Dutch virtuoso Somone Lamsma delivered a mesmerizing performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto on Saturday (Jan 8) with the Oregon Symphony and conduct Jun Märkl at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The dusky, moody, yet warm lines that she played in the opening movement were hauntingly etched against the somber accompaniment of the orchestra. From my perch in the balcony, it seemed that Lamsma’s playing hypnotized the audience. There wasn’t a peep or a cell phone beep or anything to disrupt the trance-like state that she had induced. In the midst of this, she coaxed her instrument into delivering the most tender sentences, accented at one point by the celeste and later assuaged by the rumbling bass clarinet. And at the end of the movement, the sound from Lamsma’s violin climbs to the heavens. It was magical.
She then created an agitated, almost angry tone in the second movement, which stirred up the orchestra to join her in the mayhem. Together they broke into an energetic, fast dance, closing on a high note that caused listeners to break into applause.
The third movement featured Lamsma playing high above the fray of a subtle passacaglia of the orchestra. The orchestra gets about as soft as I have ever heard at the Schnitz with pizzicatos and Lamsma finishing with a delicate thread, leading again to a high note.
In the fourth movement, Lamsma took everyone’s breath away with an awesome performance of the fiendishly difficult solo cadenza. It was so wild and crazy that it made me wonder how anyone can possibly play it – and how did Shostakovich concoct it in the first place! After the orchestra joined her, they skipped along with an optimistic, more lighthearted spirit to the finale. Enthusiastic acclamation erupted from the audience, bringing Lamsma back to center stage at least three times.
Before performing Debussy’s “Images,” Märkl and the orchestra introduced it with a demonstration of some of the impressionistic passages. This demo maybe went on just a little too long, but it effectively showed how Debussy used various colors from the orchestra to paint feelings and images that travelled from England to France and ended up in Spain.
Conducting from memory, Märkl wonderfully guided the ensemble with gestures that reminded me of graceful Tai chi movements. He and the musicians took listeners into the mist of Britain – with kudos to Karen Wagner oboe and Jason Sudduth oboe d’amore. The French movement evoked images of the seashore with changing breezes. Iberia was filled with mystery and enchantment that included a terrific solos by principal horn Jeff Garza and concertmaster Sara Kwak.
The concert began with Missy Mazzoli’s “These Worlds in Us.” In the program notes, Mazzoli stated that the piece was inspired by her father, who served in the Vietnam War. It started with a somber invitation from the marimba and melodicas (mouth keyboard instruments that you blow into). Slow glissandos upward and downward from the strings suggested an introspective sadness, but it was briefly lifted before shifting back to a lamenting emotion and finally a return to the marimba and melodica. The music fit the thoughtful atmosphere of the other works, and all was masterfully led by Märkl.
No comments:
Post a Comment