Symphony Grabs Gold On Opening Night

Spokane Symphony Orchestra with violinist Elmar Oliveira Friday at the Opera House

The enormous range of moods a symphony orchestra can evoke is one of the glories of Western art. And Spokane Symphony’s season opener at the Opera House on Friday ran the gamut from frivolity to torment.

The orchestra’s main competition Friday was the opening of the Summer Olympic Games, and there were some unfilled seats. But the sizable and enthusiastic opening night audience saw some winning performances, too. The festivity of the occasion was underlined by Louise Kodis’ colorfully appropriate banners draping the lobby and the auditorium.

Conductor Fabio Mechetti began the evening’s music with the cheeky bravado of Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” in a performance that found the orchestra in great shape after the players’ summer recess. Mind you, this was not the Shostakovich of emotion-drenched symphonies or the personal agonies of his string quartets. This was Shostakovich having fun.

Shostakovich was a tart, delicious aperitif to the monumental dish that followed, Brahms’ emotionally wide-ranging “Violin Concerto.” Here is a work that requires a soloist who combines the stamina of an athlete, the intellect of a scholar, the dedication of a priest, and the passion of a lover. Elmar Oliveira filled the bill.

This violinist always amazes me. Oliveira’s playing is very physical. His slashing bow attacks ought to produce ugly sounds, at least occasionally. But they don’t. He moves around a lot as he plays, and that should result in at least some out-of-tune playing or disorderly rhythms. But it doesn’t. Oliveira is a fastidious player, elegant, even. I especially enjoyed the lyricism he brought to Brahms’ quieter moments and his swaggering defiance in the concerto’s finale.

Brahms’ “Violin Concerto” is not just for violin, and Mechetti and the orchestra brought out their symphonic interplay of orchestral voices. There were many beautiful moments of melodic conversation among the woodwinds as Oliveira wound his way through Brahms’ complex violin figuration.

Mechetti chose Tchaikovsky’s pervasively restless “Symphony No. 4” to conclude opening night. Nothing ever quite settles down in this big, moody symphony, even in its most hushed and songful moments. Mechetti sustained that tension through to the end. Chip Phillips, the orchestra’s new principal clarinetist, made a fine impression in the haunting solo opportunities Tchaikovsky provided, as did bassoonist Lynne Feller-Marshall.

The orchestra’s string sections were impressive in the tour-de-force flurry of pizzicato in the scherzo. This scherzo sounds as though it belongs in Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” ballet, and the Spokane strings made it dance. Mechetti whipped up a fury in the finale that brought the audience to its feet.