Elizabeth Ogonek<\/strong> \u2013 Moondog<\/em> (world premiere)<\/p>\n Prokofiev<\/strong> \u2013 Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor<\/p>\n Tchaikovsky<\/strong> \u2013 Symphony No.2 in C minor<\/p>\n Conductor Elim Chan appeared to be channeling an outdated soul in a compelling, usually thrilling live performance Thursday afternoon with the San Francisco Symphony and visitor violin soloist, James Ehnes.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\u2019s tendency for conductorial gymnastics, discovering exact and ear-pleasing methods to get the required power out of the orchestra.<\/p>\n The matinee opened with a gauzy new piece from composer Elizabeth Ogonek. After Ehnes utilized his elegant violin enjoying to Prokofiev\u2019s Violin Concerto No.2, a rousing rendition of the too-seldom-heard Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 topped each items.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Most satisfying have been the charming sluggish actions in each the concerto and the symphony. Neither is especially sluggish \u2013 the concerto is marked \u2018Andante assai\u2019 and the symphony is \u2018Andantino, quasi moderato\u2019 \u2013 and Chan stored them shifting. She imbued each with a puckish wit and the management to attract elegant enjoying because the composers\u2019 tunes unfolded over light accompaniments.<\/p>\n The Tchaikovsky made its factors gracefully, beginning with a softly cogent opening horn solo by affiliate principal Mark Almond, and\u00a0principal bassoon Stephen Paulsen\u2019s deftly utilized orchestral adornments on the repeat. When the quicker foremost a part of the primary motion obtained rolling, precision made it circulation easily.<\/p>\n After the second motion\u2019s 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\u2019s sluggish fanfare recalled the opening measures of the Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky\u2019s \u2018Great Gate at Kiev\u2019. Then the earworm of a Ukrainian folks tune bounced across the orchestra with a outstanding sense of unanimity.<\/p>\n In the concerto, Ehnes was at his most ingratiating. He lavished pretty tone and located emotional depth in Prokofiev\u2019s 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<\/em> and lent further perfume to the Andantino<\/em>, even when the Allegro<\/em> finale may have had extra chunk.<\/p>\n Even higher was Ehnes\u2019s encore, a zippy and dazzling romp by way of Paganini\u2019s Caprice No.16.<\/p>\n The opener marked the return of Ogonek\u2019s music to the San Francisco Symphony, which final 12 months performed her intriguing Sleep & Unremembrance. <\/em>This one, Moondog<\/em> (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\u2019s orchestral accompaniments. Melodies, nonetheless, may need accomplished a extra compelling image.<\/p>\n Harvey Steiman<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n [ad_2]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [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) Elim Chan \u00a9\u00a0Willeke Machiels Elizabeth Ogonek \u2013 Moondog (world premiere) Prokofiev \u2013 Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor Tchaikovsky \u2013 Symphony No.2 in C minor Conductor Elim Chan appeared to be channeling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-theatre"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"United](\"https:\/\/seenandheard-international.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/world-flags\/images\/flags\/24\/us.png\" "\\"United")
United States<\/span><\/span><\/span> Ogonek, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky: <\/span><\/strong>James Ehnes (violin), San Francisco Symphony \/ Elim Chan (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 12.1.2023. (HS)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/seenandheard-international.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/EC-e1673737105669-500x333.jpg\")