San Antonio Symphony, SL-L, Bernd Glemser
Music of, and from, the shadows
October 30, 2011On Oct. 27 at the Majestic Theater, San Antonio Symphony music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing and his forces offered an appropriately chilling lineup in observance of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. At its center was Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” which employs the ominous Dies Irae plainsong from the Latin Requiem Mass, cleverly juxtaposed with Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz (Dance of Death)," S. 126.” The latter’s alternative title is “Paraphrase on ‘Dies Irae’ for Piano and Orchestra.”
Arvo Pärt’s mesmerizing “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten” opened the concert. The finale was Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 2, which fits the chill-factor because, although it sounds warm and hope-filled, it was written during the height of Schumann’s struggle with the insanity that ultimately defeated him.
German pianist Bernd Glemser was the virtuosic soloist, whose crisp, solid attacks and impeccably clear articulation were balanced with thoughtful phrasing and diaphanous filigree. This was especially evident in his glowing account of the Rachmaninoff. The justly famous showpiece twists and turns material from a Paganini violin caprice into 24 inventive variations that range from almost tossed off to impassioned to wry and witty.
Mr. Glemser’s seemingly endless tonal palette was expertly matched by the orchestra, especially in the soaring grace of the familiar 18th variation.
The pianist’s shoulder-length curls helped to evoke the apocryphal image of Liszt performing for audiences of swooning women. But this was no gimmick. Mr. Glemser delivered an assured, revelatory account of the "Totentanz." There was the requisite flash and low-bass pounding, but there were also moments of delicate pianissimos. In response, Mr. Lang-Lessing and the orchestra were at their devil-dancing best, particularly in the finale’s deliciously wild syncopation.
Mr. Lang-Lessing led his savory, expertly balanced view of the Schumann without a score. It began with an unusually sprightly Allegro, moving to a Scherzo that was equally brisk and energetic. Here, the upper strings brought commendable sewing-machine clarity to their perpetual motion sections.
The Adagio was positively luminous, while the exuberant finale featured excellent solo work by flutist Tal Perkes and oboist Mark Ackerman.
Pärt had admired Benjamin Britten's music and had always hoped to meet the composer himself, but that was not to be. The piece is minimalist in flavor, scored for strings and a single bell tuned to A. It is built on chromatics and downward A-minor scales that move and overlap each other in different ways. The reading was transparent and exquisitely crafted, but it might have had more impact if there had been a spoken program note from the stage.
In all, the agenda was a provocative exploration of ways to fear, accept or even celebrate the grim reaper and his ilk.
Diane
Windeler
