BSO performance awakens classical love
Last Thursday, under the direction of Robert Spano, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed two monumental pieces of the classical repertoire. As the concert took place, the Meyerhoff resonated with the poignant lyricism of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" and flourished with the compelling melodies and grandiose chords of Stravinsky's "The Firebird."
Before these pieces began, though, violinist Leila Josefowicz performed John Adams' Violin Concerto.
A well-performed, fluid piece, Josefowicz set the stage for the rest of the show and captured the attention of the audience.
The legend behind "Scheherazade" tells of the famous Persian king Shahryar who beheaded a new wife everyday as repercussion for his first wife's disloyalty. He grants one particular wife - Scheherazade - permission to tell her sister a story before her final night.
The king becomes so mesmerized by the tale that he allows her to continue night after night. After 1001 nights, he has come to love her and thus spares her life.
Similarly, "The Firebird" is a tale of romance. It recounts the story of Prince Ivan, who - while wandering through Kashchei the Immortal's magical realm - catches a firebird who agrees to help Ivan in return for freedom.
Ivan then falls in love with a princess under Kashchei's spell and must fight the Immortal to win her over.
Assisted by the firebird, Ivan discovers the secret to Kashchei's and The Firebird are in every sense perfect exercises in transforming words read on paper to notes heard by the ear. In Korsakov's piece, the first violin both rings out and weeps the soulful words of Scheherazade herself, showing the audience that the heroine fears her impending doom. At each recapitulation of the music, this melancholy aura is reinforced by the ominous thumping of the lower brass and rebounds of the strings-as if leading the that lonely violin to its own tragedy. At the same time, though, the light and brilliant woodwind tunes ever so gently push through these motifs and relieve the first violin of its fate phrase after phrase-just as Scheherazade is saved night after night.
Before these pieces began, though, violinist Leila Josefowicz performed John Adams' Violin Concerto.
A well-performed, fluid piece, Josefowicz set the stage for the rest of the show and captured the attention of the audience.
The legend behind "Scheherazade" tells of the famous Persian king Shahryar who beheaded a new wife everyday as repercussion for his first wife's disloyalty. He grants one particular wife - Scheherazade - permission to tell her sister a story before her final night.
The king becomes so mesmerized by the tale that he allows her to continue night after night. After 1001 nights, he has come to love her and thus spares her life.
Similarly, "The Firebird" is a tale of romance. It recounts the story of Prince Ivan, who - while wandering through Kashchei the Immortal's magical realm - catches a firebird who agrees to help Ivan in return for freedom.
Ivan then falls in love with a princess under Kashchei's spell and must fight the Immortal to win her over.
Assisted by the firebird, Ivan discovers the secret to Kashchei's and The Firebird are in every sense perfect exercises in transforming words read on paper to notes heard by the ear. In Korsakov's piece, the first violin both rings out and weeps the soulful words of Scheherazade herself, showing the audience that the heroine fears her impending doom. At each recapitulation of the music, this melancholy aura is reinforced by the ominous thumping of the lower brass and rebounds of the strings-as if leading the that lonely violin to its own tragedy. At the same time, though, the light and brilliant woodwind tunes ever so gently push through these motifs and relieve the first violin of its fate phrase after phrase-just as Scheherazade is saved night after night.
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