The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Friday marked the end of a most unusual classical season. With the pandemic shutting down performances nationwide, the DSO was one of the first orchestras to soldier on with reduced formations.
Led by guest conductor Peter Oundjian, Friday’s program at the Meyerson Symphony Center explored a rich range of music by Russian composers from the 19th and 20th centuries.
It was fitting, then, that Vadim Gluzman, born in the former Soviet Union, appeared as soloist in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. One of Gluzman’s teachers was the late Arkady Fomin, a longtime DSO violinist and well-known teacher in the area.
Gluzman lent a forlorn quality to his opening melody, displaying a pleasantly grainy tone. But his phrases frequently needed a stronger sense of direction. And his tendency to rush resulted in coordination issues with the orchestra.
These problems were especially prominent in the third movement. There were some compelling moments, where everything lined into place. But the music often threatened to go off the rails, with Gluzman pushing ahead so much that the orchestra couldn’t keep up.
In the slow movement, Gluzman’s playing of gentle passages called for much greater sweetness. But principal clarinetist Gregory Raden made wonderfully lyrical contributions in dialogue with Gluzman.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/Y4VFI4YJARDNVC4WDLUQQEZE5Y.jpg)
The other two works, both based on fairy tales, fared much better. Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture was the opener. Brisk, charming melodies whizzed by with ebullience. The strings seemed to have a fuller, more robust sound than usual, and the winds and brass coordinated chords well.
Stravinsky’s Firebird ballet tells the story of a prince who frees 13 captive princesses from the snares of an evil king, with help from the magical, eponymous creature. The DSO presented the 1919 suite from the ballet.
The winds conveyed the colorful splendor of the Firebird with fast flutterings and trills shaped with a lovely lilt. Principal oboist Erin Hannigan imbued her solos with appealing tenderness in sections evoking the princesses’ innocence.
The “Infernal Dance” whipped up a storm of orchestral colors, with quicksilver runs dashing all around. Yet aggressive accents from the bass drum, near the edge of the stage, were deafening.
In the “Berceuse,” principal bassoonist Ted Soluri drew out the mysteriousness of his solo lullabies meant to put the king and his monsters to sleep. Fine-tuned brasses sounded particularly resplendent in the finale.
Oundjian evinced a thorough understanding of musical scaling, building from subdued pianissimos to bone-rattling climaxes. When appropriate, he also knew exactly how much to stretch the tempo for maximum dramatic impact.
Repeats at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center 2301 Flora St. $29 to $109. A video of the concert will be available June 8. Individual concert videos are $10; season passes are $125. 214-849-4376, dallassymphony.org.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/SWZCNVR5CJBONBSA6UIV3OY7CY.JPG)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/IDVAGBNZHFFPFMEKTLQKEFWKFU.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/TQHFAHWQ5NF4LPKMJ2WXCY5W2M.jpeg)
"Review" - Google News
May 29, 2021 at 09:29PM
https://ift.tt/3uDZHgQ
Review: Magical Stravinsky from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Peter Oundjian - The Dallas Morning News
"Review" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YqLwiz
https://ift.tt/3c9nRHD
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Review: Magical Stravinsky from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Peter Oundjian - The Dallas Morning News"
Post a Comment