Andrew Grams, conductor/T.J. Hamilton, The Grand Rapids Press |
Andrew Grams, guest conductor
Adele Anthony, violin
Adele Anthony, violin
A review by Scott Dowd.
Entire
contents are copyright © 2013 Scott Dowd. All rights reserved.
Thursday
morning’s Treyton Oaks Tower Coffee Concert marked another in a continuing
series of transitions faced by the Louisville Orchestra. January 31st
was the last day on the job for executive director Rob Birman, who led the
institution through some of the most difficult times in its 75-year history. Birman’s
four-year tenure ended quietly, as befit his personal style. Rob became the
focal point for many people’s hope and other’s anger over the last couple of
years, but the fact that I was able to be in Whitney Hall Thursday morning,
listening to the musicians of the Louisville Orchestra perform the music of
Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Strauss says all that need be said regarding his
leadership.
Following
a brief welcome by the sponsor, guest conductor Andrew Grams strode to the
podium. Having barely reached center stage the brass sounded the famous
downbeat of the overture Verdi’s 1869 opera La
forza del destino. A compact man, Grams’s conducting style is conservative,
measured and expressive as he led the orchestra in a tightly cohesive
interpretation of this warhorse.
Having completed the piece Grams briefly acknowledged the musicians and the
applause of an appreciative audience as he retreated to the wings to prepare
the next work.
Adele Anthony, guest violin |
Following
a brief interlude in which the stagehands reset for the concert’s centerpiece,
the gorgeous Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
in D major, Op. 35, Grams returned accompanied by the soloist, Adele
Anthony. In contrast to the muted tones of the orchestra and conductor Ms.
Anthony’s floor-length gown of blood-orange color immediately drew the focus of
the audience. Unlike many later concerti, Tchaikovsky’s is a true gift to the soloist
allowing the opportunity to show all they have in terms of technical skill and musicality.
Ms. Anthony did not disappoint on either score, although her interpretation was
somewhat less fiery than her attire might have predicted and there was little
that might be termed revelatory. Technically flawless, Ms. Anthony presented
the work like an adoring mother offering her infant for praise. Maestro Grams
and the orchestra matched the tone of Ms. Anthony’s vision admirably and the performance
was enjoyable.
In
spite of the fact that all three of the works on this week’s concert were
composed within two decades, this is the first time the Louisville Orchestra
performed R. Strauss’s first tone poem Aus
Italien, Op. 16. Addressing these oversights has been a goal of music director
Jorge Mester’s since his return. This musical travelogue of Strauss’s 1886
Italian holiday includes, by turns, reflections on the countryside, the ruins
of Rome, Sorrento’s shore, and ironically the “folk life” of Naples. The
composer famously committed a faux pas
by incorporating into the fourth movement the ubiquitous Funiculì-Funiculà, which he mistook for an Italian folk tune. In
fact Luigi Denza’s popular tune had been introduced only five years earlier. This
work is more indicative of the composer’s early training than his more mature
works and so far within the abilities of the orchestra that they were able to
focus on bringing out the works subtleties of restatement and recapitulation.
If there was little about this performance to bring the audience to their feet
there was certainly nothing to detract from it.
As
of today the Louisville Orchestra is in search of new leadership for the
organization and a search for new artistic leadership may not be far behind.
Despite his seemingly inexhaustible enthusiasm and energy for this city Maestro
Mester, 78, has reduced his obligations elsewhere in recent years. Might this
concert have been an audition for Grams? His credentials are impressive, filled
with international collaborations, and instruction at some of the finest
schools. He has served as resident conductor of the Florida Orchestra and
assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and is among the conductors
being considered to lead the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. If he is a contender
to eventually succeed maestro Mester I, for one, would like to see how he
handles more challenging repertoire, especially works by twentieth-century and
contemporary composers.
Classics 5: Tchaikovsky Violin
Concerto
January
31 & February 2, 2013
Louisville
Orchestra
Whitney
Hall, Kentucky Center
501
West Main Street
Louisville,
KY 40202
502-584-7777
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