Evening Has Trio Of Highlights Commissioned Music, A Seasoned Soloist And Better Opera House Acoustics Make For Richly Deserved Standing Ovation
Three items demanded attention at the Spokane Symphony’s classic master’s concert Friday: the premiere of Don Caron’s “Paradigm Shifts,” the playing of violin soloist Rieko Watanabe, and the changed Opera House acoustics wrought by the orchestra’s newly installed stage shell.
More will be written later about the new shell. For now, it is enough to say the shell produced a significant improvement in every respect that matters: The orchestra players can hear each other better and the sound that reaches the audience in most parts of the hall has greater clarity and more resonant depth. The orchestra seems to have more “presence” than I have ever heard before in the Opera House.
Caron’s “Paradigm Shifts” is a commission from the symphony to celebrate its 50th season. The work drives forward with a churning rhythmic idea that is rarely absent. Even in the work’s softer sections, this rhythmic motif swims across the quiet current of sustained chords like rowdy children playing in a placid stream. Caron’s solo and chamber music have been heard regularly in Spokane for the past 20 years or so; it was a pleasure to hear tightly knit work for full orchestra with its energy and deft touches of orchestral color.
In Sibelius’ familiar Violin Concerto, the improved acoustical clarity revealed beautiful orchestral playing even in the softest sections: Lynne Feller’s bassoon solos in the opening movement and the quiet throb of the cello pizzicato passage in the slow movements were but two examples.
Watanabe possesses a scintillating technique enabling her to deal easily with this concert’s formidable difficulties. And her tone, while not large, is sweet, true and well-projected. The restraint of Mechetti’s accompaniment rarely allowed the orchestra to cover the soloist.
There was scarcely a phrase in which this talented young player did not offer something pleasing. What I missed in Watanabe’s performance, though, was a sense of sustained concentration that weds every phrase to the next, giving a feeling of inevitability to Sibelius’ darkly romantic rhetoric or providing the mortar that holds this grand edifice together.
After intermission, Mechetti led a dramatic performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 that ranks with this orchestra’s very best playing. From the warmth and melancholy of Virginia Jones’ and James Schoepflin’s introductory clarinet melody, it was clear this was going to be a gripping performance. Mechetti has a great flair for Tchaikovsky’s vivid musical contrasts and for the subtle details of accentuation, instrumental color and rhythmic flexibility his music requires.
The noble, songful quality of Margaret Wilds’ horn solo in the symphony’s Andante was symtomatic of the outstanding solo playing throughout the work. The fine orchestral playing and Mechetti’s powerful interpretation were supported by the improved clarity and resonance in the Opera House. It must be noted, however, that the sword of clarity cut two ways: It reveals beautiful playing, but it also calls attention to inexact ensemble playing such as some very uneasy moments in the third movement.
The overall excellence of this performance received a richly deserved standing ovation. This ovation, too, might well have applauded the wisdom of investing in a significant improvement to the Opera House acoustics.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Spokane Symphony Orchestra Friday, Jan. 26, at Opera House