Eric Gratz
incident light
Stravinsky himself conducted the San Antonio Symphony in the 1945 version of his Firebird Suite on Feb. 1, 1947, in the Municipal Auditorium, which then occupied the site of the present Tobin Center. He also conducted his Scherzo à la Russe, Four Norwegian Moods and Circus Polka, in addition to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 and Glinka’s Russlan and Ludmilla Overture. Thanks to symphony librarian Greg Vaught for the information.
Why did Stravinsky assemble the 1945 suite, his third and longest repackaging of excerpts from the ballet score? Because the United States didn't recognize the European copyrights on the two previous versions (1911 and 1919), and thus Stravinsky didn't earn royalties on them when they were performed in the US.
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Firebird? Sweet!
music
March 18, 2017
A lustrous performance of Igor
Stravinsky’s 1945 suite from his
Firebird ballet score capped a San
Antonio Symphony program of
brilliantly colored music from early
20th century Europe, March 17 in the
Tobin Center. Music director
Sebastian Lang-Lessing was in charge,
and concertmaster Eric Gratz had an
impressive solo turn in the concert’s
centerpiece, Béla Bartók’s Violin
Concerto No. 1.
As it turns out, Mr. Gratz had a tough
act to follow. His deskmate, associate
concertmaster Bonnie Terry, had
already delivered a heart-meltingly
lovely solo (with as beautiful a vibrato
as I’ve ever heard) in the Nocturne
movement of Aram Khachaturian’s
Masquerade Suite, originating as
incidental music for a 1941 production
of Lermontov’s harrowing play.
Khachaturian was only briefly out of
favor with the Soviet authorities, and
his inclusion in the infamous 1948
denunciation of the Soviet Union’s
most famous composers likely had nothing to do with his music, which never leaned to “formalist” (“elitist,” in American parlance) inaccessibility. His Masquerade suite is thoroughly populist, with sturdy, memorable melodies and brilliant orchestrations. Mr. Lang-Lessing conducted the whole with his customary sense of the long line and theatrical aplomb. The concluding circuslike “Galop” was sublimely silly. The orchestra fell a trifle shy of its usual standard of precision, but on the while this was a vivacious performance.
The Firebird Suite came as near to perfection as anyone might wish — a real stunner, among the most polished, unified, alert performances by this orchestra in my memory. Every principal player was a star, with special notice going to principal oboe Paul Lueders, who brought his sensitive phrasing and supple dynamics to one solo after another.
The music for Firebird, dating from 1909-10, has roots in Russian folk traditions and the exotic Romanticism of Rimsky-Korsakov, but it also looks ahead to the objectivity of Stravinsky’s neoclassical and serial styles. Mr. Lang-Lessing’ masterful leadership conveyed both aspects in equal measure — the sweeping melodies and luxurious colors of the previous century, but also the pinpoint focus and rhythmic bite of emerging Modernism. Once gain, credit is also due to a•’ku•stiks, the acoustical consultants for the Tobin Center’s H-E-B Performance Hall. This music and that space were made for each other; the combination was absolutely glorious.
Bartók composed his first violin concerto in 1907-8 for a young violinist, Stefi Geyer, with whom he was smitten. She turned him down flat and tossed her copy of the score into a drawer. It was never performed until after her death in 1956. It’s in just two movements, the first a virtually continuous love song spun by the soloist, the second sprightly and witty. Both movements, but especially the second (allegro giocoso) show the strong influence of Richard Strauss, but with somewhat more-advanced harmonies anticipating Bartók’s individual later style.
There was a touch of emotional reticence in Mr. Gratz’s account of the opening andante, but in this case reticence was eloquent. The glistening purity and focus of his tone, the accuracy of his aim, and his ability to draw the listener’s attention with the merest wisp of a pianissimo made for a mesmerizing performance. In the allegro, Mr. Gratz’s variegated colors, limitless technique and twinkle-in-the-eye expressivity were sheer delight. He rewarded a rousing ovation with an encore, Paganini’s Caprice No. 21.
Mike Greenberg
San Antonio Symphony, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Eric Gratz
Igor Stravinsky