Springfield Symphony, Springfield, MA
October 14, 2016
by Michael J. Moran
To open the SSO’s 74th season and his own 17th season as
their music director, Kevin Rhodes told the Springfield Republican, he planned
a program of three musical pieces that “should take us to lots of places.”
After an exuberant sing-along season-opening “Star-Spangled
Banner,” the concert proper began with a rousing take on the Overture to
Rossini’s comic opera “The Thieving Magpie,” in which a servant girl is saved
from the gallows when a missing spoon is found in a magpie’s nest. Having just
produced an exciting drum roll throughout the national anthem, a stalwart SSO
percussionist played the overture’s opening snare drum solo with equal flair,
and the full ensemble nicely captured the zany high spirits of Rossini’s score.
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| Claire Huangci |
Making her third appearance with the SSO, 27-year-old
Chinese-American pianist Claire Huangci gave what she had promised and dubbed a
“no-holds-barred performance” of Prokofiev’s rarely heard second piano
concerto. Overshadowed by his more popular first and third concertos, the
second presents formidable technical challenges, which Huangci overcame with
ease. Its exotic melodies and often percussive orchestration were expertly
rendered by all the musicians.
The audience enjoyed it so much that Huangci played a
contrasting encore, the title theme from “Beauty and the Beast,” which she
joked was “appropriate” for the bouquet of red roses she had just received from
maestro Rhodes.
In another change of mood, the program closed after
intermission with the second and sunniest of Brahms’ four symphonies in a
tenderly affectionate rendition. From the heartfelt opening “Allegro non
troppo,” through the radiant “Adagio non troppo” and the gentle “Allegretto
gracioso,” to the jubilant “Allegro con spirito” finale, conductor and
orchestra achieved a perfect balance of skillful ensemble and emotional
commitment.
In pre-concert remarks, Rhodes announced that each concert
this season would introduce a new feature to the concert experience. Tonight’s
innovation was “real time notes” during the Brahms symphony, which audience
members in the balcony could follow on their cell phones as the music unfolded.
The large number of young people present suggested that this 21st-century
strategy just might work.
