Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Hartford, CT
November 30–December 2, 2018
by Michael J. Moran
To open the second “Masterworks series” program of the HSO’s
75th anniversary season, Music Director Carolyn Kuan selected the elegant
“Polonaise” from Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin.” The orchestra’s stately
and refined account set a festive tone for the evening.
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| Szymon Nehring |
The program continued with a sensational HSO debut by rising
23-year-old Polish pianist Szymon Nehring in a full-blooded performance of
perhaps the best known of all piano concertos, Tchaikovsky’s first. From the
majestic introduction, through the lyrical Andante and the rip-roaring finale,
Nehring, now a student of Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, skillfully
varied his touch from delicate to thundering as the music ran its volatile
course. In a novel and engaging use of technology, an image of the keyboard was
projected on a large screen above the Belding stage as Nehring played, making
his fluid fingers visible throughout the hall. Kuan and the HSO supported him
with equal passion and precision.
A standing ovation brought Nehring back on stage for a
dazzling rendition of the lively “Russian Dance,” one of three movements which
Igor Stravinsky arranged for solo piano from his ballet “Petrushka” for Artur
Rubinstein, who could hardly have done it better than his fellow Pole.
The concert closed after intermission with a vibrant account
of Tchaikovsky’s seldom-heard first symphony, called “Winter Dreams” by the
young composer, who wrote it when still in his mid-twenties. Despite its sometimes-episodic
structure and slightly bombastic finale, the symphony often foreshadows the
colorful orchestration and melodic genius of the mature Tchaikovsky. Committed
playing by all HSO sections under Kuan’s dynamic leadership, from the haunting
“Allegro” opening, through the dreamy “Adagio cantabile,” elfin “Scherzo,” and
spirited finale, made a strong case for the piece.
Just before the symphony, Kuan tearfully recalled the sudden
passing in October of HSO assistant principal cellist Eric Dahlin and expressed
the musicians’ sorrow at his loss with a single red rose at his chair and a
heartfelt performance of the “Nimrod” movement from Elgar’s “Enigma
Variations.” This was a classy tribute to a beloved, world-class musician, who
will be sadly missed by Hartford audiences.
