The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT
September 27-29, 2024
by Michael J. Moran
For the first weekend of their 2024-2025 “Masterworks” series, the HSO’s Music Director, Carolyn Kuan, followed an HSO premiere of a Romantic showpiece honoring two orchestra members with a double helping of favorite masterpieces by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.
After a stirring traditional season-opening national anthem, HSO Concertmaster Leonid Sigal and Assistant Principal Second Violinist Jaroslaw Lis soloed in Spanish violinist-composer Pablo de Sarasate’s 1889 “Navarra” for two violins and orchestra. Celebrating their 20th and 30th HSO anniversaries respectively, they traded the virtuosic runs and sweet harmonies of this lively folk-based waltz with the polish and flair of longtime colleagues, warmly supported by Kuan and the ensemble.
Sigal introduced their encore – the “Allegro” second movement of Prokofiev’s 1932 sonata for two violins – as a bridge between the bulls of Sarasate’s native Pamplona and Prokofiev’s wolf. The two soloists met the technical challenges of this brief, astringent workout with aplomb.
Next came Prokofiev’s most popular work, “Peter and the Wolf,” which he subtitled “symphonic tale for children, for narrator and orchestra.” Written in 1936 for the Moscow Children’s Theatre, it uses different instruments of the orchestra to depict characters (Peter, his grandfather, a bird, a cat, a duck, and a wolf) in an original story by the composer about the importance of courage.
While Kuan and the HSO fully captured the dramatic spirit of the story and its happy ending, the standout performance was the finely tuned, folksy but urbane narration of music entrepreneur and HSO board member June Archer. When he related how (spoiler alert) the wolf swallowed the duck, younger audience members audibly gasped.
The program closed with a blazing rendition of Prokofiev’s 1944 fifth symphony. Composed when World War II was turning in the Allies’ favor, he intended it as “a hymn to free and happy Man, to…his pure and noble spirit.” The opening “Andante” was reflective and vibrant; the whirlwind “Allegro marcato,” relentless and sardonic; the slow “Adagio,” alternately radiant and brash; and the closing “Allegro giocoso,” an exuberant romp.
The HSO’s next Masterworks will again honor Sigal, who will conduct on October 18-20.
