Last-minute conductor Andrew Grams elevates Stravinsky ballet and Ehnes delivers impeccable Mozart at Oregon Symphony concert

For the second time this season, the conductor scheduled to lead the Oregon Symphony concert could not enter the United States because of visa problems. Just a few weeks ago David Danzmayr stepped in for Jun Märkl to inspire the orchestra. This time around, Andrew Grams replaced Jonathon Heyward, who also could not enter the United States from Europe where he is the Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. But Grams really saved the evening (November 20) at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall because the program included Stravinsky’s “Agon,” a rarely performed ballet that could have been disastrous with a less-gifted director. In fact, Grams and the orchestra made the Stravinsky a highlight of the evening, rivaling the impeccable playing by James Ehnes of Mozart’s Fourth Violin Concerto. To top that off, Grams led the musicians in stirring performances of Kareem Roustom’s “Dabke” and Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.”

Stravinsky wrote “Agon” in the 12-tone technique, which can sound abstract, dissonant, and dry to the ears. But in Grams’ hands, “Agon” had shape and emotion that made its eccentricity fun to hear. It turns out that Grams, in his earlier career as a violinist, has played this piece numerous times. He elicited an exciting interpretation that skillfully accented the many quirky ensemble combinations, such as timpani, flutes, xylophone, trombones, and concertmaster Sarah Kwak playing in one of the movements. Another featured harp, mandolin, piano, timpani, flutes, basses, and cello. At times, the piece seemed to have an ancient, fragmentary allure, and that made me wonder how dancers would interpret it. It all flowed together so well that the audience rewarded it with sustained applause.

Ehnes, a frequent guest artist with the Oregon Symphony, delivered an elegant and inspired interpretation of Mozart’s Concerto No. 4 for violin and orchestra. Playing with impeccable clarity and control, Ehnes also gave each phrase just the right dash of salt and pepper to make the piece fresh and invigorating. It was a mesmerizing performance by a great artist who makes it all look so effortless. Enthusiastic applause and loud bravos brought Ehnes back to center stage several times, and I think that some folks wanted an encore, but they will have to wait for another engagement from the stellar Canadian virtuoso.

Digging into the rhythmic propulsion of “Dabke” by Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom, the strings created terrific sonic textures with a Middle Eastern temperament. The violas and basses had a couple of flings with thrumming, thematic lines that jolted the piece forward. I loved the quick, sliding sounds and the intense pizzicato passages. Kwak and the principal strings deftly showed their expertise in several exposed sections, and the piece came across in stunning fashion, resulting in vigorous and loud acclaim from all corners of the hall.

The concert closed with a superb performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.” Highlights included the swirling, chaotic sounds of the fight scene, and the lush, romantic melody that soared with passion before descending into sadness – with the cellos and basses and finally the last heartbeats from the timpani signaling the lovers’ deaths. It was breathtaking to hear and concertgoers again responded with heartfelt acclamation.

Unsung hero

For his work behind the scenes, Charles Calmer, the orchestra’s vice president for artistic planning, deserves high praise. With only a four-day notice to find a conductor to replace Heyward, Calmer fortunately contacted Grams, who knew the Stravinsky piece forwards and backwards and led the hometown band in another exceptional concert. But with the pandemic still causing problems in Europe, it looks like Calmer will have to be at the ready in the New Year for more last-minute replacements. Hmmm.... maybe we will see Grams, who was until recently the music director of the Elgin Symphony, in the very near future.

HK Guber's eccentric Frankenstein!! highlights Oregon Symphony concert

It was a mixed bag sort of evening at the Oregon Symphony’s concert on October 30 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The program, led by the orchestra’s new music director, David Danzmayr, offered a musical sampler of German and Austrian nougats that ranged from the high Baroque to contemporary music. But no piece topped the uniqueness of HK Gruber’s “Frankenstein!!” with the composer himself as soloist.

Laced with sardonic humor that bordered at times on the macabre, “Frankenstein!!,” (subtitled “A Pan-demonium for Baritone Chansonnier and Ensemble after Children’s Rhymes”) used text by Hans Carl Artmann to warn against monsters, vampires, werewolves, and the like. That fell in the tradition of “Max and Moritz” and Grimm’s “Fairy Tales.” Gruber’s Sprechstimme – from falsetto highs to basement-basso lows – terrifically conveyed the teasing, cheeky text that caused some chuckles from the audience. He skillfully commanded an array of toy instruments that included a slide whistle and a tiny bugle.

The orchestra supported Gruber with glee from the get-go with timpanist Jonathan Greeney blowing up, popping, and tossing paper bags into the horn section. The musicians doubled the fun with melodicas and colorful whirligigs. At one point they stood up – with the strings using their bows to make the sign of the cross – and sang a ditty about stopping an attack by a baby vampire. Overall, “Frankenstein!!” created some mirth in a nod to Halloween, but, as the program notes mentioned, it may have some subtext that questions who the real monsters are.

Another highlight of the evening should have been Bach’s Concerto in C minor for Oboe, Violin and String Orchestra, but it was difficult to hear the soloists, Martin Hébert and Sarah Kwak. It seemed that the new Constellation Sound System was turned off or that the accompanying string section was just too large. Hébert’s elegant and rich tone and Kwak’s silky lines came through best during the pianissimo sections, and it was impossible to hear the harpsichord except for the very last chord at the end of a phrase. One of the coolest moments in the piece came when Hébert reached over to Kwak’s music stand to turn a page of her score while he was holding at note. I’ve never seen that before!

Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”) received a superb performance by the orchestra, replete with dynamic contrasts that made each passage in the piece intriguing and delicious to hear. The beautiful duet in the third movement was outstandingly played by flutist Martha Long and oboist Karen Wagner. Danzmayr’s dazzling conducting contributed to the stellar effort by his colleagues. Dipping, stretching, crouching – you name it - every gesture was distinct and perfect for the each phrase and never repeated. Amazing!

The concert concluded with an impressive rendition of Johann Strauss Jr’s “Kaiser Walzer” (“Emperor Waltzes”). Again, the orchestra excelled with dynamics, delivering dramatically bold statements and delicate diminuendos among many other nuances that sent the audience out the door with a smile.

Shostakovich's 11th the Loudest Thing Ever? Maybe...

Robert Trevino (c) Lisa Hancock

On Feb 22 the Oregon Symphony welcomed first-time conductor Robert Trevino, who had the titanic task of bringing to life Shostakovich's Symphony No 11 in G minor, "The Year 1905," which was (ostensibly) written in memoriam to the heroes of that last great Russian revolution before the big one finally succeeded in 1917.

But first, after a brief piece Icarus in Orbit by George Walker, was a work at the polar opposite of the Shostakovich stylistically speaking, the Violin Concerto in A Minor by Gian Carlo Menotti, with concert master Sarah Kwak taking on solo duties.

There was no big intro to the Menotti, just a sudden but not sharp attack by Kwak. A persistent, hopscotching saltando gave way to a gentle, stirring serenade. Kwak's insight was fantastic--almost bordering on understated but never giving way to tiresomeness. Very much the opposite--there was tremendous variety in her phrasing, and inventive emotive intent was her hallmark.  The Adagio opened with a resounding timbre worthy of the famed Kreisler concerto. The extended orchestral tacets gave Kwak all the room she needed to explore, and I'm sure I was not the only one who felt like listening to her solo all evening.

Sarah Kwak

The Shostakovich, on the other hand...suffice it to say this was an entirely different animal. Lurking and mysterious at the outset, the presage to the bloodshed imparted a sense of brooding, of impending action.  This tautness was difficult to sustain for long periods and yet keep interesting--several minutes with nothing but pianissimo timpani and snare drum with an occasional melody instrument peeping through--and yet rather than dulling, the tension increased.

Then the action began! A frenetic, tutti battaglia--the timpanist was a master of understatement, and there was terrific work from the brass choir, especially the trumpets, unafraid of getting their hands dirty. There were throaty molto fortissimi that almost defied description, and Trevino did a marvelous job of instilling balance with a hundred people playing with all their might. The heart-pounding excitement from the percussion cannot be overstated.

In the third movement there was awesomely menacing stuff from low brass and winds. Balance issues became a factor later as the unmuted trumpets simply overpowered the strings--there's only so much noise you can wring out of the strings before the trumpets just have to quiet down a bit.  There were long savory staccatissimo passages from bass and cello--horsehair was flying all over the stage.  The English horn solo in the finale was exquisitely rubato, and Trevino kept mysteriously directing the one soloist  (who did not need it) while ignoring the 2 harps and  30 violins who were desperately trying (and failing) to keep their pizzicato entrances on the beat. Sometimes the conductor needs to be a metronome, and the strings were the ones who needed a metronome at that moment, not the masterful cor anglais soloist.

That being said, the entire experience was exquisite. The tuned bell plates at the end (or to use the much more satisfying term, plattenglocken ) were so horrifyingly loud (in a good way) that the harpists were desperately cramming in ear plugs. The finale was certainly one of the loudest unamplified musical experiences I've ever heard, and I reveled in the sheer, childish joy of just hearing so much unalloyed, unapologetic noise!  I'm sure I was laughing because it was so fun, but believe me, no one heard.

Portland audiences are known for being extremely appreciative, something which I believe is a mark of pride for our city, but I have seldom seen so many curtain calls or such enthusiastic applause, as Trevino came out again and again and again to acknowledge each section and certain soloists, and when the percussion stood to be recognized the huzzahs almost blew the roof off the Schnitz.  This was the most fun I've had in a long time, and you just can't experience this kind of thing without going to hear live music.

Funny stuff. Oregon Symphony delivers a quirky, rewarding Zimmerman, Shostakovich program.

Johannes Moser

The Oregon Symphony put together a program of divers emotional effect on Saturday January 12th. Pairing the brooding intensity of Shostakovich's first cello concerto with Bernd Alois Zimmerman's absurdist Music for the Suppers of King Ubu (with some Rossini and Rimsky-Korsakov thrown in to boot), the programming was ambitious and imaginative.

The eclectic opening work by Zimmermann, known for his quotations and pastiche,  consisted of eight short movements with a short standup routing by local comic Jason Traeger in between each one. Traeger's bits were (by and large) pretty funny; some were downright scarily insightful and hilarious, fitting for a work that is by Zimmerman's own words a cautionary tale about what can happen to a liberal elite when a dictator takes over.

Featuring quotations from Mussorgsky, Bach, Wagner, Richard Strauss and others, the farcical nature of the work established itself right off the bat. The work was littered with honking, squawking eructations from the brass, syncopated eruptions by the percussion--the entire piece was a giant finger in the eye to the elite and their pretensions. Delightful and joyous baroque dances and quotations by Bach ensued in the third movement. In the fourth, entitled Pile, Cotise and the Bear, the tuba and contrabasses seemed to dare the audience not to hear the great beast shambling onto the stage. The Phynancial Horse and the Lackeys of Phynance had all the stentorian stuffiness of a wealthy captain of industry putting on public airs with no pants on. Glorious dissonances from the ensemble, strangely delicate and clunky simultaneously, preceded and ominous, fast-paced executioner's march heading into a quote of Die Walkure and the finale. This was a weird and wonderful piece that was almost too much fun for everyone involved.

Following a delightful Tancredi overture by Rossini, Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major was the meat of the evening. Cellist Johannes Moser, beginning a 3-year artist-in-residence position with OSO, displayed an emotional dexterity immediately. Playing with an almost understated sonority--a pure, thorough and direct realization--he quickly metamorphosed into intense perturbation--a wailing, warbling tremolo that grabbed at the heart strings. Technically, the evenness of the difficult chordal passages and remarkable cantando he brought to bear were absolutely vital to understanding this piece which, like most Shostakovich, couldn't be described as upbeat or effortlessly accessible. His singing passages were subsumed by an incessant, suffocating motility from the orchestra; Moser bore up like a beset wanderer at the center of a tempest.

The Moderato was completely different--Moser played it like a lyrical threnody, but almost too weary to be terribly sad. In the high registes he played with the tenderest tremolando, so like a violin, and the trio between the soloist playing harmonics, clarinet and celesta was otherworldly. A prosaic intro in to the Cadenza exploded into an impassioned outburst--varying styles of pizzicato, and a his flawless realization of a fantastically difficult simultaneous pizz and arco section highlighted the amazing breadth of the palette from which Moser can draw. His tenure as OSO's artist-in-residence should be an exciting and rewarding one indeed.

The overture from Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival closed out the evening. Concert master Sarah Kwak was in fine form with several lonely, mysterious solo segments, and the trombones were simply glorious in their perfect unisons. This was a great showcase for the ensemble, and an energetic finale to a fascinating, daring and diverse all-around program from Maestro Kalmar and Co.