Tchaikovsky Spectacular
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller, conductor
with Joshua Roman, cello
Palace Theatre, Albany, NY
April 23, 2010
Spectacular. Advertising copywriters often use that adjective to describe concerts of Tchaikovsky, especially when his 1812 Overture is performed, with or without real cannons.
The Albany Symphony Orchestra’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” Friday night at the Palace Theatre didn’t emphasize booming spectacle. Instead, it earned the critique of spectacular for the outstanding level of musical execution and deep emotional impact.
The Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique” was a tour de force for massed forces that burst to life in the glittering waltz and climaxed in the striding march. As always, that third movement was so convincing as a grand finale that much of the audience broke into applause. But the heart of the piece was still to come in the wrenching final Adagio. At its conclusion, when conductor David Alan Miller left the podium, he looked flushed and somber. He was also drenched, though it was hard to tell if it was just from sweat, or maybe a few tears were mixed in to the flow.
For the first time in memory, Miller walked amongst the orchestra, thanking and congratulating his players while the audience cheered.
Through the symphony’s many mood swings, there was a consistent and admirable attention to subtle levels of dynamics and clarity of textures. To get there must have taken study and discipline in rehearsal, but everything came off fluid and organic.
Equally satisfying yet a world away in sentiment was the light and frothy Rococo Variations, featuring the 26 year-old cellist Joshua Roman. Though a flirtatious presence, with a sly grin and darting, mischievous eyes, he was no mere showboat. Roman’s playing was lean and exacting, yet delivered with an off the cuff ease. His combination of charming personality and utter musicality should take him far.
The concert opened with a handsome performance of the March Slave followed by the final movement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3. The latter, structured as a series of variations, is a kind of catalog of Tchaikovsky’s trademark gestures and brilliant orchestration techniques. A highlight of the performance was a solo by concertmaster Jill Levy that began with startling muscle and verve before easing into a lyric serenade.
____________________
Jeremy Denk, piano
Union College Concert Series, Schenectady, NY
April 24, 2010
Before he launched into his daring and demanding piano recital Saturday night at Union College, Jeremy Denk revealed his way with words, describing the evening’s program as “beauty and the beast.” It was an apt, if not wholly original title for the juxtaposition of monumental works by Ives and Bach.
The beastliness came first, with Ives’ Piano Sonata No. 1. Though one of the lesser known works of America’s first musical iconoclast, the 1909 composition still has all of Ives’ trademark elements. It’s built of rough-hewn planks of sound interspersed with airy spaciousness. Such rarified material clearly appeals to Denk, who gave us the better known and more elegantly structured Second Sonata (“Concord”) in his series debut, back in December 2007.
His performance was a balance of muscle and grace and an undeniable feat. But after playing some of the piece’s hymn tunes during his opening talk — including “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” — it was a little surprising that Denk didn’t bring them out a bit more in his interpretation. Instead, the most playful and lyric elements were when Ives puts fragments of ragtime into a jagged loop.
The overall effect brought to mind an expressionist painting, particularly the splashes of Jackson Pollock. Imagine another artist trying to recreate one of those canvases and you’ll have an idea of the task that Denk laid out for himself.
After intermission came Bach’s Goldberg Variations, beauty personified for a full hour. Sports analogies aren’t a favorite, yet it felt like Denk went from traversing treacherous mountains and valleys in the Ives to running a long marathon on country roads with the Bach. Endurance and focus were key.
Once in a while though, you could identify footprints of the same interpreter. He’d highlight bits of mild dissonance through judicious use of the pedal, or emphasize a strong bass line. In one of the later variations, he snapped the release of chords for an arresting effect.
Denk raced through many of the variations with dizzying speed and stunning cross-hand technique. He seemed in rapture the whole way through.
