Review: Oregon Symphony travels East and West in concert of music by Jiping, Huỳnh, and Rachmaninoff

Wu Man | Photo credit Stephen Kahn

Extending its sonic palette East and West, the Oregon Symphony delivered a fascinating concert (February 1) at the Arlene Concert Hal that tied Asia-inspired works with one of Rachmaninoff’s gems. Zhao Jiping’s “Pipa Concerto No. 2” brought the unique sound of the pipa, a Chinese lute, which was played by virtuoso Wu Man. Oswald Huỳnh’s “Gia Đình” elicited a panoply of sounds to evoke his Vietnamese heritage. Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances” brought a distinct Russian vibe to the evening. The entire program was led by the orchestra’s Associate Conductor, Deanna Tham, who grew up in San Jose has ethnic Chinese roots.

Considered the John Williams of China for his popular film scores (“Farewell My Concubine” and “Raise the Red Lantern”) Zhao Jiping has been acclaimed for his scores that blend sounds from Asia within the structures of European music. He wrote the “Pipa Concerto No. 2” for Wu Man, whose international reputation for her prowess on the pipa is off the charts. It was inspired by folk songs, storytelling and the cultural ambiance of Hangzhou, China, where Man grew up.

The thing about Jiping’s “Second Pipa Concerto” was that listeners didn’t have to know anything about the cultural backstory to enjoy the music. Just watching Man’s fingers fly over the strings and frets of the pearl-shaped instrument was spellbinding. The light twang of the pipa grew more and more charming as the piece progressed. Whether strumming, plucking, or pitch bending, Man created an enchanting atmosphere that effortlessly shifted between contemplative, playful, and humorous. Moments of dialog with the orchestra, including a few isolated duets, were seamlessly woven into the piece. The orchestra generated a tapestry of sounds that swelled and receded with the feeling of movie music, providing an excellent background to the virtuosic artistry that Man displayed with the pipa.

The audience responded to the concerto with a vociferous standing ovation, and Man graciously acknowledged the acclamation with an encore – a springy folk-song-like number that had got faster and faster but also included little squibs of sound – like humorous interjections. Wow!

Oswald Huỳnh is a Vietnamese-American composer whose works have been getting international acclaim for a unique sonicscape noted for “intricate contrasts of timbre and interweaving textures that are rooted in narrative, culture, and memory.” He has a Bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College and a Master of Music from the University of Missouri.

In his introductory remarks from the stage, Huynh mentioned that Portland is his hometown. He also noted that the Vietnamese people refer to the Vietnam War as the American War, and he mentioned the Boat People who fled Vietnam after the war.

In “Gia Đình” (Family), Huỳnh expressed elements of the Vietnam culture with lots of original sounds that sometimes wafted and erupted from the orchestra in a spontaneous way. Slip-sliding glissandos, breathy sounds from the flute, little bells permeated the first movement (Like father, like child). Big blasts from the timpani, tremolos from the clarinet, growling trombones, slinky glissandos accented the second movement (There is nothing like rice with fish, there is nothing like mother with child). The tempo quickened in the third movement (Blood is thicker than water), which gelled at one point into a delicious cacophony, followed by snappy, wild passages and blocky chords from the entire orchestra – all of which dissolved into a restful ending with breathy sound from the bass and words whispered by the entire orchestra.

Gia Đình generated sequence after sequence of unusual sounds that were flat-out mesmerizing. I strongly advocate for the Oregon Symphony to commission a work from Huỳnh if they haven’t done so already.

The second half of the concert returned to the West with Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.” The forceful theme in the first movement pranced with verve. Also impressive were the calls back and forth between the woodwinds and the saxophone’s mellow reflection. The waltz of the second movement wistfully evoked a bygone era. The third movement dished up waves of enticing melodies before marching to a crisp finale.

With her precise and artistic conducting, Tham elicited an outstanding performance of the “Symphonic Dances” that captured concertgoers’ attention from beginning to end. That was the perfect topping for a concert that really expanded this reviewer’s ears and helped to make the evening memorable.