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Princeton Town Topics
November 12, 2008
Revolutionary Performance
in Richardson Presented by Princeton Symphony Orchestra
By Nancy Plum
The sign of a good music director, whether
permanent or interim, is the ability to motivate the players to reach
beyond themselves to present the music to the audience. Princeton
Symphony Orchestra had such a director this past weekend, as guest
conductor Tito Muñoz led the ensemble in a concert with many
revolutionary overtones in leader, soloist, and music.
Mr. Muñoz chose a program rooted in
nationalism for the most part: Giuseppe Verdi’s overture to his opera La
Forza del Destino, followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony
No. 10. These two somewhat activist works sandwiched a charming Haydn
cello concerto featuring a soloist whose performance and music education
activities are extremely innovative and pioneering. Mr. Muñoz himself
was a revolutionary choice as conductor because he is so young to have
held the conducting positions he has held.
Both the Shostakovich and Verdi works are
laden with subliminal nationalistic messages to the native underground,
and although the overture to La Forza del Destino is not one of the more
obvious of these works, it is full of typical Verdi drama and operatic
story.
The Princeton Symphony began the overture
right off with very clear and solid brass, and Mr. Muñoz impressively
brought out the phrase lines in the violins.
Mr. Muñoz is an exacting conductor,
demanding precision from the wind sectional solos, yet he never forgot
that this is an overture to an opera, and the sections flowed well
together. Mr. Muñoz seemed to take all the time he needed with the
melodic lines, aided by a very clean brass chorale and elegant wind
solos, especially from clarinetist David Sapadin. The orchestra
impressively picked up speed considerably in the coda without missing a
beat.
If the Verdi overture was an exhilarating
way to begin the concert, the Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major which
followed was charming and delightful. Guest cello soloist Steven
Isserlis is clearly well schooled in the performance practices of the
late 17th and early 18th centuries, and his approach to the work
captured the flair and sauciness of the times.
Mr. Isserlis had no trouble playing along
with the orchestra at times, giving the impression he was following the
18th century Kantorei tradition, but when it was time for him to play
the theme, it was played sweetly and tastefully. He was very flexible
with the ornaments and demonstrated a great deal of flexibility in the
phrasing. His solo in thirds with the viola section was particularly
refined. Mr. Isserlis’s instrument, a 1730 Stradivarius, was
particularly well suited to this music.
Mr. Isserlis was clearly listening to the
orchestra in his non-solo passages, at time looking around at the
players. He also impressively brought the dynamic levels of phrases down
so low that the audience had to really listen to hear the musical
nuances. With a bit of flair and musical teasing, Mr. Isserlis closed
the concerto well, bringing out the burgeoning Sturm und Drang effects.
The orchestra closed the concert with
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, a work full of references to the
Stalinist era in Russia. Mr. Muñoz brought out well the intensity of the
work, again with well blended brass and a particularly effective duet
between clarinetists Mr. Sapadin and Sherry Hartman Apgar. Other
exceptional wind soloists included flutist Amy Wolfe, oboist Caroline
Park, English horn player Arthur Sato, and bassoonist Roe Goodman. A
fierce Scherzo was followed by the closing movement featuring haunting
violin playing by concertmistress Basia Danilow, playing which was made
all the more stark by playing most of the notes as upbows.
This was a conductor who derived the best
from the ensemble, easily raising the instrumentalists to their most
dynamic playing. Princeton Symphony Orchestra sold out this performance,
indicating that even in this period of transition, the organization has
a strong and solid following.
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