REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Dvorak & Firebird

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT 
www.hartfordsymphony.org
June 5-7, 2026 
by Michael J. Moran 

For the closing weekend of their 2025-2026 Masterworks series and of her 15th season as HSO Music Director, Carolyn Kuan led the orchestra in a phenomenally varied program by five composers, including an HSO premiere, and featuring an imaginative composer-violinist. 

The concert opened with a deeply moving account of 24-year-old Richard Strauss’ surprisingly mature 1888 tone poem “Death and Transfiguration.” Its vivid depiction of an artist’s illness, death, and, as the program notes, his “vision of ultimate beauty as he is transfigured into part of the eternal cosmos” was captured with unerring power and passion by an inspired orchestra and conductor.  

Photo credit: Jim Henkel's 

The mood then lifted with exuberant readings of three "Slavonic Dances," dating from 1878, by Antonin Dvorak. Each was followed by what composer Curtis Stewart called, in spoken remarks, “a riff on Dvorak,” honoring an abolitionist of Dvorak’s era by fusing his music with American slave dances. The most original of these exhilarating pieces was the third, honoring Elizabeth Freeman (“Mum Bett”), which mixes Dvorak with hip-hop and Brazilian samba rhythms and audience participation.     

Stewart, a widely travelled performer and music educator and the HSO’s 2025-2026 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, next demonstrated his considerable chops as a violinist with an entertainingly personal take on Pablo de Sarasate’s popular 1878 “Zigeunerweisen” (“Gypsy Airs”) for violin and orchestra. Bending notes, extending tempos, and inserting humorous facial expressions and other gestures, but always in the spontaneous spirit of the music, Stewart kept the full house laughing with his technical wizardry and earned an enthusiastic standing ovation.   

A blazing rendition of Dvorak’s festive 1892 “Carnival Overture,” with a tender central interlude, was followed by the concert closer, an electrifying performance of the colorful 1919 suite which Igor Stravinsky drew from his breakout piece, the 1910 ballet “The Firebird,” based on a Russian folktale. Conductor and orchestra sharply characterized all six scenes in the suite, especially a lush “Round Dance of the Princesses,” a terrifying “Infernal Dance of King Kashchei,” and a memorably triumphant “Finale.”   

Next up for the HSO is their 2026 Talcott Mountain Music Festival on the five Fridays of July at 7:30pm at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center starting July 3 with a program called “Celebrate America!”

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Brahms’ Third"

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

April 10-12, 2026

by Michael J. Moran

For the seventh weekend in its 2025-26 Masterworks series, HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan led the orchestra in four pieces by three composers, including two HSO premieres, one featuring the composer as soloist.

The concert opened with the first HSO premiere, the rarely heard 1831 concert overture inspired by French composer Hector Berlioz’s take on Shakespeare’s tragedy, “King Lear.” In an engaging spoken introduction, Kuan asked sections of the HSO to play segments of the piece, with themes depicting Lear, his three daughters, and his descent into madness. The full orchestra gave a fiery version of this rousing mini-drama.

Photo by Jim Henkel

The second HSO premiere was Brazilian-born composer Clarice Assad’s colorful 2024 “Flow, Suite for Piano and Orchestra.” Commissioned by the Albany Symphony for the bicentennial of the Erie Canal between Albany and Syracuse, New York, its three short movements depict “the flow of ideas” across time and space, Assad comments in a program note. She proved a virtuosic pianist, also playing a small drum in the mercurial “River Tide,” relaxed and sensitive in the jazzy “Last Song,” and dazzling in the energetic “Rhapsodic Dances” finale. Kuan and the orchestra were supportive accompanists. The well-filled house gave Assad a standing ovation.

Next came a vibrant performance of Johannes Brahms’ 1883 third and shortest symphony. An alternately energetic and reflective “Allegro con brio,” including the often-omitted repeat, was followed by a flowing “Andante” that surged forward to a magical hushed ending, an exquisitely melancholy “Poco allegretto,” and a robust closing “Allegro,” fading to a quiet close. Standing out among the many players who took bows for their work in solo passages was HSO principal oboe Erik Andrusyak, who also excelled in the Berlioz.

As a sort of “orchestral encore,” Kuan spoke again to introduce “the fun-loving, beer-drinking side” of Brahms with a rip-roaring rendition of his popular 1869 “Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor,” based on a folk-like melody for piano four hands, arranged for orchestra by conductor Albert Parlow, which ended the program on a festive note. 

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (May 8-10) will feature Kuan leading music by Clyne and Mendelssohn, with HSO principal clarinet Sangwon Lee as soloist in Mozart’s clarinet concerto.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Romeo & Juliet"

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

https://hartfordsymphony.org

February 13-15, 2026

by Michael J. Moran

Leave it to the shrewd programming skills of HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan to present this “theatrical concert,” combining excerpts from William Shakespeare’s 1597 play and music from Sergei Prokofiev’s 1935 ballet, for the fifth “Masterworks” weekend of the HSO’s 2025-2026 season, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This production, devised and directed by Bill Barclay and performed by actors in his Boston-based Concert Theatre Works, had its world premiere last summer at Tanglewood, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Hartford, stage designer Diane Healy made imaginative use of the Belding’s front stage, aisles, and balcony, with minimal props by Justin Seward.

Fifteen musical selections from the ballet alternated, and occasionally overlapped, seamlessly with key scenes from the play,
which told its full story in a 90-minute intermission-less show. The star-crossed lovers were played with youthful abandon by Juliana Sass and Jason Bowen, who raced exultantly down several aisles, high-fiving audience members, after Juliet declared her love for him in an enthralling balcony scene.     

Caleb Mayo’s Mercutio and Carmen Lacivita’s Tybalt were well-matched in impetuous bravado. Nigel Gore brought dignity and parental angst to Capulet, Juliet’s father. But the standout supporting cast member was the protean Robert Walsh, who not only played the roles of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence (both were tender and resilient), even changing costumes once mid-scene, but also directed several very realistic (and frightening) sword-fighting scenes. Lightly amplified diction by all the actors was virtually flawless. 

Prokofiev’s cinematic score was projected from the stage with powerful impact by a passionately committed ensemble and conductor. From a heartwarming “Introduction,” two relentless fight scenes, a rousing “Dance of the Knights,” and a rapturous balcony scene, to the infinitely consoling “Death of Juliet,” all sections of the orchestra captured the music’s full emotional depth.

The well-deserved standing ovation from an enraptured multi-generational audience suggested that this hybrid format, in which actors and musicians magnify each other’s skills, can achieve deeper communicative power than either format alone, especially in a venue as intimate as the Belding Theater.

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (March 13-15) will feature guest conductor Kalena Bovell leading music by Smetana, Frank, and Respighi, with Solomiya Ivakhiv as soloist in Mozart’s third violin concerto.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Dvorak & Rachmaninoff"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

November 14-16, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

Photo by Jim Henkel

For the third weekend of the HSO’s 2025-2026 “Masterworks” series, HSO Assistant
Conductor Adam Kerry Boyles and guest cellist Tommy Mesa presented two favorite masterpieces of the Romantic repertoire.

The concert opened with a stirring performance of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104. Written during his American period (1892-1895), as the founding director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, the work’s three movements reflect both Dvorak’s homesickness and the influence of American music on his style. Award-winning Cuban American cellist and music educator Mesa has a rock-solid technique and a magnetic stage presence.

A dramatic and fluid opening “Allegro” (with a lovely solo by HSO principal horn Barbara Hill in what critic Donald Tovey called “one of the most beautiful melodies ever composed for the horn"), a tender, hymnlike “Adagio ma non troppo,” and a rousing, dancelike “Allegro moderato” finale fully met the concerto’s daunting technical and emotional demands. Boyles and the HSO offered rich support.    

An enthusiastic standing ovation brought Mesa back to the stage, where, after exclaiming “I’m tired!” he gave a sensitive reading of the “Prelude” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s first suite for solo cello. The audience applauded both his virtuosity and his self-deprecating sense of humor.

The program closed with a sweeping account of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s hour-long second symphony, written in 1907-1908, when he was reaching the height of his creative powers. A forceful opening “Largo-Allegro moderato,” with warm lyrical passages and thrilling full climaxes, was followed by an urgent “Allegro molto.” A sublime “Adagio,” which Richard Rodda’s program notes liken to “an ecstatic operatic love scene” (featuring a gorgeous solo by HSO principal clarinet Sangwon Lee) was the emotional heart of the piece. An exhilarating “Allegro vivace” ended the work on a note of festive joy. Boyles’ animated and inspired leadership drew playing of passionate commitment from the Hartford musicians.   

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (December 12-14) will feature HSO Music Director Carlyn Kuan.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Beethoven & Sibelius"

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT
www.hartfordsymphony.org

October 17-19, 2025
by Michael J. Moran

For the second weekend of the HSO’s 2025-2026 “Masterworks” series, guest conductor Viswa Subbaraman and piano soloist Drew Petersen, both making distinguished HSO debuts, presented a well-balanced program of music by three diverse composers..

The concert opened with a radiant account of the rarely heard 1903 “Helios Overture,” by Danish composer Carl Nielsen. Named after the Greek god of the sun and written during a stay in Athens, Nielsen wrote this description in the score: “Silence and darkness – then the sun climbs in joyous paean of praise – wanders its golden path – sinks tranquilly into the sea.” The HSO and Subbaraman

photo courtesy of Drew Petersen

portrayed this atmospheric day in the sun with power and sensitivity.   

Petersen next soloed in a commanding rendition of the third piano concerto, completed in 1803, by Ludwig van Beethoven. From a forceful opening “Allegro con brio” and a rapturous “Largo,” which Richard Rodda’s program notes aptly call “an extended song – a marvelous juxtaposition of hymnal tranquility and operatic love scene,” to a vigorous “Rondo: Allegro,” ending in a burst of major-key energy, the charismatic pianist played this masterpiece of Beethoven’s early maturity with technical finesse and emotional depth. Orchestra and conductor offered resourceful support.    

A standing ovation called the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient back to the stage for an exquisitely sensuous reading of Claude Debussy’s familiar 1905 “Clair de Lune” (“Moonlight”), holding the audience in silent thrall for five minutes.

The program closed with a thrilling performance of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s longest and best known symphony, his second, written in 1901-1902. Subbaraman’s long experience conducting operas served him especially well in this dramatic work. A buoyant opening “Allegretto,” a tempestuous “Tempo Andante, ma rubato,” an exuberant “Vivacissimo” (“as fast as possible”), with a pastoral slow interlude, and an alternately somber and joyous “Allegretto moderato” finale, closing with a triumphant brass chorale, brought the audience to its feet. Both this conductor and this pianist would clearly be welcome return visitors to Hartford. 

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (November 14-16) will feature HSO Assistant Conductor Adam Kerry Boyles leading music by Antonin Dvorak and Sergei Rachmaninoff, with cellist Tommy Mesa in Dvorak’s cello concerto.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Gershwin, Marsalis & Bartok"

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT
www.hartfordsymphony.org
through September 26-28, 2025
by Michael J. Moran

For the first weekend of their 2025-2026 “Masterworks” series, the HSO’s Music Director, Carolyn Kuan, selected orchestral showpieces by four composers and featured an orchestra member as soloist in an impressive HSO premier.

photo by Eric Hutchinson

A heartfelt traditional season-opening national anthem was followed by a vigorous reading of French composer Paul Dukas 1897 masterpiece “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Based on a story by German writer Goethe, it was imaginatively popularized by Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney’s 1940 movie “Fantasia.” Kuan and the HSO captured the excitement of this 12-minute drama about magic run amok with flair and finesse.   

The HSO premiere was a sensational performance of jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis’ 2021 “Concerto for Tubist and Orchestra” by the HSO’s own Principal Tuba Jarrod Briley. With few breaks from playing, Briley met the 25-minute piece’s technical challenges with unflagging energy and apparent ease. He made his unwieldy instrument sound surprisingly agile in the opening “Up!” movement, funky in “Boogaloo Americana,” soulful in the gospel-inspired “Lament,” and virtuosic in the
closing “In Bird’s Basement.” Conductor and ensemble offered their colleague strong support. 

Next came a thrilling account of the raucous suite from Hungarian master Bela Bartok’s 1919 ballet “The Miraculous Mandarin.” Its lurid tale of seduction, robbery, and murder led to few early performances of the ballet, but its eerie, suspenseful music and culmination in a wild chase scene made the concert suite more appealing. Kuan and the HSO played this colorful score with power and sensitivity.

The program closed with a lively rendition of George Gershwin’s 1928 tribute to the “city of light,” “An American in Paris.” Though Gershwin’s own program notes cite a trumpet passage as signaling the traveler’s homesickness, it can also be heard as a quiet, restful interlude in a busy day of sightseeing. The musicians reveled in the music’s overall spirit of celebration, a fitting way both to end the concert and to begin a new year, their 82nd season, of music-making together.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Rachmaninoff & Rhapsody in Blue"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

June 6-8, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

The HSO and its Music Director Carolyn Kuan closed their 2024-2025 “Masterworks” series of weekend concerts in festive style, including a powerful closing appearance by pianist Clayton Stephenson. The program comprised three works - written in the U.S. over an 80-year period by two American-born composers and a Russian immigrant - which were all distinctively American.

Photo by Jim Henkel

After a helpful spoken introduction and brief excerpts played by different HSO members, Kuan led the orchestra in a dramatic account of John Adams’ “Dr. Atomic Symphony.” This was adapted in 2007 from music in his 2005 opera “Doctor Atomic,” which portrayed the moral ambivalence of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project colleagues in creating and testing the atomic bomb in the 1940's. The symphony’s three continuous movements featured many instrumental solos, but none more eloquent than the plaintive trumpet of HSO principal trumpet Dovas Lietuvninkas, expressing Oppenheimer’s anguish. 

Stephenson was next; a dazzling soloist in George Gershwin’s 1924 “Rhapsody in Blue" to show how jazz could enrich classical music. With technical polish and emotional exuberance to spare, the Juilliard-educated Stephenson shifted seamlessly between the piece’s contrasting moods, from quiet blues to joyous outbursts. Kuan and the ensemble were proficient partners, with a sinuous opening solo by HSO principal clarinet Sangwon Lee.

Stephenson’s perky encore performance of Igor Stravinsky’s 1921 arrangement for solo piano of the “Russian Dance” from his 1911 ballet “Petrushka” was equally virtuosic and invigorating.

Photo by Jim Henkel

The concert ended with a vibrant rendition of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s three “Symphonic Dances,” his last work for orchestra. Written in 1940 at his summer home on Long Island, its jagged rhythms and percussive instrumentation reflected both the influence of the composer’s native Russia and his growing Americanization over two decades spent in the U.S. The first movement featured an alto saxophone solo, sensuously played by Carrie Koffman, while the finale quoted an ancient Russian liturgical hymn of joy in its lively climax; a curious but memorable epitaph.

Next up for the HSO are a free concert in Bushnell Park on June 14 and their five-concert summer Talcott Mountain Music Festival in Simsbury (June 27-July 25).

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Tchaikovsky & Bonds"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

December 13-15, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

For the fourth weekend of their 2024-2025 “Masterworks” series, HSO offered impressive debuts by Windsor-born guest conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush and HSO 2024-2025 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, and pianist Clayton Stephenson. Rush took the stage to warm applause, responding, “I feel like I’m home,” and engagingly introducing the opening work on the program: three of the seven movements in Margaret Bonds’ “Montgomery Variations.”

Bonds, a leading African-American female composer, wrote these “freestyle variations” on the Negro Spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” in 1963-1965 to depict several key events in the US Civil Rights Movement. Rush and the HSO brought incisive vigor to “Decision,” stirring conviction to the “March,” and tender compassion to “Benediction”.     

Stephenson was next a sensational soloist in Tchaikovsky’s popular 1874/75 first piano concerto. A New York City native trained from childhood at the Juilliard School there, he launched into the famous opening “Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso” with commanding technical bravura. He played softer passages with equal sensitivity. His clarity of touch highlighted both the playfulness of the piano’s many dialogues with other instruments and its power in solo cadenzas. Rush and the orchestra were animated partners in a dramatic opening movement, a radiant “Andante semplice,” and an explosive “Allegro con fuoco” finale. 

In total contrast, Stephenson’s encore, Vincent Youmans’ 1924 hit, “Tea for Two,” showcased the pianist’s formidable jazz chops, with its easy swing tempo and elaborate improvised embellishments.

The program closed with an electrifying version of Tchaikovsky’s much less familiar 1875 3rd symphony. After experiencing its five movements – a haunting “Introduzione” and vibrant “Allegro,” a graceful waltz-like “Alla tedesca,” a luminous “Andante elegiac,” a fleet “Scherzo,” and a majestic “Polonaise” finale– as carefully shaped by Rush and cogently performed by the HSO, listeners in Belding Theater could only wonder why this colorful showpiece isn’t heard more often.

The rapturous audience reception of the charismatic Rush, former Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, suggested that return visits would be welcome.

The next Masterworks program (February 14-16) will feature HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan and violinist Sirena Huang in music by Dawson, Strauss, and Sibelius.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Brahms’ First"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

November 15-17, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

While the third weekend of the HSO’s 2024-2025 “Masterworks” series included only two pieces, both are beloved cornerstones of the standard classical repertoire, and the Belding Theater audience was accordingly large and appreciative.

Inbal Segev

HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan opened the program with Sir Edward Elgar’s 1919 cello concerto, featuring internationally acclaimed Israeli-born cellist Inbal Segev. Reflecting the English master’s sorrow over the devastation of World War I and the mortal illness of his cherished wife, the concerto was Elgar’s last major work. Segev’s tone was aptly rich and mellow in her opening soliloquy. This was followed by a glowing “Adagio; Moderato,” a light, playful “Lento; Allegro molto,” an elegiac “Adagio,” and a restless “Allegro; Moderato; Allegro, ma non troppo,” including a final, heart-piercing cello soliloquy. Segev’s playing was deeply emotional and technically secure, with Kuan and the HSO offering full-blooded support.

In sharp contrast, Segev’s encore was a joyous account of the closing “Gigue,” a lively Baroque dance, from Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1723 third suite for solo cello, which highlighted her fleet and flawless finger work.

The program ended with Johannes Brahms’ 1876 first symphony. After he was publicly hailed at age 20 by his mentor Robert Schumann as “the savior of German music,” it took Brahms over twenty more years of off and on work to publish his first attempt at the form so highly developed by Beethoven. But his first symphony was an immediate success, one critic even calling it “Beethoven’s Tenth.”

Kuan and the HSO delivered a stirring performance, masterfully shaping the distinctive character of each movement into a dramatic whole, with perfectly judged tempos throughout. The opening “Un poco sostenuto; Allegro” started forcefully and continued with power and warmth. The “Andante sostenuto” was gentle and reflective. The “Un poco allegretto e grazioso” was lithe yet relaxed. The closing “Adagio; Piu andante; Allegro non troppo, ma con brio” was first suspenseful, then majestic, and finally, jubilant. The standing ovation was long, loud, and well earned.

  

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (December 13-15) will feature guest conductor Jonathan Rush and the HSO debut of 2024-2025 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, pianist Clayton Stephenson, in music by Margaret Bonds and Tchaikovsky.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Prokofiev"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

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.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "The Planets"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

June 7-9, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

Melissa White

Their ninth “Masterworks” program ended HSO’s 80th anniversary season on a festive note,
featuring an HSO premiere, the return of HSO 2023-2024 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, violinist Melissa White, and a beloved sonic spectacular.

HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan opened the concert with an exuberant account of rising composer-educator Carlos Simon’s 2019 “Amen!,” a 14-minute tribute in three continuous parts to the music of his family’s African-American Pentecostal Church. Kuan and the orchestra captured the jazzy flow of the opening call and response, the soulful blues of the mid-section, which quotes the gospel song “I’ll Take Jesus for Mine,” and the exultant “Amen” spirit of the closing hymn.  

After her stunning HSO debut last October in Florence Price’s unfamiliar first violin concerto, White next soloed in a cornerstone of the standard repertoire, Max Bruch’s enduringly popular 1866 first violin concerto. With stellar support from Kuan and the ensemble, White skillfully shaded her tone from lean and silken for the haunting first chords, nimble and virtuosic for the following “Allegro moderato,” rich and full-bodied for the ravishing “Adagio,” to earthy and bubbly for the jubilant “Allegro energico” finale. 

Price's contrasting encore was a poised and graceful reading of the lively “Gigue” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s third partita for solo violin.  

The program closed with an electrifying performance of Gustav Holst’s 1917 suite for large orchestra, “The Planets.” The musicians leaned into the astrological significance of Holst’s descriptive subtitles for the seven movements, yielding: a shattering “Mars, the Bringer of War;” a magical “Venus, the Bringer of Peace;” a frisky “Mercury, the Winged Messenger;” a noble “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity;” a brooding “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age;” a mischievous “Uranus, the Magician;” and an eerie “Neptune, the Mystic,” whose wordless offstage chorus was evocatively voiced by seven distinctive locally-based singers: five sopranos and two altos.      

 

One measure of the capacity audience’s full immersion in the program was spontaneous applause and a loud “Woohoo” after “Jupiter,” to which Kuan turned and gamely replied “I agree,” with the crowd’s approval.

Next up for the HSO is a free “Symphony in the Park” concert on June 15 at 2pm in the Bushnell Park Pavilion.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Mozart & Prokofiev"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

May 10-12, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

The eighth “Masterworks” program of the HSO’s 80th anniversary season presented three works in a ”classical” style and one recent piece in a more modern style. HSO Assistant Conductor Adam Kerry Boyles emphasized their differences rather than their similarities.

The concert began with Sergei Prokofiev’s 1917 first symphony, known as his “Classical Symphony” because he wrote it in the 18th-century style of Haydn and Mozart. But its four short movements – a buoyant “Allegro con brio;” a flowing “Larghetto;” a graceful “Gavotte: Non troppo allegro;” and a vivacious “Finale: Molto vivace” – also featured the spiky harmonies of his native Russia during World War I. Boyles and the HSO gave it a supple performance.

Angelina Gadeliya

Next came an HSO premiere, the 2016 piano concerto, “Spiritualist,” by New Jersey-born Kenneth Fuchs. In three short movements named after paintings by American artist Helen Frankenthaler – an ecstatic “Spiritualist;” a dreamy “Silent Wish;” and an exuberant “Natural Answer;” this colorful score was played with dexterity and imagination by Georgian-American pianist Angelina Gadeliya, with full-blooded support from Boyles and the orchestra.

Each painting was helpfully projected above the Belding stage, along with revealing overhead views of Gadeliya’s fluid hands at the keyboard.  Composer and soloist, both music professors at UConn Storrs, received a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience.  

The program closed with two related 1786 works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: the Overture to his comic opera “The Marriage of Figaro;” and the Symphony #38, nicknamed “Prague” after the city where it was premiered. Boyles and the HSO gave the overture a perky and playful spin. Their “Prague” symphony highlighted the mature Mozart’s variety of melodic invention in all three movements, from a mercurial opening “Adagio-Allegro,” to a radiant central “Andante” and a whirlwind closing “Presto,” which quotes an aria from “The Marriage of Figaro.”

 

Boyles is an animated conductor, who leads without a baton and whose toolbox includes a wide range of facial expressions, hand motions, crouches, leaps, and other postures, all in service of the music. His warmth, sense of humor, and easy rapport with audience and musicians alike bode well for his future with and beyond the HSO.

The orchestra’s final Masterworks program (June 7-9) of the season will feature HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan and violinist Melissa White in music of Simon, Bruch, and Holst.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Vivaldi’s Gloria"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

April 12-14, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

At first glance, the seventh “Masterworks” program of the HSO’s 80th anniversary season looked like a hodgepodge of disparate, unrelated works. But guest conductor Jacomo Bairos, quoting Hartford Chorale Music Director Jack Anthony Pott, called it a “garden” displaying the “wonderful variety” of classical music.  

The evening's concert opened with several selections from “Spirituals: A Medley,” 1920's arrangements by William Grant Still, the “dean of African-American composers,” of traditional Black spirituals. The ensemble was joined in all but one number by eloquent soprano Schauntice Shepard, who brought aching poignancy to “Were You There?” and fervent hope to “Deep River.”

Jacomo Bairos

HSO concertmaster Leonid Sigal was next featured in Edouard Lalo’s 1873 “Symphonie Espagnole,” a concerto for violin and orchestra in all but name. A Frenchman’s homage to Spanish musical traditions, its five movements included offbeat and imaginative rhythms and require a virtuosic soloist. Sigal’s secure technique and silken tone, which he shaded at times to achieve a husky, almost gypsy-like sound, met or exceeded the piece’s every demand. Bairos and the HSO matched their soloist in sensitivity and flair.

The other major work on the program was Antonio Vivaldi’s 1720 “Gloria,” which has become the best known of the Italian master’s many sacred compositions. The text of the half-hour work, sung in Latin by mixed chorus and soloists, is derived from the Catholic Mass. Its 12 short movements featured wide contrasts in tempo and dynamics, including several intimate passages for soloists and one or two instruments. Bairos led a thrilling performance, with robust, flexible, and lucid singing by the men and women of the Hartford Chorale, soprano Suzanne Lis, mezzo-soprano Hannah Shea, and notable contributions from all sections of the orchestra.

The program closed with a sumptuous reading of “Make Your Garden Grow,” the stirring finale of Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 Broadway musical “Candide,” based on Voltaire’s 1759 satire, with lyrics by poet Richard Wilbur. Tenor Dominick Chenes was a plangent title character, and Lis, a radiant Cunegonde, his loving bride. The Hartford Chorale, HSO, and Bairos offered vibrant support.

The Portuguese-American Bairos, currently based in Miami Beach, Florida and Lisbon, Portugal, has a charismatic, Bernstein-esque stage presence, and his strong rapport with HSO and its audience would make him a welcome return visitor to Hartford.

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (May 10-12) will feature music of Mozart and Prokofiev.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Copland & Bernstein"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

March 8-10, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

With a program of two complete ballets and a waltz, the sixth “Masterworks” weekend of the HSO’s 80th anniversary season offered three contrasting perspectives on the art of dance.

The first selection was notable in three respects. The orchestra and its Music Director Carolyn Kuan presented Aaron Copland’s 1944 ballet “Appalachian Spring” not in the usual concert suite, but complete; they played its original version for 13 instruments; and their performance was accompanied by a 1958 film of the ballet choreographed by and featuring Martha Graham, for whom it was written.

While the suite includes the most familiar music, the added visual dimension brought the missing numbers equally to life. And the 64-year-old Graham, in the leading role of the wife (the ballet depicts 19th-century newlyweds moving into a farmhouse) still danced with remarkable grace and agility. Kuan’s inspired leadership drew an intimate yet surprisingly full-bodied sound from the small HSO ensemble.    

The next work on the program made perhaps the most visceral impact: a buoyant account by the full orchestra of Leonard Bernstein’s ballet “Fancy Free,” also dating from 1944. This, too, was the complete ballet, not the concert suite Bernstein extracted from it. It tells the story of three sailors on 24-hour leave in New York who meet three women in a bar (the same plot soon became the musical “On the Town,” with different music by Bernstein and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green). Highlights included: a jazzy “Scene at the Bar;” a sinuous “Enter Two Girls;” and a sultry, Latin-flavored “Danzon.”

The program closed on a glamorous note, with ballroom dancers Anastasia Barhatova, director of the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Suffield, and Andrew Kerski sweeping elegantly across the front of the Belding stage while Kuan and the HSO played Johann Strauss, Jr’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” behind them. A flop when it debuted in Vienna as a choral piece in 1867, the “Waltz King” reworked it for orchestra later that year, when it quickly became the epitome of the Viennese waltz. The musicians made it sound just as stylish and sumptuous as the dancers looked in their sequined gown and tuxedo.  

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (April 12-14) will feature guest conductor Jacomo Bairos and the Hartford Chorale.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Enduring Love Stories"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

February 9-11, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

With five musical selections about love stories and a married couple as featured performers,
the fifth “Masterworks” weekend of the HSO’s 80th anniversary season offered an early celebration of Valentine’s Day.

What better way to open the program than with Tchaikovsky’s popular 1869 “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture"? Music Director Carolyn Kuan led the orchestra in an incandescent account, which captured the foreboding tension of the quiet opening, the drama of the family feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, and the youthful passion of Shakespeare’s famous lovers.    

Boyd Meets Girl

Next came the world premiere of Clarice Assad’s concerto for guitar, cello, and orchestra, "Anahata,” commissioned by the HSO for, and played here by, the duo “Boyd Meets Girl” – Australian-born guitarist Rupert Boyd and his wife, cellist Laura Metcalf. The composer notes, “Anahata," “unhurt”…in Sanskrit, refers to the heart,” and “its three movements explore…love’s wounds [and] its most precious dreams.”

From a stirring “The Color Green” to a haunting “Desert Roses” and a lively “Full Circle Reel,” the elegant solos and duets by Boyd and Metcalf blended sensitively with Assad’s brilliant orchestration (including water bowls), which reflected the Latin rhythms of her native Brazil.

The duo’s encore was a jazzy yet poignant setting of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” evoking America’s love affair with the Fab Four on the 60th anniversary weekend of their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show".  

Tchaikovsky’s love for and regular visits to Italy inspired some of his finest music, like his 1880 “Capriccio Italien,” which quotes local tunes he heard in Rome. The HSO reveled in its solemn opening fanfare, sprightly folk dances, giddy tarantella, and closing blaze of orchestral color.

This was followed by a radiant performance of the sublime “Adagietto” movement from Mahler’s 1901-1902 fifth symphony, a musical love letter to his wife-to-be, Alma, which Kuan and the orchestra dedicated to beloved recently deceased 57-year HSO violinist Frank Kulig.

The overture to Offenbach’s 1858 opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” proved a surprisingly apt concert closer in these musicians’ exuberant reading. Its cheerful “Can Can” tune suggested a happier ending to the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice than his failure to bring her back from dead.  

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (March 8-10) will feature music of Copland and Bernstein.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Beethoven 5+5"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

December 8-10, 2023

by Michael J. Moran

For the fourth “Masterworks” weekend of their 80th anniversary season, guest conductor Gerard Schwarz led the HSO in two classic Beethoven fifths from 1808/09– his last concerto for piano and orchestra, nicknamed the “Emperor;” and perhaps the most famous symphony ever written.

HSO opened its program with the 2022 “Four Hymns Without Words” for trumpet and orchestra by African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork. He notes that “each begins with melody and harmony that sound like a hymn tune” and calls his music “tonal, lyrical, and very rhythmic.” The clarion tone of soloist John Charles Thomas, HSO assistant principal trumpet, and lively support from his colleagues and Schwarz revealed many colors in this stirring 10-minute suite.

Orion Weiss

Hailstork’s conservative modernism actually highlighted Beethoven’s radicalism two centuries earlier. At 40-minutes, his “Emperor” concerto was the longest written to date, and it started the now standard composer practice of writing all the notes formerly improvised in solo passages. Nationally acclaimed Ohio-born pianist Orion Weiss was a powerful and eloquent soloist, easily meeting Beethoven’s every technical challenge and the shifting emotional demands of a majestic opening “Allegro” movement, a sublime “Adagio un poco mosso,” and a rollicking “Rondo: Allegro” finale. Schwarz and the HSO were robust partners.

In complete contrast, Weiss responded to a rousing ovation with a ravishing encore of the hushed “Nocturne” from Grieg’s “Lyric Suite” that held the audience’s rapt attention for nearly five minutes.

The concert closed with an electrifying account of Beethoven’s fifth symphony that made this musical warhorse sound new again. From the familiar opening four-note motif of a tempestuous “Allegro con brio,” a flowing “Andante con moto,” and a stormy “Allegro” transition to a triumphant grandest of all grand “Allegro” finales, Schwarz had the HSO playing with white-hot intensity. Now Music Director of the Palm Beach Symphony, with previous experience leading the Seattle Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, his professional skill and engaging stage presence were much appreciated in Hartford.

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (February 9-11), “Enduring Love Stories,” will feature Music Director Carolyn Kuan and guest husband-and-wife duo Rupert Boyd on guitar and Laura Metcalf on cello in a world premiere titled "Girl Meets Boyd" by Clarice Assad, with music by Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Offenbach.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Ravel & Debussy"

The Bushnell,  Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

November 10-12, 2023

by Michael J. Moran

As she did on the first two “Masterworks” weekends of their 80th anniversary season, HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan surrounded two HSO premieres of recent rarities on the third program with two popular masterpieces from the standard repertory.

The concert opened with Claude Debussy’s 1894 Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun,” based on a poem of that name by Debussy’s friend Stephane Mallarme. In a spoken introduction, Kuan called it “the birth of modern music” and “full of ambiguity,” and the vibrant performance she led by the HSO captured both qualities, with special kudos to principal flutist Dominique Kim and harpists Susan Knapp Thomas and Mae Cooke.   

This was followed by fiery renditions of Chinese-born Huang Ruo’s colorfully scored four 2012 “Folk Songs for Orchestra,” which the composer hoped “to preserve and…transform…into new pieces of art.” Outstanding HSO soloists were concertmaster Leonid Sigal in “Little Blue Flower” and hyperactive percussionists Doug Perry and David West throughout.

Next came a real novelty: British-American musical polymath Michael Spivakovsky’s 1951

Cy Leo

Harmonica Concerto. Written in the light classical style of Leroy Anderson, its three tuneful movements demand the utmost virtuosity from the soloist. Hong Kong-born Cy Leo didn’t disappoint, tossing off its many challenges with kinetic and crowd-pleasing flair. Kuan and the HSO were committed accompanists.

But Leo’s encore - a jazz-inflected romp through the traditional Irish chestnut “Danny Boy” – was even more astonishing, from soulful interludes to audience handclapping, foot-stomping, and singalong. No more persuasive advocate for the harmonica in classical music can be imagined than this charismatic rising star.  

While the 15-minute suite is relatively familiar, the concert ended with Maurice Ravel’s seldom heard complete half-hour ballet “Mother Goose.” This 1911 score depicts four tales – Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Beauty and the Beast, and the Empress of the Pagodas – in music of great delicacy and charm. Kuan drew a dazzling account from all sections of the orchestra, and the lush “Fairy Garden” epilogue brought the full ensemble together for an exhilarating happily-ever-after ending.   

At the HSO’s next program (December 8-10), “Beethoven 5+5,” guest conductor Gerard Schwarz will precede that composer’s fifth piano concerto (the “Emperor”), featuring pianist Orion Weiss, and fifth symphony with a new piece by African American Adolphus Hailstork.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra,"Dvorak & Price"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT 

www.hartfordsymphony.org

October 20-22, 2023 

by Michael J. Moran 

For the second weekend of their 2023-2024 “Masterworks” series, HSO’s Music Director,
Carolyn Kuan, bracketed an HSO premiere of a recent rediscovery with two established masterworks of the high Romantic era. 

The concert opened with a highly charged reading of Johannes Brahms’ “Tragic Overture.” Written in 1880, alongside his more upbeat “Academic Festival Overture,” the composer noted that while “one overture laughs, the other weeps.” From two forceful opening chords, through a somber main theme, a tender contrasting lyrical theme, a turbulent development section, and a powerful close, Kuan and her musicians fully honored what Brahms called his “melancholy nature.” 

Melissa White

Next came the sleeper hit of the program, Florence Price’s first violin concerto. Dating from 1939 but unperformed in public until 2019, ten years after it was found among her lost manuscripts, this appealing piece is quickly gaining its rightful place in the repertory. No finer performance could be imagined than that of HSO 2023-2024 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, violinist Melissa White. Her silken tone and technical finesse captured the charm and drama of the opening “Tempo moderato,” the blues-inflected African-American flavor of the “Andante,” and the fiery excitement of the closing “Allegro.” Kuan and the HSO were robust partners. 

A standing ovation brought White back for a ravishing encore account of the hushed “Adagio” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s third sonata for solo violin, in which she held the rapt audience in the palms of her hands. 

The concert ended with a blazing rendition of Antonin Dvorak’s 1884 seventh symphony. Though less popular with the public than his later “New World” symphony, Dvorak is known to have called the seventh his greatest symphony. Reflecting his grief at the death of his mother a year earlier, the piece opens on a dark, brooding note, but this is soon offset by glimpses of Dvorak’s typically sunny disposition. Kuan and the orchestra brought driving urgency to these shifting moods in a sweeping “Allegro maestoso,” a radiant “Poco adagio,” a lilting Czech-infused “Scherzo: Vivace,” and a heroic “Finale: Allegro.” 

The HSO’s next program (November 10-12) will pair new-ish works by Huang Ruo and Michael Spivakovsky with familiar classics by Debussy and Ravel and will feature a rare (in classical music) harmonica soloist, Cy Leo.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Elgar’s Enigma"

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT 

www.hartfordsymphony.org 

September 29 - October 1, 2023

by Michael J. Moran 

The HSO Brass Quintet

For the first weekend of their 2023-2024 “Masterworks” series, the HSO’s Music Director,
Carolyn Kuan, framed two HSO premieres of contemporary works with two standard repertory favorites and spotlighted the talents of several orchestra members. 

After a vigorous traditional season-opening national anthem, they launched directly into Franz Schubert’s 1822 eighth symphony, which he inexplicably left “Unfinished” after completing only two movements. Kuan and the HSO offered a dramatic “Allegro moderato” and a radiant “Andante con moto.” 

Next came conductor-composer Gerard Schwarz’s 2012 arrangement for harpsichord, strings, and brass quintet of three movements from George Frideric Handel’s 1739 Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 9. The HSO Brass Quintet – John Charles Thomas and Kenny Piatt, trumpets; Barbara Hill, horn; Brian Diehl, trombone; and Jarrod Briley, tuba – added a spiky modern edge to Handel’s familiar Baroque harmonies and met the work’s technical demands with ebullience. 

The Quintet was then joined by percussionist and sometime HSO player Doug Perry in a rollicking take on Ohio-based composer-educator Daniel McCarthy’s jazzy 1995 “American Dance Music, Concerto for Brass Quintet and Percussion with Orchestra.” 

All five dances in varied American rhythms were performed with virtuosic flair. Diehl’s sinuous trombone solo in “Serenade” and endearing tuba/xylophone duets by a nimble Briley and an agile Perry in “Unsquare Dance” and “Jazz” were especially entertaining. Jazz pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines’s “Rosetta” was a jaunty encore by the Quintet. 

The program closed with a thrilling account of Sir Edward Elgar’s 1899 Variations on an Original Theme, “Enigma,” which put the English master on the musical map. Highlights among the fourteen brilliantly played variations were: a warmly impassioned first, for Elgar’s wife; a whirlwind fourth, for an energetic friend; an intensely moving ninth, titled “Nimrod,” for Elgar’s publisher (often played separately as a memorial piece); an exuberant eleventh, for a neighbor and his bulldog; and the last and longest one, a grandiloquent self-portrait. 

A similar mix of more and less familiar pieces is on tap for the HSO’s next program (October 20-22), which surrounds Florence Price’s first violin concerto with popular works by Brahms and Dvorak and features the HSO’s 23-24 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, violinist Melissa White.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Tchaikovsky & Pride"

The Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT 

www.hartfordsymphony.org 

June 9-11, 2023 

by Michael J. Moran 

Carolyn Kuan

The HSO and Music Director Carolyn Kuan closed their 2022-2023 “Masterworks” series on a festive note, celebrating Pride Month with a program of a classic popular symphony and two world premieres, both commissioned by the orchestra. 

It began with a white-hot reading of the sixth symphony, the last completed work by Tchaikovsky, who, as Kuan noted in opening remarks, “struggled with his sexuality,” and died mysteriously a week after conducting its premiere in St. Petersburg, Russia, in October 1893. From a vivid “Adagio-Allegro non troppo,” a glowing “Allegro con grazia,” and a brilliant “Allegro molto vivace,” to a devastating “Adagio lamentoso” finale, Kuan drew playing of deep conviction from her musicians, which fully reflected the Russian translation of the symphony’s nickname, “Pathetique,” as “passionate.”      

Next came an exciting account of HSO inaugural artist-in-residence Quinn Mason’s short rhapsody, “She Dreams of Flying,” dedicated to Kuan, whom he calls “one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met.” It featured an offstage trumpet, played evocatively by HSO assistant principal trumpet John Charles Thomas, who was gradually joined by his colleagues across the ensemble in this “tribute to persistence and inspiration.” Their warm advocacy for the piece suggested the pride they took in collaborating with their creative partner. 

The concert ended with a heartfelt rendition of “Stonewall 69,” a suite from English composer Iain Bell’s 2019 opera “Stonewall,” which was commissioned by New York City Opera and premiered there under Kuan. The colorful first movement, “Downtown, tonight,” introduced several characters in the opera; the dramatic second, “No…just NO!,” depicted resistance to a June 1969 police raid on Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn that launched a national gay rights movement; and the peaceful finale, “The Light of Day,” portrayed, in Bell’s words, “a sense of hope and emboldened responsibility to effect change.” The music’s visceral impact was amplified by visual artist Yuki Izumihara’s historical and abstract images simultaneously projected over the Belding Stage.      

With engaging live introductions to both world premieres by their composers, this program was a personal triumph for Kuan, who not only welcomed members of the LGBTQ+ community to the hall but also emphasized the uniquely healing power of music to bring people together.