy and talent, and should be a baton to watch in the future.
In contrast to the Steinmetz, the Saint-Saens Second Piano Concerto arrived on the scene all full of Lisztian splash that gleefully says "look at me!" This piece never fails to wow audiences when the pianist is up to the task. The dominance exerted by this show-stopper over the equally attractive and more profound Fourth concerto was forgotten as Kahane put forth an interpretation that became more note-perfect and inspired with each movement. Joined by ten additional musicians from the Youth Orchestra, Kahane and Shenyeh went all out in the last movement, which should have been labeled "hell-bento" instead of presto.
The instant standing ovation was eventually rewarded with an encore of Kahane's arrangement of Joni Mitchell's The Circle Game. "For my daughter," explained Kahane. The dedicatee, Annie Kahane, was deeply moved. Not out of the bathwater!
(Jeff Dunn is a freelance critic with a B.A. in music and a Ph.D. in Geologic Education. A composer of piano and vocal music, he is a member of NACUSA and a Bay Area correspondent for the journal 21st-Century Music.)
2004 Jeff Dunn, all rights reserved
w acoustical environment is more welcome than at the Burbank Center.
Paul Hertelendy 2003
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