![]() The segments ranged from a quietly atmospheric Nocturne to a nimble March of the Fairies and stormy music for a confrontation between the characters Hermia and Lysander. McGegan and the orchestra delivered it with notable grace and restraint as the seventh of 10 scenes. The scurrying fairy music in the overture expands in several scenes, and the braying gesture that references Nick Bottom’s rustic play turns out to be only part of a deliciously broad commentary on those awkward theatrics.Īnd, of course, there’s the Wedding March. Most effectively they act as background music for the narrator’s summation at the end. The overture’s succession of familiar motifs begins with four sustained chords, and then reappear at critical moments. His sonorous voice not only cued the storyline but added an extra sonic layer. To set the various scenes, narrator Keith Klein (a student baritone) spoke excerpts from the play, portraying a number of the characters. Conductor McGegan remedied that with a juicy presentation that used the festival’s resources effectively - a soprano, a mezzo-soprano and 15 women singers from the Opera Theater and VocalARTS student program. We all know Mendelssohn’s overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but it’s not often that we can experience these themes in the intended context - as incidental music for Shakespeare’s play. It danced with joy in the Scherzo, and the brass statements in the finale made for a fine finish.Īfter Walter’s unfinished symphony, Friday’s orchestral program focused on Mendelssohn. The Brahms symphony in the second half was majestic, transparent enough in texture to let the details emerge and moving with enough pace to keep momentum intact, even in the sublime Andante. He rewarded us with more Rachmaninoff, a sparkling Prelude in G-sharp minor. The rain ceased in time for an encore, which the audience demanded with European-style unison clapping (something I’ve never heard in Aspen before). It was such a rousing performance that it quieted Mother Nature. 4 in E minor.īarnatan grabbed the concerto’s opening measures and ran with them, relishing all of Rachmaninoff’s demanding piano flourishes and cutting through the busy orchestra’s interjections with command. ![]() They were phenomenal.ĭespite rain pattering on the music tent, French conductor Ludovic Morlot shaped that performance - and the rest of the program - masterfully, in sync with soloist Inon Barnatan in Rachmaninoff’s colorful Variations on a Theme of Paganini, and a beautifully extroverted rendering of Brahms’ Symphony No. It’s hypnotic, until percussionists Cynthia Yeh (principal at the Chicago Symphony) and student Julia Hyungjung Choi took over with a series of outbursts reminiscent of jazz drum solos. She builds layers of complexity by weaving in ever-more-complex chords and long melodic lines. Though her harmonic palette is not terribly pungent, she relies in this piece on short bursts of rhythmic patterns that repeat and repeat.
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