Elgin Symphony Orchestra's "Tour of Italy" Concert Features World Premieres

In an age of eight-beat riffs and six-second viral videos, it's a risk to present new music for the concert hall, demanding great faith in musicians, composers and audiences. The ESO courageously performed two new works this weekend by composer and trumpet virtuoso Brandon Ridenour, with guest conductor Tania Miller.

Ridenour's amazing technique sparkled in his transcription of Vivaldi's operatic aria "Agitata da due venti," (1735) originally a difficult soprano vocal whose ornate leaps and flights could not have been played by the trumpets of the past. But the solo translates beautifully into brass, and its strings-only accompaniment creates an authentic setting in which to hear this baroque gem in a brilliant new way.

Brandon Ridenour performs with the Elgin
Symphony Orchestra, conducted by
Tania Miller

The attention-grabbing start of Ridenour's new work Fantasy Variations on a Theme by Paganini heralds the trumpet of the future, exploring new accents if not new language that frees it to speak beyond its usual ceremonial fanfares. Ridenour inhabits every tone and temper of his horn with exquisite control and focus, and his orchestral writing is high quality. They say good music is "music you want to hear again." Though a bit didactic at times, this "Fantasy" demands further listening.

Canadian Maestra Tania Miller's conducting was scholarly at first and warmed with the audience's appreciation, which was rewarded with an encore trumpet performance of "Carnival of Venice."

The most Italianate piece of the evening was its delightful opener, Rossini's overture to L'Italiana in Algeri (1813), but it only hinted at a larger repertoire by Verdi and Puccini who were missed on this program.  

Taking their place was Aus Italien, (1887) a lengthy symphonic fantasy by a young Richard Strauss recalling his visit to Italy. Shades of his future greatness were clearly evident in the imaginative score, but at times you felt as if a dear friend was telling you about his vacation in too much detail. Nonetheless, the orchestra showed precision and great flourishes of individual talent in this wind-friendly piece.

No tour of Italy would be complete without a little commotion. Friday's fire evacuation and Saturday's audio miscue only served to highlight the professionalism of the ESO staff and artists. The true test of the audience's depth is when they continue to flock to concerts for programs of widely varying period, style and genre, including that most daring of all categories: new music.

Audience Shouts Praises in Elgin Symphony Orchestra Concert

Like a first kiss, or airplane flight, or view of the Grand Canyon, some sensations transform us by their newness. Such was the feeling at the Hemmens Sunday, as the Elgin Symphony Orchestra presented "Pictures at an Exhibition", dedicated to legendary ESO patrons Edward and Pearle Brody, with guest conductor Steven Jarvi. 

In front of a capacity crowd Sunday, the ESO performed a brilliant series of works that paired creative risks with sheer musical excellence that drew unscripted exclamations from listeners throughout the hall.

Maurice Ravel's five-part Mother Goose suite (1912) showcased the ESO's intuitive treatment of an impressionist master's colorful orchestration. Exquisite woodwind solos and choreographed flashes of percussion decorated a rapidly shifting subtle palette of string textures. Combined with the projected subtitles quoting some of Ravel's own annotations from the score, the experience was as fresh as childhood -- or what it might be like for an audience of 1912 to see "silent" moving pictures for the first time.

ESO audiences love to hear from the conductor or the artists, and program commentary by Mr. Jarvi was well-received, as were remarks by ESO musicians and staff highlighting the considerable wealth of talent, training and instrumentation collected on stage, and a sincere appeal for sponsorships. All eyes were on the program booklet, reflecting a recent makeover with some excellent new content, subtly disguising the abundant space available for new advertisers (downtown restaurants, this means you!).

The program's top billing (and finale) was Ravel's well-known version (1922) of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), a suite of movements written in memory of 19th century Russian artist and architect Victor Hartmann. To complement the orchestra's learned yet sensuous performance, a series of thematically-linked images was projected overhead. Rather than distract or detract from the music, the video effectively added a stimulating layer of interpretation to the piece, which itself was inspired by a visual medium.

The highest point in this superb program was Ghost Ranch, a 2006 work by Michigan composer Michael Dougherty. Inspired by the scenery and artist's lore of the New Mexican desert that painter Georgia O'Keefe called home, the three-part piece transports you to an untamed American wilderness of extremes: at times light and dark, hot and cold, lonesome and overpowering. With one astonishing performance after another, individuals and sections brought forth mile after mile of changing sonic climates, flaunting wildly unorthodox playing techniques, free rhythmic episodes, abrupt seating changes and unwavering courage to follow Maestro Jarvi through a complex landscape of tempos and tonalities. The compositional language was clearly American, phrased in modern, but accessible idioms -- exactly the right balance for this perceptive but pragmatic audience, who whispered "wow!," "very unusual", and "this is wild!" throughout. It must have been a thrill for Mr. Dougherty, seated in the hall, to hear this piece played so well.

The orchestra sounded superb throughout the expansive program of 100 minutes, and received two standing ovations. Steven Jarvi's conducting was powerful, precise and genuine, showing a refinement well beyond his years; the admiration of the ensemble was evident. 

And Elgin clearly loved this adventuresome program. Technology continues to change how -- and how directly -- ordinary people engage with the fine arts, and this orchestra, this concert hall, and this city are poised to become pioneers once again: of a whole new territory in art music.