In my second BSO concert of the season, I saw a program of Martinu, Stravinsky, Thomas, and Tchaikovsky, conducted by Ludovic Morlot. My expectations were minimal considering I was not familiar with any of the pieces, but with fantastic seats and a new season, I was trying to keep an open mind, especially for the contemporary composer Augusta Read Thomas’s Helios Choros II (Sun God Dancers).
Unfortunately I soon failed in doing so for too long, as I found Thomas’s composition to be overly dissonant and fractured. Honestly, the simplicity of good songs or themes can be incredibly powerful when knit into a fuller, richer score. The piece held my attention for approximately 20 bars, through some interesting percussion, and I admit that I stopped listening actively for most of the first third to two thirds, in anticipation of the Tchaikovsky, for which I had great expectations after a mildly interesting Martinu and mediocre Stravinsky.
The Martinu Frescoes of Piero della Francesca were decidedly uninspired today, and honestly I cannot recall the piece well. On the other hand, I remember solo pianist Peter Serkin’s performance of Stravinsky’s Capriccio well enough to have been completely underwhelmed. The Capriccio is a piece full of vitality, and yet I did not think that either Serkin’s or the pared down orchestra’s performance was reflective of this necessary energy.
So the transition into the Tchaikovsky left me with but a little hope that the evening could be salvaged from the depths of mere adequacy for an otherwise typically stellar experience with the BSO. Because I did not know the piece, I was relying simply on the program notes that gave the backstory to Francesca da Rimini. From what I could glean, while trying to drown out and forget the Helios, the piece would be intense and confrontational.
These themes were clearly evident in this performance, as the orchestra came to life in dramatic fashion. Morlot was at his best this evening with the Tchaikovsky, and the BSO responded to his instruction with a stunning dynamic range that took me instantaneously yet gracefully from the whispers of pianissimo to the magnificence of triple forte. This is composition at its finest, telling the story while inspiring a fierce emotional reaction. It will not be often that my mood matches that of a jealous husband who goes on a murderous rage after discovering his wife’s secret affair with his brother, but I know now what soundtrack and performance might just be able to capture such a complex feeling in music. While I think on this evening with the Tchaikovsky firmly in mind, I suppose I’ll have to wait until another day to feign understanding of contemporary art in any form.
