"Strands" of Prokofiev With The National Symphony Orchestra

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Thursday, 20 April 2023 19:41

Written by Jack Angstreich

Gianandrea Noseda Conducts The National Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Chris Lee

At Carnegie Hall on the evening of Tuesday, April 18th, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent concert presented by the admirable musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra under the superb direction of Gianandrea Noseda.

The program began promisingly with an impeccable performance of George Walker’s impressively orchestrated if dour—its opening is brooding and stormy—Sinfonia No. 4, “Strands,” a piece within the mainstream of High Modernism written in 2012 when the composer was ninety years old and which features music from two African-American spirituals. (Program annotator Peter Laki adds that Walker “won the Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral song cycle Lilacs in 1996.”) The author stated: “I wanted to compose a work that was more than an overture or extended fanfare.” He also said:

The Sinfonia begins with an introduction that consists of several sections before the principal theme is stated. This theme recurs several times. The quotation of the first spiritual provides a pensive relief from the proclamatory nature of the theme that precedes it.

The briefer snippet of the second spiritual is affirmative. The following section consists of a melodic bass line over which fragmented interjections are superimposed. A similar section recurs, combining with the opening phrase of the second spiritual played by the piano during the course of the work. The bass material appears briefly in the coda.

Even better was a remarkable account of Sergei Prokofiev’s challenging, eccentric but engaging—and brilliant in its way—Piano Concerto No. 2, with the renowned Daniil Trifonov as soloist, a piece that is also programmatically modernistic in character. The introduction to the first movement is meditative and strangely Romantic; the rest of the movement is disquieting in its dissonances but attains a stirring climax. The ensuing, brief, propulsiveScherzois appropriately and characteristically playful. The Intermezzo is a queer march that at least approaches parody. The Finale begins manically and excitingly and then becomes introspective, even lyrical, in maybe the concerto’s most beautiful passage; after a number of unexpected divagations, the movement rushes to a surprising conclusion. In response to the enthusiastic applause, Trifonov played a delightful encore (which the artist has also recored): Prokofiev’s Gavotte from Three Pieces from Cinderella, Op. 95.

Most extraordinary of all, however, was the second half of the event: a meticulous reading of Igor Stravinsky’s astonishing score for the ballet,The Firebird, which must be one of the most frequently performed works in the current repertory. After an uncanny introduction, dizzying music accompanies the appearance of the Firebird. Following the haunting emergence of the enchanted princesses, one of the loveliest sections occurs in the garden before Prince Ivan nears the evil sorcerer Kashchei’s castle. The music becomes agitated as “his minions charge the Prince” and becomes more ominous with Kashchei’s arrival. The “Infernal Dance” is thrilling and and anticipates the composer’sThe Rite of Springwhile the bewitchingBerceusemust be the most glorious part of the score. Prince Ivan’s wedding to the most beautiful of the princesses provides a stunning close. The audience rewarded the musicians with a standing ovation.

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