REVIEW: Springfield Symphony Orchestra, "Eternal Echoes"

Symphony Hall, Springfield, MA

www.springfieldsymphony.org

March 15, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

While it presented no music by women composers for Women’s History Month, the latest program of the SSO’s 81st season did feature two women performers in solo roles, and it honored seven local women, six of whom appeared on stage before the concert, with “Fearless Women Awards” for their professional contributions to the quality of life in greater Springfield.

Internationally acclaimed American guest conductor Cailin Marcel Manson, who is also a noted baritone, led the orchestra in an evocative reading of Ennio Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe,” the haunting main theme of Roland Joffe’s 1986 film “The Mission,” in a lush arrangement for oboe, chorus, and orchestra. SSO principal oboist Karen Hosmer did exceptional solo work, and the Springfield Symphony Chorus, deftly prepared by their director, Nikki Stoia, offered luminous support with its wordless vocals.

Guarrine, Manson, SSO, & Chorus

Next came a stirring performance of English composer John Rutter’s consoling 1985 “Requiem,” written in memory of his father. Five of its seven short movements set texts from the traditional Latin Requiem Mass, while the other two set Psalms 130 and 23 in English. Highlights included a virtuosic cello solo by SSO principal cellist Aron Zelkowicz in the somber second movement, “Out of the Deep,” and radiant vocal solos by accomplished American soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine, who teaches Voice at UMass Amherst, in the tender third movement, “Pie Jesu,” and the gentle closing “Lux aeterna.” Manson, the SSO, and the Chorus were vibrant partners.

The concert closed with an electrifying account of Tchaikovsky’s masterful 1878 fourth symphony. The first of his six numbered symphonies to gain a strong foothold in the standard repertoire, it balances the turmoil of his personal life (including a recent short-lived marriage) with a growing structural maturity. From a thunderous opening fanfare through a turbulent “Andante sostenuto…Allegro vivo” first movement, a softly contrasting “Andantino in modo di canzona,” with another distinguished solo turn by oboist Hosmer, a playful “Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato,” in which the strings are plucked throughout, to a thrillingly fast and jubilant “Allegro con fuoco” finale, Manson’s animated, precise gestures drew colorful, committed playing from the inspired ensemble.

The next SSO concert, on April 19, features the world premiere of a saxophone concerto by Connecticut composer Kenneth Fuchs, with soloist Tim McAllister and conductor JoAnn Falletta.