от силы в силу, Alexander Polianichko goes from Strength to Strength with the Colorado Symphony performing music by the Russian Masters

By -

Jordan Bisch sang Bass and the Colorado Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Duain Wolfe, joined the Colorado Symphony for a powerful program of the Russian Masters

от силы в силу means from Strength to Strength

Russian music has a power all its own. With Alexander Polianichko at the podium the Colorado Symphony performed a solid concert of Russian music moving from strength to strength. As the program progressed the music and the performances kept improving.

The evening began with the "Procession of the Nobles" from Mlada by Rimsky-Korsakov. This piece features the brass and the amazing Colorado Symphony brass section were up for the challenge. Some of the rapid fanfare leaps were boldly present in the music and really set the stage for a night of immensely powerful music.

Jordan Bisch was featured as the bass soloist for Aleko's Cavatina from Aleko by Rachmaninoff. The orchestra started at a whisper to preface the first note by Mr Bisch which wasn't much louder, but the force in his voice rumbled the rafters - and he went up from there. Jordan Bisch has a voice that portrays intense emotion and overwhelming strength. The only disappointment in the performance was the lack of a standing ovation afterwards. Aleko's Cavatina is a soft piece, fraught with passion, not rousing music like the opening "Procession", but Mr. Bisch's performance deserved more from the audience.

The rest of the first half of the program was occupied by Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Much of this music is extremely familiar, yet it was nice to hear the Colorado Symphony bring it to life without the dancers, so the music can take the forefront. Highlights were when soloists from the Colorado Symphony Musicians were featured. Courtney Hershey Bress' harp is often heard in the orchestra, but tonight we were treated to an extensive solo. Yumi Hwang-Williams joined her for a lovely, melodic duet, followed by a solo by Silver Ainomäe on the Cello. Then the music turned haunting with a classic theme presented by Peter Cooper on the oboe. Again, the brass were brought in for the climax bringing the audience to their feet. Obviously the crowd loved the music and adores the musicians - there were plenty of whoops and hollers as each of the soloists were given their own bow.

After intermission we were treated to Borodin's flourid and powerful "Polovtsian Dances" from Prince Igor. Alexander Polianichko took the piece faster than I've heard it done before making the breath-taking solos by the Bil Jackson on the Clarinet and Brook Ellen Shoenwald on the flute even more amazing. Yet, at no point did the music feel out of control --quite the opposite. Through every twist and turn of the music there wasn't a moment to breathe and yet no moment to be anything but riveted to the stage.

The Coronation Scene from Boris Godonov by Mussorgsky was up next featuring both soloist Jordan Bisch and the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Jordan commanded the role and the stage with his voice, while Maestro Polianichko kept the piece in balance. It was obvious the chorus and the musicians were having a blast performing with him and the music carried that enthusiasm through Boettcher Hall.

The evening came to a close with the ever popular 1812, Overture complete with canon sounds and chorus. Often the piece is performed without the chorus. The emotions run high with the music anyway with the bold brass at the end, but to start with just a hint of strings beneath the prayer-like voices really pushed the emotional wave of the evening over the top. The music continued to build with the La Marseillaise sneaking in to represent the French but ending with the hymn God Preserve Thy People followed by God Save the Tsar! to end in triumph.

Alexander Polianichko is not a flashy conductor. He performs his task without fancy dance steps or body contortions. Yet the "love-fest" that began with the chorus and conductor on Tuesday night's rehearsal obviously wasn't a fluke. Russian music is powerful and demanding. Maestro Polianichko and the Colorado Symphony and Chorus met it head on demonstrating the strength of both the music and the musicians.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more