[ad_1]
United States Ogonek, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky: James Ehnes (violin), San Francisco Symphony / Elim Chan (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 12.1.2023. (HS)
Elizabeth Ogonek – Moondog (world premiere)
Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.2 in C minor
Conductor Elim Chan appeared to be channeling an outdated soul in a compelling, usually thrilling live performance Thursday afternoon with the San Francisco Symphony and visitor violin soloist, James Ehnes. The chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony and principal visitor conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra, the Hong Kong-born, U.S.-trained musician toned down her era’s tendency for conductorial gymnastics, discovering exact and ear-pleasing methods to get the required power out of the orchestra.
The matinee opened with a gauzy new piece from composer Elizabeth Ogonek. After Ehnes utilized his elegant violin enjoying to Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2, a rousing rendition of the too-seldom-heard Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 topped each items.
That is the place Chan actually confirmed her mettle, delivering spot-on tempo selections, shaping dynamics to maintain issues full of life and discovering supreme balances that allowed all of the layers of sound to stay clear even in essentially the most cluttered passages. These rewards have been greater than sufficient to compensate for moments when there may have been a bit extra bounce to the rhythms.
Most satisfying have been the charming sluggish actions in each the concerto and the symphony. Neither is especially sluggish – the concerto is marked ‘Andante assai’ and the symphony is ‘Andantino, quasi moderato’ – and Chan stored them shifting. She imbued each with a puckish wit and the management to attract elegant enjoying because the composers’ tunes unfolded over light accompaniments.
The Tchaikovsky made its factors gracefully, beginning with a softly cogent opening horn solo by affiliate principal Mark Almond, and principal bassoon Stephen Paulsen’s deftly utilized orchestral adornments on the repeat. When the quicker foremost a part of the primary motion obtained rolling, precision made it circulation easily.
After the second motion’s light march, delivered by the woodwind principals with model, the scherzo took off briskly but managed to cease wanting chaos. In the finale, the brass’s sluggish fanfare recalled the opening measures of the Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky’s ‘Great Gate at Kiev’. Then the earworm of a Ukrainian folks tune bounced across the orchestra with a outstanding sense of unanimity.
In the concerto, Ehnes was at his most ingratiating. He lavished pretty tone and located emotional depth in Prokofiev’s lithe melodies. The opening, performed by the soloist alone, creating a way of intimacy that pervaded the entire efficiency. This labored splendidly within the opening Allegro moderato and lent further perfume to the Andantino, even when the Allegro finale may have had extra chunk.
Even higher was Ehnes’s encore, a zippy and dazzling romp by way of Paganini’s Caprice No.16.
The opener marked the return of Ogonek’s music to the San Francisco Symphony, which final 12 months performed her intriguing Sleep & Unremembrance. This one, Moondog (a San Francisco Symphony co-commission), meditates on the celestial phenomenon of ice crystal reflections across the moon as seen from Earth. Fuzzy harmonies and principally static motion evoke a way of marvel and sweetness. Ripples of descending chromatic figures shimmer across the orchestra, harking back to Debussy’s orchestral accompaniments. Melodies, nonetheless, may need accomplished a extra compelling image.
Harvey Steiman