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News > Philharmonic offers brash, playful concert
Philharmonic offers brash, playful concert September 12, 2006 Boisterous and flashy music filled the Pioneer Center on Sunday as the Reno Philharmonic attacked two rousing compositions and one intricate concerto in the first concert of its 2006-7 season. Has it been awhile since you heard a good cimbalom in a concert hall? The Philharmonic was only too happy to oblige in Zoltan Kodály's Suite from the opera "Háry János." Jay Stebley played the cimbalom, a dulcimer-like instrument popular in Hungary, in the middle of the orchestra. The cimbalom lent an Eastern European flavor to the composition. The music, based on Hungarian folk themes and reminiscent of Prokofiev's film scores, ran riot in the concert hall as conductor Barry Jekowsky gyrated and gestured in front of his orchestra. From the initial "sneeze" to the outlandish final movement, the "Entrance of the Emperor and His Court," "János" expressed the silliness of the opera's tall-tale themes and got the audience's fingers tapping. This composition shows that 20th-century music can be wild, exciting and tonal, and Jekowsky and company relished the chance to air out the score. The opening piece, "Symphonic Metamorphoses of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber" by Paul Hindemith, was another loud, brassy score, presented with strong work in the woodwinds. In some ways, both pieces presented the utter chaos of Europe in the 20th century. The Philharmonic was sharp from the opening phrases onward (helped in part by a national anthem warm-up as Jekowsky led the audience in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"). The second piece on the program, "Concierto Madrigal," was something of a change of pace -- it drew onstage Sérgio and Odair Assad to play guitars. Obviously, the guitars brought the brashness of the concert down a bit, even though excellent amplification aided the Assad brothers. Joaquín Rodrigo's multi-part concerto mixes Spanish and Renaissance themes. Although I found the piece to be a bit rambling, the Philharmonic and the Assads made up for it with precise playing and some lovely intertwining of guitars, strings and woodwinds. The performance opened the Philharmonic's season strongly, and it was refreshing to hear exciting 20th-century music played with confidence and playfulness. Click here for online review. |
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