‘Stravinsky / Tchaikovsky @ Dallas Symphony
--Conductor Edward Gardner
—Wayne Lee Gay
Thirty-three years separated the premieres of Stravinsky's Pétrouchka (1911) and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 (1878), but these two monuments of Russian music might as well have been composed on different planets. This weekend, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra opens its 2024-25 subscription season by pairing these wildly contrasting works for an intriguing all-Russian concert, with British guest conductor Edward Gardner of the London Philharmonic on the podium.
After the obligatory season-opening rendition of the national anthem, Gardner and the DSO dive at full volume into the 34-minute long score of Pétrouchka, here performed (as is always the case) in Stravinsky's revision of 1947. Conceived as accompaniment for a ballet telling the traditional Russian folk tale of a puppet who comes to life, the work inspired in Stravinsky a rush of revolutionary orchestral colors and harmonic gestures. Over a century later these effects, which heralded the birth of twentieth-century musical modernism, remain fascinating and ear-grabbing.
Yet, being a ballet score, Pétrouchka is not entirely comfortable as a concert piece. Gardner's concise onstage spoken commentary immediately preceding the performance gives considerable guidance to understanding what the music is portraying. Ultimately, however, the musical structure is subordinate to telling a complex tale, which (without a staging of the ballet) can feel disjointed. Still, the sheer variety of sounds from the orchestra intrigues; and the gorgeous flowing melody that rises from the sometimes grotesque motifs never fails to thrill.
While Stravinsky calls for a simple, solid forte to open Pétrouchka, Gardner brings the orchestra in at a fortissimo—too loud for the music and too loud for Meyerson Symphony Center's superb and sensitive acoustic. This rather skews opportunities for contrast throughout the work. The orchestra in general handles Stravinsky's vast and complex demands well; however, tiny fleeting imprecisions in the string section occasionally float past. Interestingly, while the Dallas Symphony ranks at a level higher than the Fort Worth Symphony on the scale of America's orchestras, the FWSO's strings performed with more nearly perfect precision in their season opener last week at Bass Performance Hall.
After intermission, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 is, as always, an engaging emotional experience. Once again, conductor Gardner is a bit off-target in turning up the volume early in the first movement. The two middle movements are, however, delivered sublimely: Erin Hannigan produces an entrancing reading of the songlike oboe solo that opens the Andante—which in turns blossoms into the passionate climax of the movement, with the strings in fine form. And the third movement, with its extended pizzicato string section followed by contrasting sections for winds and brass, presents the orchestra at perfection. As in the performance of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony last weekend by the Fort Worth Symphony, it's wonderful to enjoy and experience Tchaikovsky's ability to encapsulate powerful personal emotion and passion within masterfully handled classical symphonic structure.
Little wonder that these works both continue, deservedly, as audience favorites.
WHEN: September 12 and 14, 2024
WHERE: Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
WEB: dallassymphony.org
