Author: Sam Jacobson

Ólafsson and Wang dazzle in spectacular two piano recital

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Yuja Wang, piano
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
Mandel Concert Hall
Severance Music Center
Cleveland, OH
February 23, 2025

Berio: Wasserklavier (No. 3 from Six Encores)
Schubert: Fantasie in F minor, D940
Cage: Experiences No. 1
Nancarrow: Study No. 6 (arr. Adès)
Adams: Hallelujah Junction
Pärt: Hymn to a Great City
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Encores:
Brahms: Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op. 72 No. 2
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor
Brahms: Waltz in E major, Op. 39 No. 2
Brahms: Waltz in G-sharp major, Op. 39 No. 3

Sunday afternoon marked a remarkable high point in The Cleveland Orchestra’s immensely rewarding recital series, with pianists Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson joining forces in a stop at Severance Hall on a brief US tour. Both superstar soloists in their own right, it was truly electrifying seeing these two band together. Yet this was more than just a celebrity pairing calculated to maximize box office receipts: their artistic temperaments complemented each other well, showing the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Víkingur Ólafsson and Yuja Wang at Severance Hall, photos credit Human Artist Photography + Cinema 

The program was ripe with discovery, skirting some of the more commonly played fare for two pianos. Luciano Berio’s Wasserklavier began, a meditative opening with liquescent textures freely flowing. The piece made subtle nods to Brahms and Schubert, and fittingly, the pianists artfully segued directly into the latter’s own Fantasie in F minor. Usually played four hands on a single piano, hearing it spread across two instruments gave the work a greater resonance and depth of sound.

Crisply articulated dotted rhythms began, plunging into penetrating drama — rarely will one hear Schubert played with such intensity. Dance-like sections contrasted, exuding joy with the twenty fingers at work, intricately choreographed. A fascinating selection of works from the late 20th-century followed, beginning with John Cage’s Experiences No. 1. The composer’s characteristic minimalist textures were piquantly harmonized, punctuated by silence.

The sixth of Conlon Nancarrow’s 49 studies for player piano followed, made humanly playable in its two-piano arrangement by Thomas Adès (who local concertgoers had the chance to see conduct a remarkable Cleveland Orchestra program just the night before). In this case, the two pianos seemed to be at odds with one another, yet the jagged rhythms fit together in interlocking fashion.

The first half closed with John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction, to my mind, the highlight of the program. Pulsating energy filled Severance Hall with pianistic brilliance. Music of almost perpetual motion — quite a contrast to the minimalism of Cage — gave a larger-than-life portrayal of the namesake town on the California-Nevada border, and demonstrated in no uncertain terms the electric chemistry between these two pianists. The more lyrical pulses of a downtempo section captivated in their rhythmic intricacies, only to build back up to a dazzling density of sound.

Arvo Pärt’s Hymn to a Great City was marked by Wang’s playing in the upper register that rang with the purity of bells, and some delicate filigree that decorated the otherwise barren textures. Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances — his final work — closed the printed program. Hammering out the main theme with pile-driving intensity, an almost manic energy between the two created a rich orchestral sonority. Yet matters were still clear and articulate, with a contrasting theme of haunting lyrical beauty. Sultry waltz rhythms in the central dance were given with stylish playing, and the finale was bold and grandiose, with broad gestures cascading spectacularly.

No less than five encores followed, a delightful selection of dances by Brahms and Dvořák, performed on a single piano, four hands. A charming, convivial close to a memorable afternoon.

Honeck leads lavish program of varied Viennese repertoire in Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
Heinz Hall
Pittsburgh, PA
February 21, 2025

Ishizaki: Spin
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K503
 Encore:
 Chopin: Nocturne No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
Korngold: Symphony in F-sharp major, Op. 40

All three works on Manfred Honeck’s generous Pittsburgh Symphony engaged in some fashion with the rich musical heritage of Vienna. The opening turned to a local voice, 24-year-old Pittsburgh area native Hannah Ishizaki, currently a doctoral student in music composition at Princeton (see NEXTpittsburgh for a lovely interview). Receiving its world premiere was Spin, a five-minute curtain-raiser that drew on dance traditions as disparate as Viennese waltz and electronic dance music.

Pre-concert interview with piccolo Rhian Kenny, composer Hannah Ishizaki, and assistant conductor Moon Doh

The work began almost in media res, as if it had always been in motion, dropping the needle in the thick of things. Driving rhythms made for an exciting listen, and Ishizaki made skillful use of the large orchestra she employed. A homecoming for the composer, writing for this orchestra in this hall is not without deep personal significance. A solo passage invoking a kinetic dance club beat was given to the contrabassoon, whom the composer counts as a mentor.

There’s hardly a more choice soloist in a Mozart piano concerto than Emanuel Ax, and the regal no. 25 in C major was a particularly fine vehicle for the pianist’s pearly technique and refined interpretation. A bold opening was fitting for one of the composer’s grandest conceptions in the medium, and the orchestra offered a nuanced reading, with detailed inflections and attention to the inner voices. The pianist’s entry was in the shape of just a single line, hesitant at first, before its full flourishing, displaying the crystalline, rippling playing of this masterful Mozartean.

Easily surmounting the decorative trills, rapid scales, and other technical demands, Ax also offered his own cadenza, an essay artfully expressive and wide-ranging. The central Andante served as a songful blending of piano and orchestra, and the finale brimmed with Viennese elegance, pointed and articulate. More so than the typical Mozart finale, it also probed the lyrical, particularly when Ax was in a lovely dialogue with the winds. A warmly enthusiastic reception — Ax seemed visibly moved — brought him back for an encore in a Chopin nocturne, a quantity which starkly contrasted the languid and the dramatic.

Something of a Mozart of his day, Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a prodigy in Vienna of extraordinary precocity. Fleeing the Nazis, he then found fame and fortune in Hollywood where he became one of the first major composers of film scores (John Williams cites him as a major influence). His sole symphony dates from the mid-1950s and is cast in the unusual key of F-sharp major. It’s not a work one encounters in concert often, but seems to have had a resurgence lately — a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic was quite memorable for this listener, and The Cleveland Orchestra has also programmed it in a recent season.

A jagged primary theme took shape in the clarinet, teetering on the brink of tonality, but firmly residing in the late Romantic tradition. Honeck and the PSO delivered a bracing, razor-sharp reading of this dense score with singular drama. As sumptuous as it gets, it’s almost to the point of excess and — as if one perhaps had a few too many slices of sachertorte. A high-octane scherzo followed, further showing the variegated color spectrum, with particularly piquant splashes from the piano and celesta. Matters were at the very edge of control without ever falling into chaos, and the brass passages had the cinematic effect of a film score.

Korngold looked towards Austrian compatriot Anton Bruckner in the towering slow movement, conceived in this case as a memorial to FDR. Brass and strings resounded through Heinz Hall, swelling to lush textures, though a solo passage for flute was delicately forlorn. The finale returned to the vigor and angular gestures of the opening, and militant brass fanfares threaded George M. Cohan’s Over There into the score. A welcome opportunity to hear a major if infrequently performed work — and certainly a highlight of the PSO season thus far.

In a brief post-concert performance, a quintet of PSO string players offered the first movement of Dvořák’s String Quintet No. 2, Op. 77. The use of double bass gives this work an orchestral heft, and made for a delightful capstone to the Dvořák heard the previous week.

Manfred Honeck, Emanuel Ax, and the Pittsburgh Symphony

A celebration of the national parks at the Wheeling Symphony

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Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
Josh Devlin, conductor
Madeline Adkins, violin
Capitol Theatre
Wheeling, WV
February 8, 2025

Jackfert: Foggy Moon Over the Gorge
Lincoln-DeCusatis: The Maze
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Legendary as the US national park system is, there isn’t all that much music directly inspired by it (Grofé’s Grand Canyon and Death Valley suites, Messiaen’s From the canyons to the stars – am I missing any others?). Saturday afternoon’s performance by the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra celebrated the wonders of the park system with two recent additions to the list, acknowledging West Virginia’s own New River Gorge and Utah’s Canyonlands.

Josh Devlin conducts the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, photos credit WSO

A native of Charleston, WV, composer Matthew Jackfert cites a late-night drive over the Glade Creek Bridge just outside of New River Gorge as inspiration for Foggy Mountain Over the Gorge, a seven-minute essay that artfully captures its striking scenery (an excerpt may be heard here). Colorful, individualistic writing painted the foggy nightscape, a lovely homage to the natural beauty of the composer’s home state.

In an effort to reach out to the community at large, local students were asked to create art inspired by West Virginia’s scenery, on display in the theater’s ballroom and projected onstage during the performance of Jackfert’s piece. In addition, the WSO was enhanced by string students from the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra performing side-by-side.

Moving matters westward was The Maze, a 2021 violin concerto by Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis, inspired by the titular formation in Canyonlands. Written for Madeline Adkins, concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, she served as a commanding soloist here in Wheeling as well. In his prefatory remarks, the composer explained that the soloist serves as a lone explorer of the canyon, and the orchestra represents the landscape itself. A kaleidoscopic chord opened and would recur throughout, serving as a re-orienting signpost amidst the labyrinthine walls of the craggy canyons. Adkins was almost in perpetual motion, as if a particularly enthusiastic explorer, and a dazzling cadenza heralded a final push to the close.

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony rounded off the program with a mainstay of the repertoire. An arresting brass fanfare opened, and music director Josh Devlin guided the orchestra through the vast swath of the expansive first movement with a keen sense of direction and purpose. A languid oboe solo marked the slow movement, and one was particularly struck by the richness of the strings, with inflections of Russian folk music. In an almost solely pizzicato affair, the strings exerted control and precision during even the softest moments of the scherzo. Bombastic as it was, the finale capped the work off with vigor, not excess.

Madeline Adkins with the WSO

Elder leads Pittsburgh Symphony in brooding Sibelius, Shostakovich – and an interlude in the English countryside

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, oboe
Heinz Hall
Pittsburgh, PA
January 31, 2025

Sibelius: Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49
Vaughan Williams: Concerto in A minor for Oboe and Strings
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141

Sir Mark Elder is certainly a conductor with a knack for devising intriguing and offbeat programs, and his Friday night appearance with the Pittsburgh Symphony was no exception. Sibelius’ tone poem Pohjola’s Daughter opened, beginning with darkly brooding material from the cellos. Vigorous brass joined in the lush orchestration, though any glimmers of hope in this grisly tale from the Kalevala were duly snuffed out for its quiet, somber ending. On either side of the stage, plot events from the source material were projected in sync with the music — though Sibelius’ writing is so detailed, one hardly needed it.

Sir Mark Elder, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, and the Pittsburgh Symphony, photo credit Josh Milteer

Vaughan Williams’ 1944 Oboe Concerto followed, featuring PSO principal Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida. This is a work the PSO has performed only once before, and nearly 30 years ago. DeAlmeida served as soloist in that performance as well, and in prerecorded remarks, she reflected on playing it as a relatively new addition to the PSO’s ranks, to now revisiting it decades later as a seasoned member.

Because the oboe doesn’t project particularly well, Vaughan Williams reduced the orchestral accompaniment to strings alone. The concerto serves as a companion piece to the composer’s Fifth Symphony (the “Pastoral”): it, too, purveys a ponderous pastoralism, and the concerto’s finale came from sketches originally intended for the symphony. DeAlmeida offered a lyrical, songful tone, keenly phrased and in delicate balance with her stringed colleagues. Cadenzas at various intervals showed her limber and dexterous.

The central movement took its cue from English country dances, sprightly and charming. The closing scherzo traversed the oboe’s range, and saw the soloist in fleet interplay with the orchestra. A closing section returned to the tender and reflective, and theme that perhaps interpolates The Last Rose of Summer in quintessential English fashion.

Shostakovich’s Fifteenth and final symphony occupied the latter half. Quite unlike any of the composer’s previous groundbreaking works in the form — or any symphony that came before or after, for that matter — it reflects on a lifetime of turmoil and triumphant in idiosyncratic fashion. Pings in the glockenspiel began, answered by a silvery flute — flippant and unsettled as only Shostakovich could do. Themes from William Tell and other works were seamlessly woven in, an eerie soundscape with the composer in a dreamlike trance of music by others that resonated with him.

A low brass chorale opened the lugubrious slow movement, highlighted by a devastatingly austere cello solo (Anne Martindale Williams). Angular material in the clarinet marked the Allegretto, along with a fine solo from concertmaster David McCarroll. Echoes of Wagner and many others were heard in the eclectic finale, as if Shostakovich wanted to use the final movement of his final symphony to comprehensively reflect on all that inspired him. The ticking of clocks, achieved through woodblocks (a device previously used in his iconoclastic Fourth Symphony), made for an ending as extraordinary as it was enigmatic.

Pittsburgh Opera resident artists shine in Haydn’s Armida

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Pittsburgh Opera
Antony Walker, conductor
Haley Stamats, director

Matthew Soibelman, Idreno
Lauryn Davis, Armida
Fran Daniel Laucerica, Rinaldo
Erik Nordstrom, Ubaldo
Audrey Welsh, Clotarca
Shannon Crowley, Zelmira

CAPA School Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
January 28, 2025

Haydn: Armida, Hob. XXVIII:12

The overwhelming majority of the standard opera repertoire dates from the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Hearing a work outside that admittedly fertile era is always a welcome opportunity, afforded locally in late January by Pittsburgh Opera’s presentation of Haydn’s 1784 dramma eroico, Armida. The subject matter deals with the First Crusade, and inspired a litany of music, including earlier operatic treatments by Handel (Rinaldo) and Lully (Armide).

Armida (Lauryn Davis), photos credit David Bachman Photography for Pittsburgh Opera

The forces Armida required conveniently allowed all eight members of this year’s corps of resident artists a moment in the spotlight — six vocalists, along with pianist Maeve Berry and assistant stage director Dana Kinney. The Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra under the baton of Antony Walker opened crisp and articulate, just as adept in the late 18th-century style as they are in Puccini — though I did find the obvious electronic sound of the continuo a bit jarring. Bass Matthew Soibelman made the first vocal appearance in a declamatory recitative.

A troupe of dancers from Attack Theatre added a further expressive dimension to the performance, and provided narrative in the absence of text. I particularly enjoyed the various duets when the singers’ voices harmoniously blended — Audrey Welsh as Clotarca (originally, a tenor named Clotarco, but rescored and renamed here to fit the mezzo-soprano) with Shannon Crowley as Zelmira, and certainly the two leads: Fran Daniel Laucerica’s loving and longing take on Rinaldo, with Lauryn Davis as the imposing titular sorceress. With elements of the supernatural achieved through clever staging, the work ultimately drew to a dark and stormy end in this quintessential opera seria.

Armida (Lauryn Davis), nymphs (dancers courtesy of Attack Theatre), Idreno (Matthew Soibelman), Rinaldo (Fran Daniel Laucerica)

Tommy Mesa and Michelle Cann warm a cold evening with colorful recital

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Tommy Mesa, cello
Michelle Cann, piano
PNC Theatre
Pittsburgh Playhouse
Pittsburgh, PA
January 20, 2025

Nadia Boulanger: Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor, L135
Kevin Day: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Casarrubios: Mensajes del agua
Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40

Encore:
Rachmaninoff: Andante from Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19

If one longed for an escape from the presidential inauguration and the bitter cold temperatures, Chamber Music Pittsburgh offered a perfect solution the night of January 20 by way of a cello and piano recital. Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa was joined by Michelle Cann, and the duo offered a wide-ranging, diverse program, ripe with musical discovery.

Michelle Cann and Tommy Mesa at the PNC Theater, photo credit Chamber Music Pittsburgh

Better known as a pedagogue of enormous influence, Nadia Boulanger was also an accomplished composer in her own right (as was her far too short-lived sister, Lili). The first of her Three Pieces for Cello and Piano boasted an expressive cello melody, underpinned by rippling gestures in the piano’s upper register. The middle piece served as a gentle interlude before the fiery close which saw extrovert playing from both parties to round off these finely crafted gems.

Near the end of his life, Debussy embarked on a set of six sonatas for various instrumental combinations. Sadly, only three were completed, the first being a brief but impactful cello sonata. Introductory material in the piano evidenced a unique soundscape, even for Debussy. Rich tone in the cello and dramatic playing in the piano made for a captivating effect, and yielded a language markedly different from the German tradition (this sonata is worlds apart from the Brahms cello sonatas, for instance). The central Sérénade showed Debussy as the master of effect, with ample use of pizzicato, glissando, and most strikingly, flautando – bowing in such a way as to create a flute-like sound. An interlude that brought to mind the charm of Children’s Corner, ahead of a playful finale that brimmed with Gallic elegance.

A 2016 cello sonata from West Virginia composer Kevin Day closed the first half. Though Day’s first work for the medium, its skillful writing grabbed one in from the beginning with its piquant harmonies and energetic syncopations. The central Lento was especially lovely with a long melody high in the cello’s range, with the piano gently pulsing. The sonata reached a satisfying close with a vigorous, driving finale. Mesa and Cann included this work on their warmly recommended album Our Stories, featuring works by Black and Latinx composers.

Andrea Casarrubios is another composer included on the album, represented in the present program by her work Mensajes del agua (“Messages from water”). Meant to depict the perfection of frozen water, it was meditative in its glacial stillness, and though textures were sparse, it purveyed a deep lyricism. Nikolai Kapustin’s Elegy was originally slotted on the program but jettisoned Monday evening, for which Mesa offered apologies to the Kapustin fans in the audience — a population to which I emphatically identify!

Any disappointment was easily allayed by the masterful performance of Shostakovich’s great cello sonata which closed. The first movement saw pointed articulation and a directness of expression, with Mesa’s burnished tone well-suited to the work. Despite its seeming simplicity, subtleties beneath the surface abounded for both instruments, with Shostakovich ever the subversive. A Largo section was marked by ominous pizzicato figures.

The brief Allegro second movement was perhaps the most remarkable, filled with colorful, sardonic writing. There was somber tragedy in the slow movement, with the cello nearly matching the human voice, and Mesa’s ample vibrato yielded a pained lyricism. A finale was in equal parts playful and gritty, drawing comparison to the composer’s First Piano Concerto from the previous year.

As an encore, the duo offered the slow movement from another great Russian cello sonata: Rachmaninoff’s G minor work. A sumptuously gorgeous close to the evening.

Youngstown Symphony pairs Beethoven’s Eroica with rarely-heard Cherubini

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Youngstown Symphony Orchestra
Erik Ochsner, conductor
Stambaugh Auditorium
Youngstown, OH
January 19, 2025

Cherubini: Overture to L’hôtellerie portugaise
Cherubini: Symphony in D major
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, Eroica

For the first time in its almost 100-year history, the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra performed music of Luigi Cherubini. A representative overture and symphony comprised the first half of Sunday afternoon’s program at Stambaugh Auditorium. When asked who of his contemporaries he most admired, Beethoven cited Cherubini — quite a stamp of approval for the Italian composer who was once highly regarded for his operas, but to whom history has been much less kind. Kudos to conductor Erik Ochsner for devising an intriguing, historically informed program.

Eric Ochsner conducting the YSO, photo credit Youngstown Symphony

The program opened with the overture to his opera L’hôtellerie portugaise (“The Portuguese Inn”), proving to be quite an effective curtain-raiser. A playful, flippant gesture opened, countered by touchingly resonant strings. Given with joy and vivacity, it predicted the charm and ebullience that would become such hallmarks of Rossini’s overtures. The drama in the present overture was fittingly operatic, and left me intrigued to discover the rest of the opera.

Cherubini’s Symphony in D major followed, a somewhat uncommon medium for Italian composers. Much like early Beethoven and Schubert, it’s a work that bridges the gap between the Classical and Romantic styles, a key piece of the puzzle to the development of the aesthetic that would dominate most of the nineteenth century. The elegant slow introduction recalled the symphonies of Haydn (Cherubini, like Haydn, also spent formative years in London), and the first movement proper was marked by charming strings and touches of winds and brass.

The Larghetto cantabile served as a lyrical interlude conveyed with genuine feeling, decorated with delicate ornaments and deft layering of the inner voices. A foot-tapping scherzo followed, and the sprightly finale ranged from the lithe to the bellicose. A well-balanced performance evidenced the YSO’s committed advocacy for this rarely-heard work.

Familiar territory was reached in the second half devoted to Beethoven’s epochal Eroica. Pairing it with the Cherubini symphony went to show just how revolutionary and ahead of his time Beethoven was — the former dates from 1815, more than a decade after Beethoven’s, yet sounds so conservative by comparison. Given with a noticeably more polished reading than the Cherubini works, it’s certainly a piece more in the comfort zone of both players and audience alike. Yet ultimately Sunday’s performance was more inspired than routine, with the first movement spacious and exultant, and dramatic tension was teased out of the striking dissonances in the development.

In the somber funeral march, one was struck by the richness of the strings, and the glimmers of triumph during the brassy maggiore. The scherzo was vigorous but not rushed, though the brass intonation in its trio left something to be desired. A burst of energy opened the finale, followed by a pizzicato presentation of the theme which served as the source for the wide-ranging variations that ensued, showing the many sides of a seemingly simple subject.

Pittsburgh Symphony rings in holiday season with a joyous Messiah

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor

Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
Daniel Singer, director

Jeanine De Bique, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
John Matthew Myers, tenor
Joshua Hopkins, baritone

Heinz Hall
Pittsburgh, PA
December 7, 2024

Handel: Messiah, HWV 56

If there’s a sign the holiday season is upon us, surely it would be a performance of Handel’s timeless oratorio Messiah — although it’s worth remembering that its first performance coincided instead with Easter. Buttressing Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony was the Mendelssohn Choir and a quartet of vocal soloists — two of which along with the Choir were featured in the previous night’s performance of the Fauré Requiem.

Reginald Mobley (cropped), Jeanine De Bique, John Matthew Myers, and Joshua Hopkins perform with Honeck and the PSO. Photos credit Josh Milteer / Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

As is often done, cuts were made to the present performance with Honeck artfully selecting 41 of the 53 segments for a brisk 90 minutes of music. The opening Sinfonia for orchestra alone was crisply articulated, a stern, minor-key affair in sharp contrast from the exultant quality of most of the work. Tenor John Matthew Myers had the first vocal appearance of the evening in “Comfort ye, my people,” purveying a smooth, lyrical tone that was comforting indeed.

Baritone Joshua Hopkins maintained an imposing vocal presence, apparent from his entry in the recitative “Thus saith the Lord.” A highlight of the generally more introspective Part II of the work came in Hopkins’ aria “Why do the nations so furiously rage” — and one longs for a year when this isn’t so topical. “The trumpet shall sound” from the third and final part was fittingly bright with tenor and trumpet in clarion conversation.

Reginald Mobley offered a flexible countertenor, wide in range and elastic in melisma. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive” saw him in delicate dialogue with the principal strings and continuo. All selections that featured the soloists were for a single performer, save for “O death, where is thy sting?” which engaged Mobley and Hopkins in duet. Their voices blended harmoniously — a pity there weren’t more opportunities to hear the quartet in concert with each other.

Appearing for the first time near the end of Part I was soprano Jeanine De Bique, delicate and nuanced. She was particularly angelic in Part III’s aria “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” decorated in tinsel by high and strings and organ. “If God be for us” was a poignant and intimate moment ahead of the exuberant close, with solo passages from the concertmaster and cello touchingly decorating the soprano’s vocal line.

Of course the star of any Messiah performance is the chorus, and the Mendelssohn Choir delivered in spades. “And the Glory of the Lord,” marked their entry, delivering with clarity the intricate, multi-layered choral writing. The Hallelujah chorus, recognizable far beyond the confines of the concert hall, was festive and bright, and the audience followed the time-honored tradition of rising to their feet. “Worthy is the Lamb” closed the evening in the brilliance and weight of the full ensemble.

The PSO performs Handel’s Messiah at Heinz Hall

Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony offer delectable potpourri in Thanksgiving program

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor
Steven Banks, saxophone
Heinz Hall
Pittsburgh, PA
December 1, 2024

Weber: Overture to Der Freischütz
Tomasi: Concerto for Alto Saxophone
Strauss II: Overture to Die Fledermaus
Strauss II: Éljen a Magyar!, Op. 332
Puccini: Intermezzo from Act III of Manon Lescaut
Strauss II: Leichtes Blut, Op. 319
Banks: Strength of My Life from Come As You Are (arr. Corey Dundee)
Strauss II: Kaiser-Walzer, Op. 437
Strauss II: Auf der Jagd, Op. 373

Encores:
Josef Strauss: Feurfest!, Op. 269
Strauss Sr.: Radetzky-Marsch, Op. 228

In a standing tradition, the Pittsburgh Symphony presented a populist Thanksgiving program highlighted by a brimming selection of waltzes, polkas, and marches from the Strauss family. The first half began on a rather more serious note, however, opening with the overture to Weber’s landmark opera Der Freischütz.

Steven Banks, Manfred Honeck, and the PSO. Photo credit Manfred Honeck on Facebook

A long-bowed melody in the arching strings was tempered by warm chorales from the Pittsburgh brass. With vigor, darker material took over in full-fledged operatic drama, though in the end the triumphant conclusion won the day.

A rarity followed in the 1949 Alto Saxophone Concerto by Henri Tomasi, a quantity for the PSO debut of Steven Banks. A modernist soundscape was drawn from its piquant bitonalities, and the lyrical potential of the saxophone was exploited to remarkable effect — a markedly distinct style from the jazz sound one is more accustomed to. The Allegro section that followed the concerto’s introductory remarks was of a coloristic mid-century aesthetic, with a lively orchestration to boot, and Banks traversed a wide array of tone and timbre.

The closing Giration-Final saw the soloist dazzle in rapid fingerwork, and the movement’s dance inflections added to its excitement. As an encore, Banks offered The Lord’s Prayer, a slow and lyrical paragraph that showed yet another side of his instrument — and the power it has to resound unaccompanied.

The Strauss-heavy latter half was very much in the spirit of a Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert, as if Heinz Hall was momentarily morphed into the golden Musikverein (and one should also be reminded that an authentic Austrian-style Christmas market lies a few blocks away at Market Square). One could have hardly asked for a more informed interpreter than Austrian native Manfred Honeck.

Lithe and elegant, the overture to the operetta Die Fledermaus fizzed with vigor and flamboyance. Hungarian folk melodies — including echoes of the indelible Rákóczi March — were woven in the exuberant Éljen a Magyar! Rather different but equally appealing was an intermezzo from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, lush and filled with longing. Harps swelled for a sumptuous texture, further encouraged by fine playing from the solo cello.

Banks returned to showcase his own composition entitled Come As You Are. Originally scored for tenor saxophone and piano, the suite is a lovely tribute to his faith and family. On offer was an arrangement for tenor sax and strings of the third movement “Strength of My Life.” Touchingly reflective, it was well-suited to the rich, mellow sound of the tenor.

Back to Strauss. The Emperor Waltzes were fittingly regal, and Auf der Jagd concluded the printed program complete with some humorous theatrics. Honeck and the PSO indulged the audience with a pair of encores beginning with Feuerfest! from the pen of Johann Jr’s brother Josef. Brought to life by use of the anvil, it was only outdone by the rambunctious Radetzky March.

In a post-concert performance, the Pittsburgh Cello Quartet (comprised of four PSO cellists) offered a brief selection of mostly holiday fare. More memorable was a transcription of Poulenc’s pensive O magnum mysterium.

Hamelin a star soloist in Cleveland Orchestra’s feast of American music

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Cleveland Orchestra
David Robertson, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Mandel Concert Hall
Severance Music Center
Cleveland, OH
November 29, 2024

Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring (1945 orchestration)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (arr. Grofé)
Ellington: New World A-Comin’
Copland: Suite from The Tender Land

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, The Cleveland Orchestra and guest conductor David Roberston served up a rich course of American orchestral music. As the centerpiece was a pair of works for piano and orchestra with virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin, both of which artfully brought jazz and popular traditions into the concert hall.

Marc-André Hamelin, David Robertson, and The Cleveland Orchestra perform Rhapsody in Blue. Photos credit Extraordinaire Photos

This year marks the centennial of Gershwin’s epochal Rhapsody in Blue, and the evening’s performers offered an energetic and joyous performance fitting for such an anniversary. The work was presented in its original jazz band orchestration arranged by Ferde Grofé, as it would have been heard in its 1924 premiere at Carnegie Hall — and The Cleveland Orchestra morphed into a bona fide dance hall band.

The iconic wail of the clarinet opened the work, stylishly played by Daniel McKelway. A muted trumpet responded in its striking timbre, setting the stage for Hamelin’s commanding pianism, given with flair and virtuosity. In this amalgamation of the classical and the vernacular, the two resided not in opposition, but as a unified whole. A downtempo section was a sultry affair, while a passage of repeated notes conveyed the mechanistic fury of the Industrial Age, not unlike what one finds in Prokofiev at the same time. All cares were left aside though in the abandon of the foot-tapping finale.

Duke Ellington’s 1943 work New World A-Comin’ premiered under similar circumstances as the Gershwin: a Carnegie Hall performance that endeavored to break the confines of the traditional classical repertoire. Unlike Rhapsody in Blue, Ellington’s work was not initially well-received. Credit, then to Hamelin et al. for offering a compelling performance. A lushly-scored opening in the orchestra gave way to a quasi-improvisatory passage for piano, with silky filigree and silvery runs, colored by jazz-inflected harmonies. A drum kit onstage added to the rhythmic pulse. Comprised of alternating sections for orchestra and piano, it lacked the cohesion of the Gershwin, but proved an attractive discovery nonetheless. On the subject of jazz-influenced classical works, Hamelin’s 2008 album In a state of jazz is warmly recommended.

Bookending the concertante works was music of Aaron Copland, in both cases orchestral suites extracted from stage works. Appalachian Spring made for a lovely opening to the evening. Earthy harmonies began, brimming with hope and possibility. Robertson and the orchestra gently breathed life into this soft-spoken material, starkly different from the bustling Manhattan streetscape conveyed in Gershwin’s Rhapsody. More angular material was enhanced by the sheen of the brass, and rhythmic inflections conveyed a dance-like quality — this was, after all, originally a ballet. A magical moment saw the first appearance of the Simple gifts hymn, first in the winds and then blooming to its magnificent orchestration. The loveliest of epilogues concluded, wholly at peace.

Less well-known was the three movement suite from Copland’s opera The Tender Land, dating about a decade after Appalachian Spring. Strident, brassy beginnings retreated inward for a gentle love song. A specialist of the American repertoire, Robertson served as a keen guide in this deeply lyrical writing. A boisterous, raucous “Party Scene” took matters in a rather different direction, splashed by piquant touches from the xylophone. The closing “Promise of the Living” was a peaceful paean with a fine English horn solo, and a touching, topical close for the Thanksgiving program.

And for those who couldn’t make it to Severance Hall in person, Sunday’s performance was live-streamed and subsequently available on demand through Adella and Stage+.

David Robertson applauds Marc-André Hamelin