Review: Conrad Tao elevates Mozart with the Oregon Symphony and two Mendelssohn works evoke the landscape of Scotland

Pianist-composer Conrad Tao returned to play with the Oregon Symphony on March 19, giving a an wonderfully expressive and technically perfect performance of Mozart’s Concerto No. 21 in C major. Tao last played with the orchestra in January of 2024 when an ice storm struck and caused power outages throughout the city and concert cancellations (see my review here). This time around, the weather complemented the sunny disposition of Mozart’s beautiful music, and concertgoers were treated to an outstanding experience.

Under Tao’s fingers, the Mozart flowed organically and with great beauty. Within immaculate technique he expressed the arpeggiated runs flawlessly, accenting some notes so that the lines were always just a tad different. Often the end of phrases deliciously lightened up, tapering off into the distance. Tao superbly contrasted gracefully elegant melodies with dramatically expressive passages, playing everything with great sensitivity but not fussiness. The exuberance of the final movement, Allegro vivace assai, was joyfully and perfectly delivered, a testament to Tao’s deep understanding of Mozart’s style.

The orchestral arrangement for the performance was one that I had not seen before. Music Director David Danzmayr placed the trumpets behind the horns on the left side, and that tutti ensemble took its position behind the violins. It all worked extremely well, creating a balanced sound with the entire orchestra.

Going in an entirely different direction stylistically, Tao followed up the Mozart with Elliott Carter's Caténaires as an encore. With his hand flying all over the keyboard, the encore generated a supercharged scattershot of notes, that ricochetted about the hall like a randomly generate pinballs. The effect also suggested an electrical jolt with sparks flying everywhere. Tao shaped the piece with his superb, lithe touch, and it resulted in a vociferously positive response from the audience.

The majority of the concert was devoted to the landscape and culture of Scotland via the music of Mendelssohn, who toured the highlands in 1829. His Symphony No. 3, “Scottish” received an outstandingly expressive performance, starting with the brooding opening statement, inspired by the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh. The accelerando into an agitated theme suggested a storm-swept landscape in which shimmering strings heightened the mood with fiery jabs and then the cellos, evoking sleek waves and a contrasting woodwind sound that dwindled away. The cheerful dance of the second movement ended with a super-soft touch. Danzmayr and forces lovingly caressed the notes in the third movement. That was followed by an exceptional attack into the fourth movement and the magically forlorn clarinet (Mark Dubec) and bassoon (Carin Miller) duet before breaking into the final robust melody with the horns breaking through the clouds as if to announce triumphant ships sailing into the home port.

The concert began with another Mendelssohn gem, “The Hebridies Overture” (aka “Fingal’s Cave”), which marvelously evoked the seascape and isolated beauty around the remote cave. Under Danzmayr the orchestra unleashed a terrific burst of energy that conveyed crashing waves, which contrasted especially well with the soothing sounds of the clarinets (Dubec and Todd Kuhns). The furious bowing from the strings and especially the basses was exhilarating to watch and hear. That made the one-movement tone poem a perfect set-up for the rest of the evening.

Overall, this was an exceptional concert that should have drawn a full house. It’s a life-enhancing experience to witness such superb music-making.

PS: Apologies for the lateness of this posting. Yours Truly experienced a health scare last week. That caused a delay. Things are much better now and continue to improve.