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| Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra under Steven Byes at Mt. Hood Community College |
The Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, under guest
conductor Steven Byess presented a colorful Russian sandwich on Sunday afternoon
(November 24) at Mt. Hood Community College. Works by Alexander Borodin and
Igor Stravinsky formed the outer (breaded) layers and the filling consisted of
pieces by American composer Jeff Tyzik and Soviet Armenian composer Aram
Khachaturian. The featured soloist in
concert, JáTtik Clark, gave an outstanding performance of Tyzik’s “Four Dances
for Tuba and Orchestra.”
This season, the Portland Columbia Symphony is auditioning
five conductors in order to find its new music director, and Byess is the third
to try out. Byess is the music director of the North Mississippi Symphony
Orchestra and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also the associate
music director of the Ohio Light Opera and principal guest conductor of the
Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra of Krakow, Poland.
“Polovtsian Dances”
from Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” was an excellent selection with which to
open the concert. Under the baton of Byess, the lovely melodic side of the
piece was imbued with lyricism that could be easily associated with the sensual
dances for the women, but the rougher and tougher side of the piece (associated
with the male dancers) needed more urgency and a faster tempo. Still, the finale,
had an frolicking sweep of sound that tickled the ears.
Clark has held the principal tuba of the Oregon
Symphony since 1999, and has been a frequent soloist with orchestras in the
Pacific Northwest. Besides the PSCO this season, he will play solos with the
Vancouver Symphony (Washington), the Corvallis-OSU Symphony, and the Oregon
State Wind Ensemble. Whoever said that tuba players never get the spotlight?
Besides being the principal pops conductor of seven
orchestras (Rochester, Oregon, Vancouver, Florida, Detroit, Dallas, and
Seattle), Tyzik is an acclaimed composer and arranger – and he plays a mean
trumpet, too. His “Four Dances for Tuba
and Orchestra” calls upon the soloist to traverse a musical ballroom with a
light step. Clark answered the challenge with expertly honed phrasing. The “Children’s
Song” was playful and featured the accompaniment of hand-clapping from members
of the orchestra. Clark played a very pleasant melody during the “Jig” and
finished it with a basement-certified low note. He gave “Tango” a dusky and
dark ambiance and finished the suite with a robust “Spanish Dance.”
For the second half of the concert, the orchestra also gave
a spirited rendition of the” Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia” from Khachaturian’s
ballet “Spartacus.” The lush, melodic themes – at times carried by the cello
section – were often at the forefront while several orchestra members created
beguiling solos, including concertmaster Dawn Carter and principal clarinetist
Alicia Charlton.
Byess impressively conducted the “Suite” from Stravinsky’s “The
Firebird” ballet from memory, and the orchestra responded with a radiant
performance. Dramatic crescendos and decrescendos helped to paint a picture of
the exotic story of an evil king, an enchanted forest, a heroic prince, a
beautiful princess, a magic egg, and an equally magical firebird. Despite some
intonation problems (for example, the cellos in the first movement), the
musicians more than conquered the piece, and the final movement, “Berceuse et
Final” glowed. The expressive playing of Brad Hochhalter, principal oboe, and
Allan Stromquist, acting principal horn, in their extended solos were among the
highlights in this performance.
Byess conducted the concert with straight-forward, easy to
understand style. He seemed to communicate very well with the orchestra, and
that should help him in his quest for the music director position.
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