Kristjan Jarvi Energizes National Repertory Orchestra with Expressive Grace

By -

Breckenridge Comes Alive with Concert of Holst, Mozart and Bartók

Estonian-born, American raised Kristjan Jarvi conducted a blistering performance with the talented musicians of the National Repertory Orchestra at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center last night. Conducting both Holst's "Jupiter" from The Planets and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra from memory, while highlighting soloists from the orchestra in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertanta in E-flat Major, Jarvi displayed mastery of the music and graceful expression drawing out a stunning performance from a talented, but young orchestra. Maestro Jarvi kept the energy from start to finish at a fevered pitch practically vaulting the audience out of their seats to applaud.

"Jupiter" is a popular crowd pleaser and started the concert on a high note. Jarvi took the entrance of the second theme faster than most creating a buzz of excitement leading up to the main chorale. He slowed the pace slightly for the horn entrance, but didn't lose any impact. As the piece continues to build from this point Jarvi extended his enthusiasm for the music through the orchestra to a glorious conclusion.

The Sinfonia Concertante featured a pair of young soloists from the orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster Karin Andraesen and Principal Viola Elizabeth Breslin. Jarvi captured the classical style of Mozart's music perfectly, emphasizing the occasional emphatic pulse in the double basses with shoulder shrugs, while icing over the flowing melodic lines with a gliding hand. The orchestra responded to Jarvi's every move, all the while providing perfect accompaniment to the talented soloists. The first movement was so entrancing the audience broke into applause without thought of more to come.

The National Repertory Orchestra is comprised of performers from all over the world selected from over 800 auditions. These talented musicians come together for a two month long performance run with concerts twice a week. Last night's concert was nearing the end and yet the was no evidence of exhaustion or fatigue. Quite the opposite, the ensemble seemed to be more energized than many professional orchestras I've seen. Obviously they thoroughly enjoyed playing with Kristjan Jarvi.

"He's really fun. He brings a lot of energy into the performance making a talented orchestra play even better."
- Brandi Phillips, Co-Concertmaster

The second half of the program was the incredible Concerto for Orchestra by Béla Bartók. This difficult piece was chosen to show off the many talented musicians in the orchestra and did extremely well at just that. The opening movement with the sombre theme in the low strings and the disjointed fanfare is a challenge to do well, yet the orchestra captured each moment beautifully. There was a moment when Jarvi wanted the tempo to speed up and the orchestra responded, not only matching his tempo but heightening the energy in the music. In the final movement, like he did with "Jupiter", Jarvi took the tempo up a notch or two. What is already a demanding piece of music, became frantic and frenzied. Yet, even as the fingers of the first violins practically burst into flame, the musicians maintained focus and control.

Kristjan Jarvi captured the essence of the very diverse musical program and yet brought his own fresh, vigorous style to it. Holst was heroic and then some. Mozart was classical and still nuanced. Bartók was bold and yet subtle. Jarvi kept the music flowing and dancing, swamming and pouncing, pounding and delicate. The concert ran the gamut from heroic to manic, delightful to breathtaking, full of energy and life.

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 &quo
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

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more