Orchestra review
New music outshines the classic pieces at ASO’S opener.
It only makes sense that a symphony orchestra like no other puts on a gala like no other.
On Saturday at the Palace Theater, David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra launched their season with plenty of familiar classics for a dressed-up audience. And the evening’s breakout hit was a piece by student composer Viet Cuong.
“Re(new)al” is a concerto for four percussionists that debuted at the 2017 Dogs of Desire program at EMPAC. Along with a continual pulse and a smart jazz inflection that brought to mind the “Mission Impossible” theme, the piece also has some unexpected and delightful choreography.
Once again, it was just about all anyone could talk about.
The new version for full orchestra again featured Sand Box Percussion. The four young players clinked water glasses to start, then shared a single snare drum that they processed around, and finally they ganged up on a mallet keyboard. The piece was
commissioned by GE Renewables, which inspired Cuong’s tributes to hydro, wind and solar energies. That’s a lot of ideas and concepts, plus plenty of equipment, all of which the composer managed to deliver in brilliant fashion.
Next came a deep plunge into the romantic era with the Brahms Violin Concerto, Op. 77 featuring Stefan Jackiw as soloist. The orchestral sound felt warm and cushy after that glittering opening piece. Jackiw’s playing infused the proceedings with some electricity, especially in those arresting triplestops in the lengthy and demanding first movement.
The violinist was heard just last March at Union College playing Ives, a different style of Old World music that can be messy and tattered. With Brahms, Jackiw was clean and exact.
Principal oboe Karen Hosmer had a beautiful extended solo in the pastoral Adagio, where she was joined by the rippling and elegant bassoons.
There were lots more opportunities to appreciate individual players during the concert’s short second half, which was devoted to opera excerpts.
As a piece of music, Verdi’s Overture to “La Forza del Destino” is rather tedious and labored. But the playing was fine and showcased good work from principal clarinet Weixiong Wang and the brass. Five selections from Bizet’s “Carmen” were as charming and catchy as ever. Standout moments for principal trumpet Eric Berlin were plentiful in the “Habanera” and the “Toreador Song.”
The gala really took flight at its conclusion with the surging and iconic “Ride of the Valkyries” from Wagner’s “Die Walküre.”