The Vancouver Symphony celebrated the nation’s 250th
birthday in grand style at Skyview Concert Hall (February 21) with an All-American program that put the spotlight on
the orchestra rather than on a soloist. The lineup was bookended with works by Carlos
Simon and George Gershwin, drawing from African-American music, which aptly
complemented Black History Month. Filling in the center were two beloved works
by Aaron Copland, and all of the selections were led energetically by Music
Director Salvador Brotons, who noted their challenging musical demands.
Simon, whose album Requiem for the Enslaved, was
nominated for a Grammy-award in 2023, has emerged as one of our country’s best
composers. His music has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the
National Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and many other ensembles.
The VSO opened its concert with Simon’s Four Black
American Dances, which was commissioned and premiered by the Boston
Symphony Orchestra in 2023. In the first dance, “Ring Shout,” the percussion
section created crispy snaps and dashes. The strings launched into a vigorous
motoric sequence. Raspy trumpets and sliding trombones put everything into a
groove that went full bore. The strings led the way in an elegant and leisurely
second dance, “Waltz,” and the third dance “Tap!” took things up a notch with
the snare drum accenting the sound. The final dance, “Holy Dance,” had a
delightful mélange with tubular bells, snappy wood stick, and wah-wah-ing
trombones that suggested a Hamond-organ sound. The piece wrapped up in big-band-symphonic
style that reminded me of Gershwin.
Next on the program came “Four Dances Episodes” from Rodeo,
which Copland originally wrote as a ballet for Agnes de Mille. The orchestra
kicked things off with a feisty “Buckaroo Holiday,” that conveyed the lively
goings-on at a rodeo. The gentle interplay between the bassoon and oboe, the
dusky sound from the lower strings, and the soothing trumpets gave the “Corral
Nocturne” a poignant quality. The famous melody permeated the “Saturday Night
Waltz” with a lovely, relaxed feeling. The “Hoe-Down” charged up the atmosphere
with toe tapping energy.
Copland originally wrote Appalachian Spring for
thirteen instruments, but his version for full orchestra, which he uncorked a
year later (1945) captures the original spirit of the piece perfectly. Brotons
paced the orchestra deftly so that the music opened slowly and gracefully like
a flower in bloom. The animated sections galloped along well, although the
oboist struggled to play some phrases cleanly. The Shaker Hymn “Simple Gifts”
sounded carefree and graceful, and the orchestra concluded the piece resolutely
and with an air of hopefulness.
Saving the best for last, the orchestra gave an inspired
performance of Catfish Row, which is a suite of tunes from
Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which is considered the greatest and
most-well known American opera ever written. Inflected with musical style of
Black Americans, including jazz, most of the audience recognized familiar numbers
like “Summertime” and “Bess You Is My Woman Now.” The brass section of the orchestra really got
into the swing of the jazzy style from the opening passages, which have a busy,
bustling openness and hopefulness. Michael Liu made the piano sing with the strains
of honkytonk strains of “Jazzbo Brown’s Piano Blues” and special guest Peter
Frajola (former associate concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony) brightened things
up with his banjo for the “I Got Plenty of Nuttin” song. The orchestra aptly delivered passages that portray a hurricane, violent fights, and several other dramatic moments of the opera - all of led up to the thrilling finale when Porgy eagerly resolves to go to New York City to pursue Bess. It all made this
reviewer wonder if there would be a way for the VSO to present a concert version
someday.
