Italy, 1946: a U.S. soldier who would later become a professional musician, went to a concert in Florence while waiting for his demobilization. Gershwin was on the program. He never forgot his impression and years later he told me: “They hadn’t a clue how to play anything jazzy.”
Times have changed. Fast forward 70 years to Benaroya Hall Thursday night, when a French pianist and a French conductor collaborated in Gershwin’s Concerto in F and nailed it, with on-its-toes work from the Seattle Symphony and followed by enthusiastic applause and bravos from the audience. (The programme is performed again June 10 and 11, 2016, at Benaroya Hall.)
So much so that pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, conductor Ludovic Morlot and the orchestra gave an encore of Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” Variations for Piano and Orchestra, revised by William C. Schoenfel, to more plaudits.
The dynamic exuberance of the concerto, the delicious changes of rhythm and color, the smooth tone and clarion sound of Alexander White’s trumpet, and the innate understanding of the work, its shape, moods, and overall American idiom as evinced by Thibaudet–as well as Morlot’s equally keen understanding–made for a totally satisfactory performance, ditto for the encore. The orchestra is a full and important partner in both works, and it was notable that horn, trumpet, trombone, oboe, and timpani solo roles were not taken by orchestra principals, yet the results were superbly achieved. It goes to show that our orchestra is solidly excellent all through.
The symphony has been active in its New Music WORKS project and one result was the premiere at this concert of Anna Clyne’s “The Midnight Hour,” commissioned by the SSO and l’Orchestre nationale d’Ile de France. According to Paul Schiavo’s program notes, Clyne was struck by a line from Spanish poet Juan Ramon Jimenez: “A woman, stripped bare, running mad through the night,” together with a line from Baudelaire describing sounds and scents of the night.
Her 10-minute work is a graphic description in musical technicolor of these lines. One can hear the woman running urgently through, perhaps, a forest, never stopping as the running beat continues throughout the work. Maybe it’s stormy or maybe that’s just her impression, she sounds hurried, frantic, and the orchestra responds with furious energy. One can hear, perhaps where she trips over a rock, with sudden chords, and when she slows to catch her breath, listening to the sounds of the night and maybe a bird call, in gentle waltz time. It’s a gripping work with brilliant orchestration, as colorful in its way as the Gershwin, as bright, as rhythmic. May we hear more of this young composer’s output.
The concert wrapped up its season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, continuing the sense of upbeat joyfulness which characterized this concert. Despite having played a full and very busy season, the orchestra musicians sounded as fresh and responsive to Morlot as though they were just starting out the year. Many players were recognized here and earlier in the evening, including clarinetist Ben Lulich, oboist Mary Lynch, guest concertmaster Nathan Cole, and flutist Jeffrey Barker, who has given us stellar work all season.
Before the concert, violinist Michael Miropolsky stepped forward on behalf of his colleagues with an amusing and witty tribute honoring violinist Sande Gillette, retiring after 49 years in the orchestra, 22 of them as assistant personnel manager.
