FOR LA JOLLA SYMPHONY, SOME HAPPY RETURNS
The notion of return was prominent in Saturday’s concert by the La Jolla Symphony.
Steven Schick came back to the podium in UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium, his first official appearance as music director emeritus. He brought with him Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite,” which appeared on his first gig as a guest conductor for the La Jolla Symphony 17 years ago.
He also revived “Octandre” by Edgard Varèse, which he last conducted six years ago at a UCSD Music Department concert.
But the most eventful return that evening was the musical homecoming for composer Mary Kouyoumdjian, who earned a bachelor’s degree in music from UCSD almost two decades ago.
Since leaving San Diego, Kouyoumdjian cofounded the New York new music ensemble Hotel Elefant, racked up a string of enviable commissions, co-founded the New Music Gathering (a movable contemporary music feast) and is on the faculty of Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music and Columbia University.
She came back to UCSD for a performance of her work, “Walking with Ghosts,” a de facto bass clarinet concerto.
Clarinetists should be interested in “Walking with Ghosts.” First, it’s very well-orchestrated — you can always hear the soloist, in spite of the loudest, densest textures that occur.
Second, and more importantly — it’s a terrific piece. Starting with a few consecutive notes in pitched percussion instruments, the range gradually expands. Harmonies, while thick, slowly evolve, as do the textures.
“Walking with Ghosts” slowly moves upward, falls down to a deeper place, climbs again, drops and ascends even higher. At first, the bass clarinet comments on the existing music, but soon influences the background washes.
Toward the end, the soloist drops down to its lowest register while the strings move upward. In the closing bars, waves of shimmering natural string harmonics sweep up and down, similar to the opening section of Stravinsky’s “Firebird.”
The effective pacing, the evolution of textures, the impassioned melody of the bass clarinet — all made “Walking with Ghosts” a strong and moving work.
Jeff Anderle was the valiant bass clarinetist, showing sureness of tone and musical sensitivity over the entire range of his instrument.
The orchestra, conducted by Schick, brought warm life to Kouyoumdjian’s score. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 20 years for her to return to San Diego.
“Octandre” was composed a century ago, and yet Varèse’s acerbic harmonies and pungent rhythms still feel bracingly modern. It was given a feisty performance by Elena Yarritu (flute and piccolo), Carol Rothrock (oboe), Paul Miller (clarinet), Tom Schubert (bassoon), Ryan Beard (horn), Fil Starostka (trumpet), Eric Starr (trombone) and Christine Allen (contrabass), carefully guided by Schick.
In the “Firebird Suite” and Strauss’ “Four Last Songs,” the La Jolla Symphony was exceptionally supple. The string section in particular was more refined than usual.
For “Firebird,” Schick used the 1911 version which retains the original ballet’s large orchestra, adding to that the “Berceuse” and “Finale.” Schick and company caught the mystery of the opening, the terror of the “Infernal Dance” (with fine work from the low brass and trumpets), and the grandeur of the “Finale.”
Susan Narucki sang Strauss, and while her voice was rich and lustrous, she was frequently covered up by the orchestra. I’ve heard her fill that space many times before, and I suspect that Schick could have kept the orchestra softer than they played Saturday evening.
Translations of the German texts, in the form of program notes or supertitles, would have been very helpful.
The concert was well attended, and the audience was appreciative all night long.