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SYMPHONY REVIEW
Symphony Silicon Valley
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Tepid Furies By Scott MacClelland
Anyone familiar with Luigi Cherubini's overture to the
otherwise forgotten opera Anacreon can understand
where Beethoven's symphonic furies originated. There is
probably no better example of this than Beethoven's own
overture Egmont. And so it was rather disappointing
when Symphony Silicon Valley, under guest conductor
William Boughton, came up with a tepid reading of a piece well
known to seethe with the kind of dramatic energy that is
uniquely Beethoven. Perhaps the best analogy of what the
piece can be is that of a cat on the hunt — stalking,
crouching, creeping, and then suddenly exploding upon its
prey. For want of anything close to sufficient dynamic contrast
and pace, this kitty never stalked anything fiercer than another
tin of Fancy Feast.
However, the performance also revealed a thornier problem.
Those who recall the late San Jose Symphony — many of
whose musicians now play for SSV — may also remember
a richer, fuller string sound. Fact is, SSV is a smaller orchestra,
mainly due to fewer strings. Even in the acoustic efficiency of
the California Theatre, its eight cellos struggle to deliver the
full-bodied richness of the 10 cellos from the old days. And it
can't help that concertmaster Robin Mayforth and principal
violist Patricia Whaley have been sidelined for some while by
injuries.
The struggle to get a beefier string presence was at its most
obvious in the louder passages of Sibelius' Symphony No. 5, a
vehicle that found Boughton with a much stronger interpretive
plan, and one that got a fine performance from the orchestra,
notwithstanding that nagging imbalance of sections. (Where
the program annotator got the idea that this is the most
popular of the seven Sibelius symphonies is anyone's guess.
Not that it matters to those of us who admire all seven, but the
Fifth lags far behind the Second in frequency of performance
and recordings.)
Each of the Sibelius symphonies has its unique characteristics. The works reveal a restless, creative spirit that refuses to recycle problems already solved and solutions already reached. This gives each of them an edgy urgency that particularly characterizes the Fifth. The opening movement, almost a variations in search of a theme, shares with the finale an exquisite study in harmonic suspension. How many other works develop and sustain such anxiety over such a long line? (And this in the era of postromantic chromaticism and atonality.) The middle movement — evidently the work was originally conceived in four movements — makes a variations out of an odd five-note rhythmic "theme." A highlight of the final movement was that sotto voce passage in the strings a third of the way through, in which tremolos turn into a swarm of buzzing bees. It's a sound that makes your skin crawl. Of course, the extravagant fanfares on brass with which the work draws to a close were thrilling in the room. Despite the work's formal and textural complexities, the orchestra acquitted itself handsomely. The audience response, however, seemed to suggest a lack of familiarity, the "most popular" claim notwithstanding. As an encore Boughton led the players in the composer's sad little Valse triste. Local hero Jon Nakamatsu, surprise winner of the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, took the stage for Grieg's Piano Concerto, that three-movement treasury of pungent and haunting "Nordic" themes. Nakamatsu features a light, lyrical touch, as befits his physical stature, but can come through spinto-style in flourishes. Overall, his was not a bravura or even muscular performance. This was a refreshing approach that sparkled and sang instead of thundered. In the slow passages, the pianist caressed the music with affection, yet displayed the full range of mastery and authority that one expects from a Van Cliburn gold-medallist. Nakamatsu got a huge ovation from the Sunday afternoon sell-out audience and returned the compliment with Schubert's Impromptu in E flat, D. 899.
(Scott MacClelland has written music criticism and
journalism since 1978 for all the major newspapers on the Monterey
Peninsula, and for the Metro papers in Santa Cruz and
San Jose. During the same period, he has taught music history
for Monterey Peninsula College.)
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Jon Nakamatsu
William Boughton
