Simon Trpceski | Robbie Writes

Maestro Edward Gardner gave a brief introduction to the pieces on the program before he began conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in last night’s all Rachmaninov program. I always appreciate it when conductors or soloists give a bit of an intro like that: even if everything they say is in the program notes, the way that they say it gives a clue as to how they see the work. He did a decent job as a conductor, too. He took Isle of the Dead dramatically but not without sensitivity to begin the concert. There was nothing exceptional or exciting in his interpretation, but it was good. Similarly, Symphonic Dances at the end of the program got a solid treatment but without anything notable standing out about Gardner’s approach. I don’t think that I had known until I read the program notes before the concert that Rachmaninov had originally started work on the piece as a ballet to be choreographed by Fokine. It’s a shame that the choreographer died before its completion because I think that the music suits his choreographic style immensely well.
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This evening’s ASO concert was full of beauty and power realized by some great soloists under a well managed baton wielded by Maestro Spano. It began with Shostakovitch’s Symphony no. 14, which is scored for soprano and bass vocalists with a chamber orchestra made up of strings and percussion. The vocal parts are Russian translations of 11 poems by Lorca, Apollinaire, Kuchelbecker, and Rilke, all of which revolve around death through a variety of perspectives. Despite this, the music isn’t all grim and brooding and is actually somewhat lively at times. There was something throughout the piece that came across sometimes as abstract and almost alienating and others as somewhat contemplative, as though the music is thinking about the poems, turning them around in different ways to try to get to the real meaning. The soloists for the piece were soprano Tatiana Monogarova and bass Morris Robinson. The vocalists were both excellent: Robinson’s low notes were clear and strong and Monogarova’s performance was dramatic and moving. The third movement in particular, based on Apollinaire’s ‘Loreley,’ nearly brought me to tears and I found the fourth, based on Apollinaire’s ‘Le Suicide,’ only slightly less moving. The low strings are very prominent in this piece and cellist Daniel Laufer gave a stand-out performance, particularly when giving solo accompaniment to Monogarova.
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Robbie Writes

Tag Archives: Simon Trpceski

ASO: Edward Gardner with Simon Trpčeski

ASO: Robert Spano with Tatiana Monogarova, Morris Robinson, & Simon Trpceski