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| OSO violins celebrating with Shaham after Brucker Fourth |
Two powerful warhorses and one of the world’s greatest violinists combined for a terrifically robust experience with the Oregon Symphony (February 17), drawing one of the largest audiences that I have seen at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for a regular classical music concert. No wonder; with Gil Shaham in town to play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, you can count on getting one of the most thrilling performances of that beloved piece you’ll ever hear, and for those of us who love big and bold symphonic works, Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony will do the trick.
Of top-tier violinists in the world, Shaham is one of the most animated, moving about while playing impeccably, combining mind-boggling precision with a mesmerizingly beautiful tone that sounds absolutely refreshing. Nowadays, it never fails that audiences, swept into virtuosity and melodic uplift of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky, burst into applause. Only this time, the applause was accompanied by cheering and some concertgoers rising from their seats for a standing ovation. The enthusiastic reaction to Shaham’s performance was wonderful to witness, but it reduced a bit the audience’s response at the end of the concerto despite the fact that Shaham and the orchestra delivered all of the Tchaikovsky with elan. As a side note, Shaham didn’t play an encore on Saturday, but I heard that he added Scott Wheeler's delightful "Isolation Rag" on Monday evening.
And from the photo above (posted on Facebook), it looks like he joined the violin section for the Bruckner Fourth on Monday as well. What a treat! At Saturday’s show, the violins sans Shaham more than held their own in an inspired performance that featured, multiple times, the brass and the horns. Talk about a glorious sound! I felt a little sorry for the woodwinds because they were positioned right in front of the brass choir and had to endure several sonic volleys that were at sustained double-plus fortes. The musicians wisely used ear plugs as needed, thank goodness.
In his introductory remarks, Danzmayr described the Fourth Symphony in this way: the first movement offers a sunrise over the countryside, the second is a Minnesang (lyric-and-song from the Germanic medieval period) featuring the viola section, the third presents a group of knights going hunting, and the fourth is an apocalyptic climax. I liked that explanation, although sometimes I just imagine majestic mountain ranges and a big cathedral with a magnificent, honking organ.
Like a magician, Danzmayr guided his forces through a number of hills and valleys in which big crescendos were often followed by astonishingly quiet diminuendos. Sometimes the sound decayed down to just a few strings and one woodwind – like Principal Flutist Martha Long – who would fashion a brief, lovely melodic line. In other quiet moments the double basses (eight of them) would create a low yawn or moan before the music would shift to another gear. Principal Timpanist Jonathan Greeney had lots of forte pummeling, but he also delivered soft murmurs during some of the quiet sections. Principal Hornist Jeff Garza and Principal Trumpeter Jeffrey Work excelled with their numerous solos. The violas created a strong cantabile sound in the second movement, and the strings, conquering line after line of unrelenting tremolos, pizzicatos, and runs were outstanding.
I love it when a world-famous soloist becomes part of the orchestra. Cellist Alban Gerhardt often did that whenever he came to town. Portland is very fortunate to have such outstanding musicians who can attract such high caliber talent into their midst. And it is a tribute to Danzmayr as well, because his conducting must also have inspired Shaham to join in the music-making.
P.S. I will be in Amsterdam for a few days in June and will hear the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra under Christian Thielemann playing Bruckner’s Eighth. I will write a review of it, for sure, maybe after a couple martinis.
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