‘Brahms, Schumann, and Julia Perry’ @ Dallas Symphony Orchestra
—Wayne Lee Gay
A 75-year-old masterpiece of American music received its long overdue Dallas premiere in this weekend's concerts of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Why the delay?
In a few words: African American and female.
Kentucky-born composer Julia Perry stood her ground patiently in her determination to compose for the fifty-five years of her life (1922-77). Much of her earliest output drew on her African-American heritage; by the age of 29, when she composed the Stabat Mater for mezzo-soprano and string orchestra, she was firmly in command of the musical idioms and expressive possibilities of mainstream neo-classicism.
The text, from the Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic church, falls into ten short sections, each describing an element of the sorrow of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross. (“Stabat mater dolorosa,” the first line of the 13th-century hymn, refers to the “sorrowful mother standing” by her Son.) Throughout the twenty-minute work, Perry—drawing on a basically tonal but frequently dissonant harmonic structure—created drama, sorrowful reflection, and a sense of spiritual strength.
Each of the ten sections produces a self-contained emotional landscape, and much of the sense of unity in the work rises from Perry's unerring understanding of the sonorities of the string orchestra—which she exploits masterfully. Each of the ten movements grows organically out of the one preceding; there is a quality of inevitability in the alternating moments of intensity, reflection, and calm.
The Dallas Symphony strings performed this gracefully written work flawlessly, with wonderful solo work from concertmaster Alexander Kerr; the orchestra's Italian conductor Fabio Luisi once again demonstrated a natural ability to comprehend and communicate 20th-century American music. South African mezzo-soprano Siphokazi Molteno brought dramatic insight as well as a gorgeously dark vocal quality appropriate to this emotionally and musically demanding role.
(A note, however: the Latin text and English translation were printed in the program book, but in text too small to read with the lights down. A projected translation would have been beneficial for full appreciation of the work.)
The remainder of the program was devoted to the classical romanticism of Schumann and his close friend Brahms. French pianist Hélène Grimaud managed a convincing combination of grandeur and intimacy in Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor: her clear and brilliant technique melded perfectly with poetic phrasing and ample rubato, and was matched perfectly by conductor Luisi.
After intermission, Luisi led the orchestra in a majestic, beautifully expansive reading of Brahms' Fourth Symphony. Luisi's obvious understanding of the acoustic of the Meyerson enables him to create a comfortable rather than noisy sound level in the numerous orchestral climaxes, with dynamic levels clearly paced for ultimate effect. The second movement provided a particular high point in an entirely magnificent performance, both in the resonant horn obbligato passages and in that magical moment when the violins soar over the pizzicato in the other string sections.
WHEN: March 14-16, 2025
WHERE: Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
WEB: Upcoming concert schedule— dallassymphony.org
