Pratt, who concertizes while maintaining a professorship at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, seemed to channel Mozart, wonderfully expressing the cheerful outer movements with an ebullient tone that balanced marvelously against the somber and statelier mood of the inner movement.
Throughout the piece, Pratt kept everything on the front burner so that the music sounded fresh. His cadenza during the first movement ascended with chordal progression that resolved like the glimmer of twinkling lights returning to earth in a grand way. His solo in the second movement offered exquisite pianissimos and a cascading line that spilled gently back to the original key so that the orchestra could join in. When the spotlight fell on Pratt in the third movement, he again found a way to the express the sublime with a joyful heart.
Wearing a mask just like his orchestral colleagues, Pratt urged on the ensemble (strings plus two oboes and two horns) by raising his eyebrows, nodding his head, and gesturing with his hands. Although he was deeply into the piece – often with his eyes closed – he and the musicians were totally in sync, and that was a pleasure to witness.
Complimenting the Mozart perfectly, Pratt graciously offered an encore, “Summerland” by William Grant Still. Its lush and eloquent melodic lines acquired depth with a slightly bluesy style. Through Pratt’s playing, I got the distinct feeling that Mozart and Still were kindred spirits.
Richard Strauss’s “Metamorphosen” for 23 strings needed more verve to push the moody complexity of its sound across an online medium. It’s a virtuosic work with each member of the orchestra as a soloist. Phrases came and went but the overall arc of the piece didn’t take shape. Concertmaster Eva Richey brought out her lines over a thick cloud of sound from her colleagues. A few slips in intonation didn’t derail anyone, but the individual nuances for each musician were not always clear. It would be great to hear the ensemble do it again when we can get back into the concert hall.
A string orchestra reinvigorated the atmosphere with a cheerful account of Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 10. Mendelssohn wrote this piece when he was just fourteen years old, and its one surviving movement opens with a serious sentiment before transitioning into uplifting, youthful passages. Although the sound was a bit muted (because of the online transmission), the musicians created a wave of buoyancy that swept upwards and into the final measures where this listener couldn’t help but to smile.
Kudos to the VSO production team for kicking things off with an enthusiastic greeting from Music Director Salvador Brotons, who is responsibly staying in his hometown of Barcelona because of the pandemic. We also enjoyed an interview with Pratt, which included a brief description of his performance at the White House under Presidents Clinton and Obama. Another bright spot was an interview with Lotof Shahtout, the owner of Michelle’s Pianos, which provided the Steinway grand for the Mozart concerto. It was enlightening to hear how the company is involved with the community. That is especially encouraging to hear during these stressful times.
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