It was great to see Salvador Brotons receive the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clark County Arts Commission at the beginning of the Vancouver Symphony concert on Saturday (February 27). For the past 30 years as the orchestra’s music director, Brotons has been a stellar ambassador for music and music education. Because of the pandemic, he was unable to travel to the U.S. from his home in Barcelona. So the presentation, though delayed, kicked off the evening on a positive note.
Brotons acknowledged the award graciously and showed the plaque to the audience but in doing so, he tipped its container slightly forward and the plaque fell into the aisle in front of the stage. No problem. It was not damaged, and the show, featuring works by Joaquin Rodrigo, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Jean Sibelius, went on without a hitch.
Last year at almost the exact same time, guitarist Adam Levin made his debut with the orchestra, playing Leonardo Balada’s “Caprichos No. 1.” This time around, Levin performed Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” which is probably the most famous concerto for guitar and orchestra in the repertory.
Levin carefully negotiated the piece, which is treacherous for any classical guitarist, but in the process he took a slower tempo, and that reduced the excitement. The first movement, Allegro con brio, need more spark and spunkiness. Consequently, it didn’t contrast very much with the second movement, Adagio, which had a lush, plaintive quality. Fortunately, the third movement, Allegro gentile, got off to a peppier pace, and Levin and the orchestra closed the concerto in good style.
Brotons and the orchestra excelled with light and expressive accompaniment. The English horn solo of Karen Strand in the second movement was a highlight.
Levin followed up with an encore, the middle movement of “Sonata Sefardita,” a new that Brotons wrote for Levin’s most recent album, 21st Century Spanish Guitar, Volume 4. It offered a lovely, melancholic melody that Brotons enjoyed hearing from his perch near the percussion section of the orchestra.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Ballade” received a vivid performance from the orchestra. The musicians seamlessly transitioned from the stormy passages to the lyrical, rhapsodic passages. Unified strings and polished horns led the way, making this piece an excellent choice with which to open the concert.
Coleridge-Taylor was a British composer of African descent whose works are being rediscovered. If the composer had only lived longer. He died at the age of 37 of pneumonia and in financial straits.
The orchestra delivered a solid Sibelius’ First Symphony, beginning with a wonderfully languid clarinet solo from principal clarinetist Igor Shakhman. The stirring and bold themes shifted back and forth with remarkably tender passages. Dramatic statements caught fire to make the piece exciting, although the punctuations from the timpani could have been louder.
Rustic melodies flowed gently. Intricate woodwind sections threaded deftly into strings. The brass added muscle. The Tchaikovsky-like lines had terrific emotive power with the strings soaring at the end of the piece. The first desks of the orchestra led their sections expertly, and Brotons signaled special recognition for each during the applause.
Interestingly enough, after returning to the podium, the ebullient maestro extended his arms, which sent his baton into the front row of the hall. Everyone laughed, including Brotons, and an audience member quickly found the slippery stick and returned it to the conductor. Well, after 30 years of directing, he deserves to let things fly.
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