I strongly suspect that most of sold-out crowd for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) concert last Saturday, February 15th, were attracted primarily by the prospect of seeing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy." After all, we’re talking about a pair of wildly popular Romantic classics performed by a world-class orchestra with a soloist—Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky—whose substantial discography includes quite a lot of Rachmaninoff, including all four concertos. And it was Valentine’s Day weekend.
“’Nuff said,” as Stan Lee used to say.
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| "Amber." Photo by Virginia Harold Courtesy of the SLSO |
I was looking forward to that music as well, but for me the big attraction was the world premiere of PALETTE, Concerto for Augmented Orchestra by composer and artist Anna Clyne. Each of the seven movement\s in this half-hour piece is based on a different color whose first letters collectively spell the title of the work: Plum, Amber, Lava, Ebony, Teal, Tangerine, and Emerald. Clyne created paintings to go with each movement and these were used as the basis for a subtle light show created by Luke Kritzeck that enhanced the mood of each section.
In pre-performance remarks, SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève promised “a bouquet of colors” and Clyne described PALETTE as an attempt “to create something beautiful in these turbulent times.” Everything about this work fulfilled those promises. PALETTE is by turns inspiring, fanciful, funny, dramatic, and just plain fun.
The augmented orchestra (AO) of the title uses a software program developed by sound designer (and Clyne's husband) Jody Elff that takes elements of the acoustic orchestra and electronically transforms them and integrates the transformed sound into the live experience in real time. It was done so subtly and tastefully Saturday night that I sometimes wasn’t sure when it was being used and when it wasn’t. I was just aware of a wider sonic range.
In “Plum” and “Amber,” for example, the AO added bottom notes to the basses that made them sound like 64 ft. organ pipes—very appropriate for music that often sounded like a Bach chorale. In the fanciful “Tangerine” the flute section became a diffuse, ethereal choir. Less obvious manipulation enhanced the sunny “Amber,” the scurrying marimbas in “Ebony,” and the meditative liquid calm of “Teal.”
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| "Lava" Photo by Virginia Harold Courtesy of the SLSO |
At least, I think it did. As I said, it wasn’t always obvious where the acoustic orchestra stopped and the AO began. The performance was, in any case, a compelling one, with the usual consummate playing by the band. Standing ovations at SLSO concerts are less common for new works than for the more traditional repertoire; PALETTE was an enthusiastic exception to that rule. I’ll admit to being one of the first to rise to the occasion.
After intermission it was time for the Russian Romantics, starting with an admirable Rachmaninoff Second. Lugansky’s playing and Denève’s interpretation blended seamlessly to deliver a performance with plenty of power and drama. The opening “church bell” chords for the Moderato first movement led to an attention-grabbing statement of the first theme, followed by a strongly contrasting second. The reflective Adagio Sostenuto second movement was capped by a pristine performance of the cadenza by Lugansky. That led to a blazing Allegro scherzando finale, featuring a sweeping, Technicolor treatment for the famous second theme.
The audience response was enthusiastic, leading to a most welcome encore: Rachmaninoff’s Prelude, Op. 23 No. 7 in C minor. With cascades of 16th notes flying over power chords it was a bold choice after a virtuoso workout like the concerto, and a good one.
Finally, there was an utterly theatrical reading of Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy," a concert standard which (somewhat surprisingly) the SLSO has not played in over seven years. As is so often the case, Maestro Denève filled this reading with little touches all his own. To pick just two examples: the horn motif that accompanies the famous love theme pulsed like a heartbeat and there was a good pause at the double bar between the final outburst of battle music and the final Moderato assai dirge. It was all nicely done and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Next from the SLSO: Conductor David Afkham makes his SLSO debut in a program consisting of “The Ring of Fire and Love” by Finnish composer Outi Tarkianen, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with soloist Saleem Ashkar, and the Symphony No 1 by Brahms. Performances are Friday at 10:30 am and Sunday at 3 pm, February 21 and 23, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.
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