Dave Getzschman
The last time a Madison audience heard Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 was this past June when our own Paran Amiranizari played it with the Middleton Community Orchestra. But here it was again, when guest soloist Giora Schmidt joined the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra on Feb. 23.
The work is, of course, a masterpiece of concerto literature and Schmidt played it brilliantly, with perfect precision and verve. He let loose his virtuosic powers full steam in the third movement. But in the first two, I heard an unexpected degree of restraint. In deference to lyric lines, he muted showiness and allowed his solo part to merge into the total orchestral texture. In all, it was a wonderfully absorbing performance by a superb musician.
Schmidt’s encore was the Adagio from Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor for unaccompanied violin.
On either side of the concerto, Maestro Andrew Sewell contrived a nice division of forces, winds on one side, and strings on the other.
Charles Gounod is not often considered an instrumental composer, but he contributed his share. His Petite Symphonie for wind nonet (flute with pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns) is a kind of 19th-century echo of the glorious wind divertimenti and serenades by Mozart and others a century earlier, but as filtered through the Romantic form of the four-movement symphony. It is an artificial work in its way, but a charming one, and the WCO winds were exemplary in tone and ensemble.
On the other side of the concerto came Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade for Strings. Sometimes a familiar work deserves a chance for a fresh hearing, and Sewell provided that opportunity. I counted about 19 players, which encouraged clarity. For the first time I was able to appreciate how much triple meter informs the first three movements. In the first, the composer is juggling his modified sonata form with the lilt of the waltz, which Sewell brought out subtly. Of course, the second movement is plainly labeled a waltz, and Sewell inflected it with wonderful flexibility. Even the elegiac third movement is in triple time, but to more thoughtful effect. Only in the final movement does a rollicking duple meter come in, leading to a return of the first movement’s introduction.
We often forget that the tuneful Tchaikovsky was such a skillful composer. Sewell and his splendid string players remind us of that — and what superb musicianship he brings to his work in Madison.
