Holst Masterpiece Follows Company Premiere of Auerbach Work; Violinist Ray Chen and Mendelssohn Concerto
By George B. Parous
As they often do, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra not only topped their previous performance at Heinz Hall last evening, but topped the first part of this weekend’s concerts, delivering a spectacular second part to an already sensational first. The crowd on hand was large and loud – a sea of human faces that must be an excellent inspiration for any performer on the stage. Special lighting effects and projected imagery added an extra dash for the eye to a veritable mountain for the ear, and the ovation that only a PSO audience can deliver must have rung in the performers’ ears well past the end of concert. This program most definitely is a must, and anyone wishing to hear it is strongly encouraged to grab tickets at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra website or box-office ASAP, because availability is limited to about 10% as of the time of this writing.
The performance opened with the PSO première of Icarus, a symphonic poem by Lera Auerbach. Composed in 2006, the poem is actually comprised of the last two movements of her Symphony No. 1, and debuted as a separate entity in 2011. It was one of the two pieces on the program to include the col legno (with wood) effect, a technique calling for the string instrumentalists to tap the wooden sides of their bows to the strings. This technique creates an aura of mystery and drama, almost cinematic in effect. It begins with the lower strings, then a rather hectic movement in the string section, which becomes more lyrical with the entrance of soft chimes and other percussion. These and a tempo change create an eerie sound that is interrupted by an explosive fanfare from the brass. Then begin the massive swirling tones throughout, pizzicato sections, a moment for a solo violin and flute, climacteric effects and more that made the piece quite worthy of the orchestra playing it. But the thereminist was the bright particular star who nearly stole the show. To describe a theremin would be an entire article. A search of the program for the name of the gentleman who played the electronic wonder left me empty handed. [UPDATE: Arturo Fernandez is the name of the thereminist.]
Violinist Ray Chen is appearing as the guest soloist on this weekend’s program. That Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 64, is a magnificent half hour of music, and that the PSO played the score gloriously, were almost assumed last evening, before the actual performance. The orchestra and soloist, of course, did not disappoint. Mr. Chen brought much of his social media presence to the stage of Heinz Hall last evening, and he injected into his playing a great deal of his animated style and vivacious personality. As he and the orchestra progressed through the three movements of the concerto, he spent any moment of rest tearing away the bow hairs he had broken in his zeal to make his 1714 “Dolphin, ex-Heifetz” Stradivari, sing as sweetly as possible. But during the third and final Allegro molto vivace, he snapped an E string and without batting an eye turned on the puzzled concertmaster to commandeer his violin in a swift exchange. The impaired violin was handed backward like a hot 18th century potato, and then forward after the string had been replaced. Not one glorious note of the music was missed. Just as in Seattle, where the exact same scenario played out for Mr. Chen in a concert about a year ago. If it was a coincidence, accidents will happen. Mr. Chen was recalled time and again until he generously granted an encore, a brief Bach piece which illustrated his ability to captivate an audience in no uncertain terms.
The second part of the program was devoted entirely to Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Op. 32. Like the Mendelssohn concerto, finding any new “takes” on the familiar music would simply take up space here. Loyal concert-goers already know that the music is overwhelmingly beautiful in places, and naively quaint in others, such as the style of the sublimely tranquil, romantic Venus the Bringer of Peace music, composed in an era when many thought the hellish planet was inhabited by intelligent life. Or the Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age movement (its composer’s favorite) which opens as an oh so quiet adagio, with fleeting moments of animato in the earlier part and andante later. The movement builds to a triple forte climax before the music fades quietly to silence. After the clamors of earlier parts of the evening, the Neptune, the Mystic, movement, the finale of the work’s seven, is quietly but oddly attractive. It opens with flutes, piccolo and oboes, in a swaying metre, with harps and celeste to the fore. As the music develops to a conclusion, the orchestra is joined briefly by an offstage chorus (The Women of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh) who unfortunately overdid the deliberately uncertain atonality of the thing.
As usual, the precision the orchestra injected into its playing, the tightness and whole-souled devotion to making the music sound its best and a little better, was on display last evening. It will be so tonight; it will be so at tomorrow’s matinee. Mr. Honeck throughout demonstrated a passion for his work, and insisted that the thunderous ovation he received was shared by the instrumentalists. He had each section of the orchestra stand and acknowledge the loud and lengthy ovation.
There are two more chances to hear this magnificent program. There are seats available for tonight and tomorrow afternoon, but the quicker you snap them up, the happier you’ll be to have heard this remarkable conductor, orchestra and majestic music.
Tickets at: https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/production/77718/list_performances
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