Conductor Dima Slobodeniouk Brings Out the Best for Heinz Hall Crowd
By George B. Parous
There is always something soul-stirring – an indefinable, sweeping emotion of mixed pleasure and awe, that rolls from the stage of Heinz Hall onto, above and all around the large audiences the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra draws. The atmosphere in the auditorium crackles with excitement, sympathy; whatever emotion the composer may have committed to music, and then the intelligent masses (for that’s what PSO audiences are) let loose with discriminating applause or a roaring ovation, as the situation calls for, and the conducting of Dima Slobodeniouk of a Beethoven concerto and a Prokofiev symphony got the latter last night and deserved every minute of it.
But rarely does a first hearing grip the heart as did Valentin Silvestrov’s Prayer for Ukraine. Composed in 2014, the orchestral prayer was initially invoked for Ukraine by the “Euromaidan” uprising of 2013-14; protests sparked by then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. Mr. Silvestrov often visited the Maidan Square in Kyiv, where he could hear the prayers of peaceful protesters punctuated by gunshots.
He was also among the millions to flee the devastation and barbarism of Putin’s meaningless, unprovoked rape of Ukraine in 2022 – a war crime which continues to this day. Asked by a Berlin reporter for his impressions of the present Ukrainian situation, Mr. Silvestrov was not at a loss for words. “I have to go further back in time,” he said, “to the Maidan uprising of 2014. What is happening now is a thousand times bigger, I mean the shelling of the Maidan on the last day. Young people were killed there, both Russians and Ukrainians, all unarmed. And now the whole of Ukraine and the whole world is turning into the Maidan. Maidan was a chamber version, a kind of trio or duet. And now it’s an orchestral version.”
The orchestra, as the opening number, played his brief Prayer for Ukraine beautifully. Its plaintive strings and haunting phrases moved the audience deeply. As the applause faded, it could be overheard in the audience that while most orchestral pieces need several hearings to be fully appreciated, as noted earlier, Silvestrov’s music touches the heart and soul immediately. One hearing is all that’s needed to make the listener wish to return to it, as a familiar old tune. It was a riveting start to the evening.
Photo credit Julie Goetz
The first half of the program continued with Beethoven’s Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 61, and the smiling, beaming Gil Shaham as guest soloist. Mr. Slobodeniouk led the orchestra through moving performances of the familiar Allegro, Larghetto and Rondo: Allegro of the concerto, the full strength of the woodwind, brass, timpani, and string sections supporting Mr. Shaham nicely. “In a world full of outstanding violinists,” the Boston Globe has noted, “Shaham is one of the few identifiable by sound and style alone.” He gave ample evidence of that accolade last evening, being recalled time and again, until a short and sweet encore silenced the thunder.
Part two of the program is Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100. Composed in 1944, the Fifth Symphony was first played by the PSO just three years later at the long-gone Syria Mosque. World War II was raging while Prokofiev was working on the symphony. He said at the time that he wanted “a hymn to free and happy man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit,” and added “I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamored for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul.” Mr. Slobodeniouk led the orchestra through the four movements of the symphony in a way that brought the audience to its feet.
In an interesting post-concert offering, Rhian Kenny, flute; Max Blair, oboe; Ron Samuels, clarinet; Jack Howell, bass clarinet; Philip Pandolfi, bassoon and Mark Houghton, French horn, remained on stage to play selections from Leoš Janáček’s Mládí for the part of the audience which stayed behind to listen.
It’s not too late to enjoy this program, for it will be repeated at tomorrow’s matinee. Visit the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for more details and tickets.
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