Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield, MA
January 25, 2014
by Michael J. Moran
Anticipating the Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s program of
two mature masterpieces by Dvorak, Music Director Kevin Rhodes recently told
the Springfield Republican, “If you love beautiful melodies, heartbreaking
harmonies, and passionate drama…this [concert] is for you!”
Both the Cello Concerto and the Symphony No. 9, “From the
New World,” were composed during Dvorak’s 1892-1895 residency as founding
director of the first American music conservatory, the National Conservatory of
Music in New York City. And both include original themes inspired by
traditional African American and Native American melodies, which Dvorak
believed should form the basis for a distinctive national style of American
classical music.
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| Nina Kotova |
From the dramatic start of the Cello Concerto, it was clear
that this performance featuring Russian-born cellist Nina Kotova would be no
ordinary one. She tore into her opening notes with gusto and flair, deftly
balancing the technical and emotional demands of the first movement’s two
contrasting themes. Her account of the central Adagio’s homage to Dvorak’s
critically ill sister-in-law Josefina with a quotation from her favorite of his
songs was graceful and sensitive.
The last movement, completed after Josefina’s death,
contains another quiet passage in her memory, which Kotova poignantly set off
against the wild energy of the concerto’s exuberant close. A composer of two
cello concertos herself, who has also commissioned new concertos for her
instrument from several other composers, Kotova was rewarded with a standing
ovation by the enthusiastic audience.
A white hot reading of the “New World” Symphony followed
intermission and concluded the SSO’s Dvorak tribute. After a haunting
introduction the main theme of the first movement was taken at a breathless
pace, while the second theme had a slower and more elastic tempo than usual,
perhaps to heighten the “passionate drama” promised by Rhodes. The heartfelt
Largo second movement flowed with warmth and tenderness. The Molto Vivace
scherzo was brisk and forceful, while the Allegro con Fuoco finale surged
forward with blazing impact.
The typically kinetic Maestro had all sections of the
orchestra playing throughout the evening with a heady mix of taut precision and
joyous abandon.
