Orchestra, Under Jader Bignamini, with Kirill Gerstein, Piano Soloist, in Brilliant Program
By George B. Parous
The streets around the theaters were buzzing with people and outdoor diners last evening, and the overall jovial spirit in the warm air followed a surprisingly thin audience into Heinz Hall to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra once again outdo themselves under a dynamic conductor. It wasn’t a small audience, but the auditorium was hardly “comfortably filled,” either, and, oddly enough, the orchestra floor thinned slightly more after the first part and the Beethoven concerto had finished. Conditions upstairs I failed to note, so it’s possible the audience was top-heavy. The cliché about lacking in numbers being compensated for by the level of enthusiasm would be fitting here, because it was one of the most demonstrative groups heard at the PSO’s concerts this season. A fuller house would probably have been audible on Sixth Street.
Jader Bignamini, conductor, was a new name to add to the list of distinguished leaders at the helm of our grand symphony orchestra. The handsome young Italian, Music Director of the Detroit Symphony for the past two seasons, has a large resume of worldwide concert and opera performances to his credit, and last evening he gave ample proof of his reputation. He’s another who leads in a dynamic, but not manic, style, and the orchestra’s customary big, bold and precise sound was on full display from the first note until the last. This season he makes his debuts with the Opera de Paris, Deutsche Opera Berlin and the Toronto Symphony, with recent highlights of his career including debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera and the Dutch National Opera, to name but a few. On the concert stage he has conducted in Dallas, Milwaukee, and The Hague, as well as with the Slovenian and Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestras, and at numerous places in between. The orchestra was in its very top form and then some, under his baton, so we can hope he’ll come this way again.
Left, pianist Kirill Gerstein, right, conductor Jader Bignamini, with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto No. 1 in C major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 15, made up the first half of the program, and within minutes gave the hint that it was going to be a very special evening. As the program notes explain the pairing of the pieces played this weekend, both Beethoven and Shostakovich “dealt with many personal external challenges in their lifetimes. From health problems to authoritarian regimes, both Beethoven and Shostakovich wrote large orchestral works that defined the sounds of a generation and sketched the history they lived through in vibrant color.” Common threads… Titans of sound…
In the fast and lively Allegro con brio of Beethoven’s concerto, this first movement has a march-like sound in places, with a 4/4-time signature. It’s in sonata form with the addition of a cadenza and a coda. The cadenza is an extended solo passage for the piano in which primary themes from the movement are heard, and they were played in a grand manner by pianist Kirill Gerstein. The gentleman is a true virtuoso. He produced a brilliant tone and played with a dexterity reserved for the great ones. When he wasn’t playing, he was deeply absorbed in the orchestra’s work. The second movement, the slow Largo, played in the key of A♭ major, was just as moving. The final, fast Rondo allegro movement, with its irregular phrases and syncopated rhythms, is a direct contrast to the first, and at its conclusion the audience rose to the soloist, conductor and instrumentalists in a rousing roar of approval. A few recalls brought the conductor and pianist back to the stage. Mr. Gerstein graciously presented his bouquet of blooms to the exceptionally gifted Anne Martindale Williams, the gracious and charming principal cellist. The recalls persisted until Mr. Gerstein resigned himself to taking a seat for the inevitable encore, for which he quite generously chose to toss off with the greatest of abandon a brilliant Chopin waltz.
Kirill Gerstein presented his bouquet to principal cellist Anne Martindale Williams (center) to the delight of all.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Opus 93, while similar in purpose to Beethoven’s concerto, bears no tonal resemblance whatsoever. This is only natural, since Shostakovich spent much of his career being censured by the brutal Soviet regime of Josef Stalin, and in a totally different period in world history. As Dr. Richard E. Rodda best states in the program notes: “Shostakovich left the final interpretation of the Tenth Symphony up to each listener. It is no doubt heroic, filled with struggle and a deep awareness of life’s pains. But it is also uplifting in its dedication to the human spirit and the continuity of life itself against the greatest obstacles. In the words of Ray Blokker in his book on the composer’s symphonies, ‘Here is the heart of Shostakovich. In this work he opens his soul to the world, revealing its tragedy and profundity, but also its resilience and strength.’”
The four-movement symphony (Moderato; Allegro; Allegretto and Andante – Allegro) was among many of the major compositions Shostakovich knew to withhold until they could receive a fair hearing after Stalin was dead. The welcome news of Stalin’s death in 1953 reinvigorated his composing in the symphonic genre for the first time in five years. He quickly gathered up sketches he had tucked away, pulled them together with finishing touches, so that the symphony premiered in Leningrad on December 17, 1953, just nine months after Stalin’s demise. The first movement opens softly and builds into spectacular climaxes, in a single basic moderato tempo. “In this, there are more slow tempi and lyrical moments than dramatic, heroic, and tragic,” Shostakovich wrote. The second movement is loud and furious, and Shostakovich didn’t hesitate to call it a “musical portrait of Stalin… a beast and a butcher…” The third movement is gentle, with a horn theme based on Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and other nuances. Astonishingly powerful string themes, crashing cymbals, great booms from the bass drum; horns, brass and woodwinds at full throttle – the excitement was palpable and again the audience let loose quite a remarkable demonstration.
Some of the loveliest music, some of the most eloquent playing of the evening, was heard by those who stayed behind for the post-concert numbers. An aria from the Goldberg Variations of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the “Erbarme dich, mein Gott,” from his St. Matthew Passion, were exquisitely played by Jennifer Orchard, Ellen Chen-Livingston and Regi Papa, violins; Sean Juhl, viola; Mikhail Istomin, cello, and Nicholas Myers, bass. This sextet’s beautiful interpretations of Bach’s soothing melodies were a perfect nightcap.
The program is highly recommended, and Sunday’s matinee will be another chance to hear a glorious afternoon’s worth of music played by a world-class orchestra with a top-notch conductor and guest pianist. You can check out the full program details and get tickets at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra website. If you’re interested in hearing the Shostakovich symphony alone, in addition to on-stage insights, cocktails, a scavenger hunt and more, be sure to take a look at tonight’s Persist event.
Left, pianist Kirill Gerstein, center, conductor Jader Bignamini, with members of the PSO
Photography by Julie Goetze
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