Milwaukee Symphony brings beauty, power to Barber concerto
Setapen performs emotive violin part
The Milwaukee Symphony batted three for three on a brilliantly programmed Classics concert Friday morning.
Led by assistant conductor Yaniv Dinur, the concert opened with the driving rhythms and shifting meters of Silvestre Revueltas’ “Sensemayá,” followed by a deeply eloquent performance of Samuel Barber’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by associate concertmaster Ilana Setapen.
The concert’s second half was filled by vibrant playing of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” as orchestrated by Ravel.
Dinur and the orchestra gave a tight, polished performance of the Revueltas. In their hands it was an involving combination of an insistent character and splashy bits of musical expression.
Setapen’s delivery of the Barber concerto mixed a relaxed command of technical aspects with a lyrical sound and wonderfully expressive playing.
She brought a lovely, nostalgic, perhaps wistful, character to the piece’s first movement, followed by a mix of exquisitely delicate playing and then some heart-on-sleeve passages in the second movement, mixing achingly beautiful phrases with seamless hand-offs to the orchestra.
Setapen brought a simmering energy and crafted phrases to the piece’s third movement.
Dinur and the orchestra matched Setapen’s musical intent, playing with sensitivity and a constant ear to the balance of sounds within the ensemble, and between the ensemble and Setapen.
“Pictures” was an absolute delight.
From Matthew Ernst’s ringing, spot-on trumpet solos to rousing, brassy, full-orchestra passages, sweeping string lines and tasteful, articulate playing across the orchestra, this was a thrilling performance.
Setapen brought a lovely, nostalgic, perhaps wistful, character to the piece’s first movement.
Dinur, conducting without a score, let the piece unfold with energy and grandeur. He never allowed anything to feel rushed, or too weighty. His sense of timing extended to moments of silence as well, each of which had its own energy and momentum.
Clean, cohesive playing allowed the audience to hear interior details and textures of Ravel’s fabulous orchestration. Dinur and the orchestra delivered wonderfully urgent passages and a good deal of what felt like musical abandon without ever losing control of their sound or of the piece’s shape and direction.