ProMusica Chamber Orchestra
David Danzmayr, conductor
Fiona Khuong-Huu, violin
Southern Theatre
Columbus, OH
January 28, 2024

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, Classical
Saint-Saëns: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, Op. 28
Ravel: Tzigane
Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D major, Hob. I:104, London

Last weekend’s ProMusica performances introduced Columbus audiences to the remarkable – and remarkably young – violinist Fiona Khuong-Huu. Just 16 years old, she has already scored a New York Philharmonic debut and is currently a student in Juilliard’s pre-college division. Additionally, she is recipient of the Fomin Scholarship Fund from the Chicago-area North Shore Chamber Festival, an organization helmed by ProMusica’s creative partner Vadim Gluzman.

Khuong-Huu offered two 10-minute or so virtuoso showpieces, beginning with Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. A long-bowed melody marked the introductory material, and the violinist played with a rich tone and a maturity beyond her years. The Rondo was elegantly ornamented, with Khuong-Huu self-assured across the range of her instrument. In a particularly striking moment, the soloist played a series of rapid, wide-ranging arpeggios as the theme surfaced in the winds.

Ravel’s Tzigane opened with a monologue for violin alone, replete with modal inflections in invocation of Romani music. It’s a work that made substantial technical demands, surmounted by the soloist with seeming effortlessness. It’s also a piece filled with novel timbres, from the rapid pizzicato passages to a substantial part for harp (Jeanne Norton). Khuong-Huu certainly has a bright future ahead of her, and a career I look forward to watching.

The evening began and ended with “classical” symphonies of various flavors – Prokofiev’s First, which consciously sought to emulate and imitate his symphonic forbears, and Haydn’s last, a veritable archetype of the form. The fizzy opening of the Prokofiev was further buttressed by a buoyant contrasting theme, almost weightless, though vigor was amassed as much was made from efficient use of the chamber-sized orchestra. The delicate inner voices were intricately brought out in the Larghetto, and the piquant dissonances of the haughty gavotte were given a stylish reading. The effervescence of the whirlwind finale was a worthy rival to Haydn himself.

A broad-stroked introduction began Haydn’s London symphony at the other end of the program, pointing towards an essay in equal parts energetic and elegant, epitomizing classical symmetry and balance. The irregularly dispersed accents and pauses of the minuet were of charming effect, as was the finale, derived from a Croatian folk song that sounded almost indistinguishable from a bona fide Haydn theme.

The preceding Friday night saw a further installment of Naked Classics, hosted by the ebullient and informed Paul Rissmann. Parallels and contrasts between the Haydn and Prokofiev symphonies were illuminated, culminating in a performance of both works. Here, the two symphonies were intertwined, with a movement of Prokofiev alternating with a movement of Haydn, an approach which may have helped illustrate comparisons but ultimately made for a disjointed listen.