Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Violin virtuoso Fullana provides mesmerizing Saint-Saëns to open Vancouver Symphony season

Guest artist Francisco Fullana delivered an outstanding performance of Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor in the Newmark Theatre on Saturday evening (September 25) to mark the reopening of the Vancouver Symphony’s live-in-person performances. His amazing technical prowess and artistry were unfortunately heard by only a sparse audience of perhaps 150 people in the hall, although hopefully the online audience was much larger. Yet even though the number of in-house listeners was small, they enthusiastically rewarded Spanish violinist with a standing ovation.

The light turn-out at the Newmark was due to the fact that the orchestra, notified just a couple of weeks before its season opener, could not use its usual venue, Skyview Concert Hall. This came about because of a last-minute ruling by the Vancouver School District, which has prohibited outside organization from renting any facility under its jurisdiction. Hence, the orchestra scrambled to find an alternate venue and fortunately landed in downtown Portland at the Newmark.

But enough lamenting about circumstances caused by COVID-19. The Vancouver Symphony, which performed a complete season of online concerts last year, was elated to be in front of a live audience again for the first time in almost 19 months. With microphone in hand, music director Salvador Brotons practically gushed about being on stage again. The string members of the orchestra wore masks the entire time on the stage while woodwinds and brass slipped their masks on and off according to when they would play. That all went absolutely smoothly.

Fullana showed complete command of the Saint-Saëns, playing with great sensitivity. Whenever he went to a full-bodied tone, it was rich and gorgeous. With fleet fingers, he executed immaculate runs that were absolutely thrilling. The ending of the first movement gained speed and finished with a flourish that was electrifying. Fullana created a genuinely sweet sound for the beautiful melody of the second movement, and he kept it from being overly sentimental. He also made whispery-clean high notes that perfectly matched the subtle sound from principal clarinetist Igor Shakhman. Fullana performed all of the technically tricky parts of the third movement with flair and gusto and still made the music sing. It was just fantastic.

The applause and cheering from the audience brought Fullana back to the stage several times, and he responded with an encore, a transcription of “Asturias (Leyenda)” by Isaac Albenez. Again, Fullana played the piece impeccably and with terrific artistic understanding. He had everyone in thrall.

The main orchestral work on the program was Schubert’s Symphony No 4, which is known as the “Tragic” symphony even though its sentiment is mostly playful and uplifting. In introducing the piece, Brotons pointed out that he selected this work, because it requires fewer musicians than other pieces from the Romantic era and, as a result, fits well with pandemic limitations.

Urged on by Brotons, the orchestra expertly delved into the dynamics of the symphony with crescendos and decrescendos that kept the music fresh. Briefly accented phrases and excellent, unified strings made the first movement very satisfying. The orchestra gently conveyed the beautiful melodic lines of the second movement with a choir of woodwinds and strings wrapping it all up in a pillowy soft ending. The third movement danced along in a playful way, and the fourth movement, which had a couple of ragged moments in the violins, motored through at a swift pace and concluded the symphony on a triumphant note.

The concert opened with Beethoven’s Overture to “Coriolan,” a highly dramatic piece that Brotons and forces captured very well. It might have sounded better in a warmer hall. The Newmark was built for theater performances and, consequently, the sounds produced in there do not get the benefit of reverberation. Still, the musicians caught the spirit of the piece and expressed its drama with verve.

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