SA Symphony, Rossen Milanov
Russia resists invaders; Brits hail one
May 9, 2009To a large degree, the Russian national identity has been defined by wars to defend the Motherland against invaders. The San Antonio Symphony’s concert of May 8, under guest conductor Rossen Milanov, opened and closed with chorus-and-orchestra tributes to two leaders of such wars.
Alexander Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” are drawn from the opera about Prince Igor Syvatoslavich the Brave, who in 1185 was defeated in battle against his former ally Khan Konchak of the Cumans but enjoyed the Khan’s hospitality as an honored prisoner. Serge Prokofiev’s “Alexander Nevsky” cantata originated in music for the Eisenstein film about Prince Alexander Yaroslavich’s campaigns against invading Swedes and Germans in the 13th century -- and intended to rouse the Russians against the expected invasion by the Third Reich in the 20th century. Between them came a weapon from the invasion of England by a solitary Austrian, Franz Josef Haydn -- his Symphony No. 100, “Military.” England surrendered.
Prokofiev was a master colorist, and in “Alexander Nevsky” he went over the top with thick globs of the weirdest, wildest, loudest, most shocking instrumental color combinations that the modern orchestra can provide. Milanov and the orchestra reveled in the sheer sonic opulence of the score, and Milanov apparently had the technical chops to hold taut the exteme complexities of the gargantuan “Battle on the Ice.”
Apart from a few rough attacks, the orchestra was in superb form, with special notice going to the elegant pedal points of principal tubist Lee Hipp and contrabassoonist Ron Noble. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Hines was a powerfully expressive soloist in the lament, “The Field of the Dead,” especially when she reached way down into her low register.
In Borodin, Milanov acquitted himself well with a singing line, crisp rhythms and a spit-shined finish from the orchestra. Principal clarinetist Ilya Shterenberg and principal flutist Hye Sung Choe delivered virtuosic solo work. In both Borodin and Prokofiev, the lower voices of the Mastersingers Chorus sang splendidly; the tenors sounded thin on top, and a bit of a wobble afflicted the sopranos.
Milanov’s leadership was stylish, witty and spirited in the Haydn symphony. The minuet got a particularly buoyant, high-stepping treatment.
Mike
Greenberg
