Symphony Review: Superlative Respighi and Mozart highlight Stephanie Childress's second appearance on the SLSO podium

One of the delights of the recent live and digital concert series at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has been the way they have focused on the SLSO string section. I have been impressed with their sound for some time now, but I was most strongly reminded of it this past weekend (April 16-19) in the second two programs (the first was April 9-11) led by our new Assistant Conductor Stephanie Childress.

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

L-R: Xiaoxiao Qiang, Shannon Farrell Williams,
Stephanie Childress

This was most apparent in the work that closed the concert (which I saw on Saturday the 17th), the third and last of the "Ancient Airs and Dances" suites by 20th century Italian composer and musicologist Ottorino Respighi. That historical sensibility of the musicologist informs the “Ancient Airs and Dances” suites, which are transcriptions of the works of Italian composers from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

Written under the shadow of fascism in 1931, the third suite is the most dramatic and even melancholy of the three, and the only one written for string ensemble alone. With moods ranging from romantic yearning to tragic nobility, it calls for players with a wide expressive range and a conductor who is sensitive to both the work’s technical demands and its emotional depth.

Ms. Childress and the SLSO strings were all of that in abundance Saturday night. The opening “Italiana” flowed gracefully like the two galliards on which it’s based. The “Arie di corte” reflected the many mood changes of the six love songs that form its basis, from refined courtly romance to rustic lust, complete with a seriocomic imitation of a bagpipe drone. The “Siciliana” third movement seemed to radiate nostalgia and regret. It and the concluding “Passacaglia” demonstrated the robust, full-bodied sound of the full ensemble at its best.

The “Passacaglia,” in fact, was a remarkable achievement all by itself. It’s the only one of the four movements based, not on a lute tune, but rather on a work written for the more expressive Baroque guitar (by Count Ludovico Roncalli, from his 1692 “Capricci Armonici”). It covers a wider emotional range than many of the other originals, which may be one reason why Respighi chose to simply orchestrate it without substantial changes. The result is a work of tragic grandeur, and Ms. Childress and her forces gave us every ounce of that in this powerful and moving performance.

Ancient Airs and Dances

The concert opened with a pair of works that allowed us to hear the SLSO winds in fine form along with their fellow members of the band, beginning with a bright and brash romp through the Overture in D major, written in 1790 by Italian-born virtuoso cellist and composer Luigi Boccherini. Xiomara Mass and Cally Banham were an elegant and precise presence on oboes, Roger Kaza and Julie Thayer bright and powerful on the horns, and the reliable Andrew Cuneo an elegant voice on bassoon. It was an excellent way to open the evening, and I was disappointed that the applause for it didn’t go on longer.

The Mozart Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra, K. 364 was next, featuring excellent solo performances by violinist Xiaoxiao Qiang and violist Shannon Farrell Williams. Essentially a symphony with a group (a pair, in this case) of instrumental soloists, the sinfonia concertante was a popular form when Mozart wrote his for a 1779 European tour. His contribution to the form often gets high marks for the way it gives equal prominence to both of its solo instruments.  Ms. Qiang and Ms. Williams made the most of that as they merrily flipped melodic lines back and forth and took their star turns at cadenzas both flashy (in the noble Allegro maestoso first movement) and heartfelt (in the romantic Andante second movement). I had the sense that I was watching a convivial musical conversation between them and Ms. Childress

Regarding that slow movement, Ms. Childress and the musicians gave it an especially poignant sense of what Shakespeare’s Duke Orsino calls “a dying fall” that “came o'er my ear like the sweet sound / That breathes upon a bank of violets.” It was a fine contrast to the brisk sense of occasion of the first movement and the elegant dance of the last.

Next at Powell Hall: Local favorite Leonard Slatkin returns Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, April 24-26, to conduct Britten’s “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge,” Ravel’s “Tzigane” (with Assistant Concertmaster Erin Schreiber in the virtuosic solo part), and Ginastera’s demanding “Variaciones concertantes,” op. 23. Only 300 tickets will be sold for each performance and strict health protocols will be in place. For more information, visit the SLSO web site.

Meanwhile, the SLSO’s digital concert series continues with on-demand performances of “Night Music,” through April 24; “The Heart of the Matter,” through May 8; and, from April 22 through May 22, a concert from last fall’s chamber music series featuring works by Debussy, Ravel, and the mightily underrated Germaine Tailleferre.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Review: The SLSO strings get to the heart of the matter in a rich romantic digital concert

The title of the fifth concert in the on-demand video series by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), “The Heart of the Matter,” reflects not only the powerful emotional content of the four short works for strings that make up the program, but also the fact that the string section is often regarded as the heart of the orchestra. Under the baton of Music Director Stéphane Denève, that heart beats with real passion in this concert, which is available through May 8th.

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

The concert opens with Elgar’s “Serenade in E minor,” Op. 20.  With two dance-like movements bracketing a sweetly amorous Larghetto, the “Serenade” was inspired by the composer’s love for his wife Alice. The string sound is rich and warm, and Maestro Denève’s interpretation brings out all the sweeping romance in Elgar’s music. The Larghetto is an especially attractive mix of sentiment and nobility while the opening and closing movements gambol trippingly on the bows of the SLSO strings.

Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO strings

Next is Tchaikovsky’s “Andante Cantabile.” Originally the second movement of his 1871 String Quartet No. 1, it was so touching that it soon had a life of its own as a work for string orchestra. Mr. Denève’s take on it allows the composer’s irresistibly melodic score to speak for itself, without either downplaying or overstating its lush Romanticism. Perhaps best known in an arrangement for solo cello with either piano or orchestral accompaniment, it works every bit as as well as an ensemble piece that, like the Elgar, shows off the rich sound of the SLSO string section.

The second half of the concert features what Mr. Denève, in his spoken comments, describes as a pair of “beautiful meditations on loss, love, and life.” It begins with Puccini’s 1890 “I Crisantemi” (“The Chrysanthemums”). Written in a single night in response to the news of the death of a close friend, this brief, beautiful work gets a typically nuanced reading from Mr. Denève and the band.

The concert concludes with Anna Clyne’s “Within Her Arms.” Like Puccini’s “Crisantemi,” it was composed in just 24 hours in response to news of a death—in this case, the passing of Ms. Clyne’s mother in 2009. It begins with a soft, despairing sigh that slowly builds to a mix of anguish and even anger. About two-thirds of the way through, there’s an abrupt break, like a pause for breath, followed by something that sounds like acceptance.

The scoring for 15 strings means that each individual player can be clearly heard, so there’s no room for error. And there aren’t any in this performance, which reaches out and grabs you by the heart, not letting go until the tranquil final notes. Assistant Concertmaster Erin Schreiber and her characteristic red violin lead the way here with some fine solo lines, but everyone in this ensemble is top notch.

In his comments, Maestro Denève asks why we enjoy listening to sad music these days. The reason, he suggests, is that works like “I Crisantemi” and “In Her Arms” “speak to that astounding capability that makes us all human, the power of compassion.” If so, perhaps we need to hear a lot more sad songs these days, since our nation and, indeed, or world seem desperately in need of a compassion upgrade.

Performed and recorded at Powell Hall last November 20th, The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s “Heart of the Matter” concert was originally intended to be performed for a live audience, but a rise in COVID-19 cases obliged them to perform without one. It runs around 45 minutes and is available on demand through May 8th. Information on upcoming SLSO concerts, both live and on-demand, is available at the orchestra’s web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.