Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT
www.hartfordsymphony.org
October 23-25, 2026
For the second Masterworks weekend in the HSO’s 2026-2027 season, guest conductor Yaniv Dinur led the orchestra in two standard repertory masterpieces and an HSO premiere by a contemporary composer.
That premiere was “Kauyumari,” a 7-minute 2021 showpiece by Gabriela Ortiz commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to celebrate the return to live music after the Covid pandemic. The title means “blue deer” (or “spirit guide”), in the language of the Huichol people of Ortiz’s native Mexico. Featuring a large percussion battery, including tam-tam, glockenspiel and bongos, it received a vibrant, hypnotic reading from Dinur and the HSO.
Chinese pianist Ying Li was the soloist next in a knockout performance of Franz Liszt’s 1856 first piano concerto. Liszt was a rock-star composer-pianist, who wowed audiences with his virtuosity, a quality which Li has in abundance. The 20-minute concerto’s four short movements are played without pause. Li blazed through the opening “Allegro maestoso,” luxuriated with lyrical delicacy in the “Quasi adagio,” sparkled in the “Allegretto vivace” (accompanied by Christopher Smith’s shimmering solo triangle), and met head on the technical challenges of the closing “Allegro marziale animato.”
A standing ovation by an enthusiastic full house brought Li back for an equally demanding encore, excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s 1910 “Firebird” ballet arranged for solo piano by Guido Agosti, which she dispatched with dazzling aplomb.
The concert closed with a towering account of Peter Tchaikovsky’s 1878 fourth symphony, which, in spoken remarks, Dinur called Tchaikovsky’s “most original” symphony. From a commanding brass fanfare (Tchaikovsky said it denotes “Fate”) and an alternately spacious and urgent “Andante sostenuto,” through a melancholy “Andantino in modo di canzona” (with a plaintive oboe solo by Stephen Wade) and a lively “Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato,” in which string players pluck their instruments, Dinur built momentum to a thrillingly fast and joyful “Finale Allegro con fuoco,” based on a Russian folk dance.
Israeli-born Dinur is a finalist to succeed Carolyn Kuan next year as HSO Music Director. His fluid conducting style (including creative use of his shoulders) and respect for the musicians, self-deprecating manner (his remarks amusingly touched on his accent and the Milwaukee Brewers), and international experience (with leadership positions in New Bedford, Tallahassee, and Milwaukee) were well received by Hartford concertgoers.
The next HSO Masterworks program (November 20-22) will present Music Director finalist Jonathan Taylor Rush.
October 23-25, 2026
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| Photo by Jim Henkel |
by Michael J. Moran
For the second Masterworks weekend in the HSO’s 2026-2027 season, guest conductor Yaniv Dinur led the orchestra in two standard repertory masterpieces and an HSO premiere by a contemporary composer.
That premiere was “Kauyumari,” a 7-minute 2021 showpiece by Gabriela Ortiz commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to celebrate the return to live music after the Covid pandemic. The title means “blue deer” (or “spirit guide”), in the language of the Huichol people of Ortiz’s native Mexico. Featuring a large percussion battery, including tam-tam, glockenspiel and bongos, it received a vibrant, hypnotic reading from Dinur and the HSO.
Chinese pianist Ying Li was the soloist next in a knockout performance of Franz Liszt’s 1856 first piano concerto. Liszt was a rock-star composer-pianist, who wowed audiences with his virtuosity, a quality which Li has in abundance. The 20-minute concerto’s four short movements are played without pause. Li blazed through the opening “Allegro maestoso,” luxuriated with lyrical delicacy in the “Quasi adagio,” sparkled in the “Allegretto vivace” (accompanied by Christopher Smith’s shimmering solo triangle), and met head on the technical challenges of the closing “Allegro marziale animato.”
A standing ovation by an enthusiastic full house brought Li back for an equally demanding encore, excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s 1910 “Firebird” ballet arranged for solo piano by Guido Agosti, which she dispatched with dazzling aplomb.
The concert closed with a towering account of Peter Tchaikovsky’s 1878 fourth symphony, which, in spoken remarks, Dinur called Tchaikovsky’s “most original” symphony. From a commanding brass fanfare (Tchaikovsky said it denotes “Fate”) and an alternately spacious and urgent “Andante sostenuto,” through a melancholy “Andantino in modo di canzona” (with a plaintive oboe solo by Stephen Wade) and a lively “Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato,” in which string players pluck their instruments, Dinur built momentum to a thrillingly fast and joyful “Finale Allegro con fuoco,” based on a Russian folk dance.
Israeli-born Dinur is a finalist to succeed Carolyn Kuan next year as HSO Music Director. His fluid conducting style (including creative use of his shoulders) and respect for the musicians, self-deprecating manner (his remarks amusingly touched on his accent and the Milwaukee Brewers), and international experience (with leadership positions in New Bedford, Tallahassee, and Milwaukee) were well received by Hartford concertgoers.
The next HSO Masterworks program (November 20-22) will present Music Director finalist Jonathan Taylor Rush.
