Clarinetist Joseph Morris demonstrates the nuances of his instrument.
The Madison Symphony Orchestra opened its season on Friday Sept. 27 at Overture Hall with a beautifully varied program, demonstrating the talent and range of the ensemble.
Beethoven struggled with writing the overture to his only opera, “Fidelio” (originally titled “Leonore”). In fact, he composed four. The first three, known as “Leonore” Overtures, showed him trying to follow Mozart’s lead by using actual music from the body of the score in the overture.
At the same time, the composer could not resist his symphonic instincts, and the best known of the three, Leonore Overture No. 3, is his finest effort at combining the two aims.
Conductor John DeMain is careful to delineate the operatic dimensions, but his heart lies with Beethoven the symphonist, and he brings off a thoughtful but thrilling performance, for which the orchestra plays splendidly.
Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto is a kind of portrait of Benny Goodman, for whom it was written. Copland was no stranger to jazz, but he created a gorgeous blues-inspired first movement to contrast with a jivey, irregular and totally Coplandesque second movement, connected by a virtuosic cadenza.
The absolutely brilliant new, young first clarinetist of the orchestra, Joseph Morris, is a fabulous soloist. During simple passages and extremely demanding fast ones, he is able to meet the great virtuosic demands while also demonstrating the nuances of color of which the clarinet is capable. The accompaniment by strings with harp and piano is spot-on, though I wonder if all 63 players of the string band are really necessary in this intimately conceived score.
The raw meat of the occasion is provided by Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, perhaps the most bombastic of the composer’s six — at least in the opening and closing movements. It is also his most personal, charting his great emotional turmoil during a tumultuous time of his life. Maestro DeMain gives the bombast its due, and the orchestra conveys magnificent power. But he also pays close attention to the score’s constant lyricism; Tchaikovsky was one of the greatest melodists among composers. The result is a performance of moving poignancy, contrasted with vulgarity. Nowadays, it is difficult to find conductors who can achieve that balance.
The MSO has two remaining performances of this program at Overture Hall: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8:00 and Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2:30 p.m.