MRO presents dramatic concert
A classical show of energy
The 2-year- old Memphis Repertory Orchestra, powered by ample energy and good intentions, has been making its mark in the community.
The MRO’s most recent concert Saturday night at the nearly full Kroc Center continued the orchestra’s mission — to give its mostly younger musicians an opportunity to perform significant works and open the community up to more classical offerings.
The evening’s pieces were Mussorgsky’s “A Night on Bald Mountain” and the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Will Haapaniemi of the Kansas City Symphony as guest soloist.
The orchestra — made up of students, amateur musicians and professionals — was assured and tight, a pleasure to hear. Music director William R. Langley conducts with considerable theatricality and he elicited an appropriately dramatic performance from the players on “Bald Mountain.”
Sibelius wrote one of the world’s most gorgeous and challenging pieces that blends quietness with exuberance, and is romantic and dance-like. It’s had powerhouse performances in recent years by Karen Gomyo with the Memphis Symphony and Barnabas Keleman with the IRIS Orchestra. Haapaniemi handled it well, doing fine technical work, although more detached than passionate.
The orchestra was focused and nuanced in backing the soloist on the Sibelius as well as during Haapaniemi’s encore, Massanet’s Méditation from Thaïs, a beautiful piece, beautifully rendered.
Memphis can look forward to more performances by the orchestra, a welcome addition to the classical menu already available from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the IRIS Orchestra, the Eroica Ensemble and the Luna Nova Music Ensemble.
The MRO’s programming is agreeable and, so far, safe and traditional. The concerts are free, the guest soloists are notable and the organization itself is savvy enough to have acquired some corporate support and make liberal use of social media. It already has released its first CD, made available after Saturday’s concert, with two inarguably popular works: Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, with Haapaniemi soloing.
As the MRO was the first sizable orchestra to perform in the week-old Kroc Center’s Nancy R. Crosby Worship and Performing Arts Center, it was good to see that Memphis has another splendid venue that handles 300 people comfortably and offers solid acoustics.