Review: Lazarova and Trpčeski create spellbinding music with the Oregon Symphony

I’ve heard enthusiastic applause, cheers, and piercing whistles from the audience after a great performance by the Oregon Symphony, but the electrifying concert by the orchestra of Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony under guest conductor Delyana Lazarova at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (May 13) elicited a huge roar! The Bulgarian basically blew everyone away with her mesmerizing talent on the podium. I have to admit that even this jaded critic was bowled over by Lazarova’s communication with musicians and the concertgoers. She unleashed an articulate and dynamic style that elicited a superb and memorable interpretation of the Dvořák. It was felt by the orchestra as well, because they were practically stomping on the floor when she came out to take a bow a third time, and Concertmaster Sarah Kwak didn’t get up from her chair so that Lazarova could enjoy the vociferous acclaim from all corners of the hall.

What Lazarova accomplished with the orchestra was not easy, because the Dvořák followed an outstanding performance by Simon Trpčeski of Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” which also generated a big, boisterous response from the audience. Trpčeski, who is a native of Macedonia, played the piece flawlessly and with a wonderful polish. Streams of notes flew by effortlessly, leaving a beautiful sheen that lingered briefly. Trpčeski was in a zone of perfection. Even when a cell phone went off during the climatic pause of the lovely and famous cadenza in the 18th variation didn’t bother him a bit.

Trpčeski followed the Rachmaninoff with two encores. The first was “Piperkovo Oro” (“Paprika Dance”), a perky improvisational excerpt from the project Makedonissimo. The second, an arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” was exquisitely performed as a duet with Kwak.

The concert began with Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova’s “Timber & Steel,” which was written in 2019 an homage to conductor Henry Wood, who founded the Proms, the very popular summer music series at Royal Albert Hall. “Timber & Steel” opened with ripping runs an octave apart on two marimbas. Vigorous, propulsive passages for the entire orchestra joined in, forming an exciting sonic collage that was punctuated now and then by the timpani. Sustained tones from the basses provided an anchor, and all the forces quieted down to pizzicato-ing strings and an oddly beguiling tune from the woodwinds. Then the motor machine-like sound started up again, returning to the two marimbas and a morse code of high notes from the trumpets that led to a grand finale.

The orchestra is playing at the top of its game, and it is benefitting from outstanding guest conductors like Lazarova and Poska, who led the orchestra in its previous concert series, and amazing soloists like Trpčeski and violinist Kerson Leong (also from the previous series). During intermission, I ran into Alan Pierce, who played trombone with the orchestra for many years. Unsolicited, he mentioned the very high quality of the music making here and misses it (he now lives in Reno, Nevada).