Saturday evening’s performance by the Saint Louis Symphony
Orchestra began with a kick ’em in their coattails,
snaredrum-rolling national anthem and didn’t stop until every last
instrument in Shostakovich’s rambunctious 50-piece Fifth Symphony
came to a crashing climax.
If this year’s premiere was any indication of what the SLSO has
planned for its 125th anniversary season, my advice would be to
throw out your handbills now and dive head-first into the fray;
cause this crew is going to be full of surprises.
The orchestra was supercharged this weekend, no doubt, by the
return of its legendary former musical director Leonard Slatkin,
who conducted the SLSO from 1979 until his departure in 1996 for
the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
Slatkin hauled the marching beats and blasting brass of the
capitol city back to his beloved St. Louisans by opening Saturday’s
performance with the national anthem, whipping the orchestra to
attention with a slash of his baton even before his welcoming
applause ceased.
One minute standing for the return of their old maestro, singing
the next with full-throated patriotic pride. The sheer refreshment
of hearing what has become America’s overplayed jingle performed by
a hearty orchestra complete with strings was nearly breathtaking–a
fresh move for a new year of music.
The orchestra then launched into the lively “River’s Rush” by
St. Louis native Kevin Puts, a short piece that’s obviously felt
the influence of a quarter century of John Williams’ scores, with
all their high, tense Spielberg strings and threatening trumpet
wails. Puts’ piece shied away from clich�, though, refusing
to crest into sentimentality and relying instead on moments of
near-silence and soft woodwinds to flavor the familiar themes.
Next on the bill was Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 (in B-flat
major), featuring Emanuel Ax–whose presence on stage was full,
almost jolly, but also dainty and exact, which was perfect for the
lighthearted piece.
Even from the Grand Circle I could see the precision of his
swift fingers, striking each key with the same affected flicks with
which he would wipe his brow when he finished each stint of
playing, swaying his portly frame to the right then moving two
fingers across his forehead with a snap and a shake of his bushy,
graying pate.
Ax’s performance itself was lyrical, almost prancing, and drew
much-deserved ovations.
After the intermission Maestro Slatkin pulled another surprise
from his sleeve: an unscheduled memorial to his recently deceased
successor, Hans Vonk, and his widow, Jessie, in the form of Gustav
Mahler’s “Adagietto” from his Fifth Symphony.
As the piece closed, Slatkin held the orchestra at attention in
an arresting, unbroken silence: No foot shuffled on stage, no cough
rose from the audience. Pure noiselessness, without applause, hung
thick over the hall; a powerful reminder of the music lost with
Vonk’s death.
The orchestra then finished off the evening with Dmitri
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 (in D minor); a piece that at times
consists of single, dewy notes wafting up from the xylophone like
celesta and at others becomes a cacophony of more than 50
instruments, including multiple percussion pieces, all thumping and
blasting simultaneously toward some spectacular, if at times vague,
conclusion.
The musicians gave it the full treatment, too, enlisting every
pocket of airspace Powell Hall could provide, filling the great
room with unbelievable sound. If nothing else, this closing piece
announced to St. Louis that its symphony orchestra had arrived for
another glorious season–and it wasn’t going to be quiet about
it.
The SLSO performs nearly every Friday and Saturday evening and
Sunday afternoon, from September through April, at Powell Symphony
Hall at 718 N. Grand. Student discounts are available at the box
office (534-1700). This weekend’s performance will be Gershwin’s
“An American in Paris” and Concerto in F, and Dvorak’s Symphony No.
7.
