Symphony Review: Gemma New returns for a celebratory Beethoven Ninth

Gemma New. Photo by Chris Christodoulou

Guest conductor Gemma New, in comments preceding her appearance with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) last Saturday (March 1), said that the concert would be about “celebrating our Earth and our life upon it.” Certainly the work that opened the evening, the local premiere of “Hymn to the Sun” by St. Louis’s own Kevin Puts (b. 1972), was quite a party.

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

Commissioned by the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in 2008, “Hymn to the Sun” is described by Puts as “a wild, sacred dance to call forth the sun and all its powers, and then the sudden and magnificent rising on the horizon.” It absolutely was that on Saturday night, with terrifically demanding writing for the percussion section (especially the marimbas, xylophone, and piano) and elaborate passages for the flutes. The mood abruptly shifted to a powerful chorale for the strings—the hymn of the title—before returning to the sense of wild revelry that opened the work.

Props to percussionists Will James, Alan Stewart, Kevin Ritenauer, and Charles Renneker; pianist Peter Henderson; and the members of the flute section: Jennifer Nitchman, Jennifer Gartely, and Ann Choomack (doubling on piccolo). New led her forces through this elaborate web with that perfect mix of what my fellow critic Gary Liam Scott described as “poise and control” a few years ago.

The mood turned reverential with the next work (also a St. Louis premiere) the Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537, by J.S. Bach (1685–1750) in a 1921 orchestration by Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934). Elgar employs the full resources of the post-Wagner orchestra (around 80 players) with spectacular results, especially in the final moments of the fugue.

Elgar doesn’t unleash the full power of that big band for the first time until nearly the end of the fantasia, which begins with the main theme played by the oboes and clarinets—done with great feeling Saturday by Phil Ross and Xiomara Mass (oboes) along with Abby Raymond and Thomas Frey (clarinets). Shannon Wood on tympani and (I think) Will James on bass drum provided the ominous processional tread that Elgar added to Bach’s original. The composer doesn’t pull out all the stops again, so to speak, until the final pages of the fugue, when the horns and bras sections really come to the forefront. They sounded terrific Saturday night, especially Thomas Jöstlein’s horns in those exposed trills.

New possesses a singular combination of artistic sensitivity and fine craftsmanship, especially when it comes to revealing sonic details. I could, for example, hear that in the way she kept the threads of the fugue clearly delineated while losing none of the raw power of the composer’s orchestration. This was a classic case of the iron fist in the velvet glove, a fine mix of finesse and force.

The same was true of her take on the evening’s Big Event, the Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Choral) by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827). Ideally, the Ninth ought to open with a mix of otherworldly mystery and tension, like the components of a nebula spiraling together to form a star, moving from pianissimo violins over a horn pedal point to a fortissimo statement of the first theme by the full orchestra. With the right pacing and instrumental balance, that first movement (Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso—“not too fast and somewhat majestically”) should grab one by the throat.

The SLSO did all that and more under New’s direction. She  is, as I have written previously, an engrossingly theatrical conductor who engages on a very physical level with the score. Her big, sweeping gestures are a kind of 3-D metaphor for the music, bringing an added visual dimension to an already persuasive performance.

The first movement was rich in orchestral detail and forward momentum. The Molto vivace—Presto second movement featured some delightfully precise playing by the horns and woodwinds. The Adagio third had a balletic flow and heightened the contrast with what went before. And then there was the famous choral finale.

In looking over my notes from Saturday night, I find that my handwriting (which is never all the clear, even to me) deteriorated to chicken scratches as I tried to keep up with all the great things happening on stage. The vocal quartet was quite impressive, particularly bass-baritone Nathan Berg, who sang from memory and was deeply connected to the lyrics. 

Tenor Jamez McCorkle was a bit more dependent on his score but nevertheless turned in a fine performance in the alla Marcia solo. The decision to put the marching band in its own space stage right worked very well here, allowing the audience to hear both it and soloist quite clearly.

Soprano Susanna Phillips and mezzo Sasha Cooke, both familiar faces locally, rounded out the quartet in fine style, their powerful voices blending perfectly.

Under Erin Freeman’s direction, the SLSO Chorus were in top form. Their enunciation was crisp and their vocal lines clear, even during the complex contrapuntal moments in the choral finale. Beethoven, as New remarked back at the top of the evening, was a great admirer of Bach—a fact that is abundantly clear in Ninth. Indeed, in the hands of some conductors (the late Wilhelm Furtwängler comes to mind) Beethoven’s writing can be a bit of a strain for the singers. Happily, New and Freeman appear to have a better grasp of what works best for choristers.

So, yes, another immensely satisfying Beethoven Ninth from the SLSO. The last time they did it (February 2020) with Stéphane Denève at the podium, I praised their performance as “the Ninth against which all others must now be measured.” This one, I’m pleased to report, measured up quite well.

Next from the SLSO: Jason Seber conducts the orchestra in David Arnold’s score for the 2006 film version of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale as the movie unspools on the big screen overhead at the Stifel Theatre. Performances are Saturday at 7:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm, March 8 and 9.