Kaler played an absorbing encore of Bach’s Partita No. 3.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra opened its season with a strong program and a magnificent guest soloist, Russian violinist Ilya Kaler.
The Oct. 14 concert at Overture Hall began with the Symphony No. 5 in D, one of eight “Little Symphonies” that were originally conceived as overtures to dramatic works. The composer was the Englishman William Boyce (1711-1779). I grew up listening to — and loving — early recordings of the entire set. This one calls for trumpets and timpani. It’s a real rouser and, I suspect, an ear-opener for many in the audience.
Next came a warhorse, Tchaikovsky’s famed Violin Concerto, brought to new life by Kaler. This violinist has the work in his blood and his bones. He is able to make every note count, even the tricky ones, expressing freedom in rhythm and volume — not for vulgar display but for realizing the music in full. This was perhaps the work’s most extraordinarily beautiful and convincing performance I have ever heard.
For a change, the encore was as absorbing as a full concerto. Kaler played a movement from Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E for unaccompanied violin. He applied all his artistry to shaping Bach’s music into a beautiful gem.
This concert stands out for introducing us to Ilya Kaler; we must have him back.
But there was still more. After the intermission, we heard Schubert’s Symphony No. 4 in C minor, written when Schubert was 19 and being influenced by Mozart’s G-minor and Beethoven’s C-major Symphonies. Though this piece has often been overshadowed by Schubert’s bucolic Fifth and his last two symphonies, the composer really found his orchestral voice in this score for the first time. All praise to Sewell for programming it.
For this concert, the WCO roster included only 20 string players, which diminished the richness of the Tchaikovsky piece even as it allowed the audience a chance to hear the ingenuity of Tchaikovsky’s wind writing. But the “imbalance” was a blessing for the Schubert, because we heard clearly how well the precocious young composer had mastered the effective use of the woodwinds.
