The Quad City Symphony had to contend with a last-minute change in soloists - and the piece he was playing - for the opening Masterworks concert of its 100th season. But the orchestra on October 4 dug deep to unearth world-class playing to match legendary pianist André Watts - and in the process seemed to exhaust itself. With a popular symphony and the world premiere of a commissioned piece in addition to a piano concerto with Watts, the intensity and high artistic level of playing were exhilarating to hear, but the orchestra didn't sustain them in the second half of the program.
Stepping in for an ailing Garrick Ohlsson, world-famous pianist and recording artist Watts exhibited command over his instrument and the complex music in Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. But he also demonstrated keen artistic understanding that prioritizes the notes into levels of musical conversation by shaping the primary themes, bringing out the musical subtext in the accompaniment, and constructing wide expanses of sequential phrases into musical stories - each with its own dramatic arch and musical characteristics.
Closing the first half of the concert, the Rachmaninoff concerto was a musical dialogue between equals and not merely a showcase for the piano. In addition to the familiar beguiling melodic lines, the composer broke up the tunes into fragments and scattered them throughout the orchestra. This allowed a flute, a clarinet, a horn, or the violins to finish musical sentences Watts began, and vice versa. By dynamically pushing into and feathering out of the interweaving phrases with consistent intensity and style, Watts and the orchestra created one long thematic line.
In a piece that can easily languish in musical melodrama because of its stylistic flair and depth of emotional content, Watts never let it lose momentum. No dramatic pauses. Three movements, yet one grand musical expression with each movement inextricably attached to the others, moving to an inevitable conclusion.
Approaching the end, Watts pushed the orchestra, driving it for more speed and intensity - confident in his own performance and the orchestra's ability to match it.
Even with the entire orchestra full-out on the last statement of the main theme, Watts was never smothered by the orchestra. With his powerful, broad shoulders and wide hands attacking the keyboard - nearly becoming airborne off the bench - Watts seemingly bounced the Steinway against the stage and the tumult of the orchestra. It was electrifying to both see and hear.
The orchestra was magnificent in Rachmaninoff. From the first tip-to-hand bowing of the passionate Russian theme, the strings sounded thick and robust - energized. The players leaned into or over their instruments, pushing deep into their strings. The violas' presentation of the iconic second theme was sumptuous. In the soft, intimate second movement, their sound was breathy and enticingly vulnerable. In the difficult fugue of the last movement, the spiccato first violins lightly skipped across their strings with rhythmic precision and musical flair. And the violins' statements of familiar themes were played with authority, even bravado.
The woodwinds and brass answered with supple richness. The melodic solos in the horn, flute, and bassoon that permeate the entire score were played with great soul and direction. The horn section made powerful cadence points in the first and last movements, adding drama and boldness to the ensemble.
The orchestra brought a world-class effort to a world-renowned soloist and created music worthy of its centennial year - the best, most balanced, and most consistently interpreted and executed performance I've heard from the orchestra. The musicians had exhausted the potential in the piece.
If only they had had enough gas left in the tank to do the same with Dvo?ák.
After intermission, Antonin Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 9 - From the New World had moments of Bohemian style and fire. The first statement of the theme in the third horn was crisp and well-shaped, bringing energy to the apex of the melodic line. In distinct contrast to the boldness of the horn, a buoyant flute played a more linear second theme with a more folk-ish style. After the iconic second-movement English Horn "Goin' Home" theme, the countermelodies in the violas and second violins were artfully made with an air of Bohemian melancholy. The "scherzo" was well-played by the strings, and the changes of tempo were consistently executed and shaped. Intense and cohesive viola ensemble playing in the last movement provided direction and excitement in their melodic ostinato.
But, as the Dvo?ák symphony progressed, the orchestra sounded tired.
This was most apparent in the brass. The supple, relaxed tone of the section was gone. The frequency of missed notes increased. The chorale at the beginning of the second movement was out-of-tune and not played together, while at the end of the movement it was too soft to be controlled - producing a wobbly, unstable sound instead of a steady tone.
From the outset of Dvo?ák, the woodwinds struggled with intonation, and - despite adjustments from some players - the problems were never fully resolved, a distraction through the final chord.
In the strings, the bowing was no longer consistently full - from tip to hand as with Rachmaninoff - but reduced and without the earlier vitality.
Still, the orchestra showed great grit pushing through the fatigue to capture the spirit of the symphony.
Beyond a Wild Dream, a new five-minute musical roller-coaster by Maquoketa, Iowa, native and Los Angeles resident John Frantzen, opened the concert. Commissioned by the Quad City Symphony, his piece was organized around triadic fragments that expanded into longer sequences. Through dazzling orchestration, these phrases soared through and over the orchestra's stratified brass fanfares, creating musical fireworks that showered the audience.
Frantzen's use of contrasting textures was accentuated with cross-rhythms, giving an organized yet chaotic feel to his carefully worked-out musical phrases. Swirling, sweeping scales led to rough-driving off-string chugging in the string section. With a repeating steady beat in one part of the orchestra, another part slowly accelerated or decelerated, creating a rhythmic illusion that the group was playing two pieces in two different tempos simultaneously.
In the hands of a fresh orchestra, playing aggressively with virtuosic flair, Frantzen's score was an exciting opener for the season. It was a delightful splash of musical water that grabbed and held the audience's attention.
Frederick Morden is a retired orchestra-music director, conductor, composer, arranger, educator, and writer who has served on the executive board of the Conductors Guild. He can be reached at f.morden@mchsi.com.
