In addition to being uniformly
excellent, the Kansas City Symphony can also be called “gutsy”. A
new recording from the New York Philharmonic seems to be a world wide
event due to its rarity, and we here little or nothing out of former
recording giants Cleveland, Philadelphia and Chicago. So here is our
local band awaiting the release of its 5th recording, is
in the process of recording its 6th and has the 7th in the planning stages. How things have changed.
The Kansas City Symphony is also gutsy
in its choice of works to record. Often, regional orchestras record
works that perhaps they have premiered, have a local connection or
are not exactly standard repertoire. The Kansas City recordings have
featured works by Britten, Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Prokofiev and
Bartok, to name a few, that are standard repertoire or have
“definitive” recordings. The current project, again being
recorded by Reference Recordings, is a blend of the familiar and
rare: an all Saint-Saëns disc with the Introduction and Rondo
Capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra op. 28 , the less known “La
Muse et le Poete”, op 132 for Violin, Cello and Orchestra and the
popular Symphony # 3 “Organ” op 78. Concertmaster Noah Geller is
the violin solo, Principal Mark Gibbs is on cello and Jan Kraybill
handles the Cassavant organ. Michael Stern was on the podium.
"La Muse et le Poète," for
solo violin, solo cello and orchestra orchestra is undoubtedly the
least known of the three works. A Late work, La Muse shows the
influence of Debussy, Ravel and the younger French school, with its
denser harmonies, lush orchestration and rhapsodic form. The two
soloists are rarely heard together, the work is more of a spirited
conversation than any deep, dramatic encounter. Both violin and cello
are treated to many virtuoso passages, which both Geller and Gibbs
negotiated with poise and flair. This recording has some competition,
notably with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis that seems to be out of
print, but on first hearing, this well recorded and passionate
performance should stand up nicely.
The Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
is a much earlier work (1863 ), written in Spanish mode for the
virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. Plenty of competition for this short but
always entertaining chestnut, but on first hearing this performance
stands well with the rest. Geller's tone was always precise and
clear, his rubato in the famous rondo theme was just right, the many
double stops perfectly executed and always sympathetic orchestra
accompaniment. The dramatic introduction was pleading and romantic, a
perfect foil for the more animated rondo.
The well known Symphony # 3 “Organ”
will complete the disc and thus was the finale for the evening's
program. The orchestra chose this work to inaugurate the organ back
in June of 2012 and this performance, with Jan Kraybill at the organ
instead of Paul Jacobs, was quite similar. Impressive then as now was
how well the organ was integrated into the whole orchestral fabric.
The whole performance was stately with a quite slow second movement
that might not find favor with all but certainly accentuated the
lushness of the movement. The organ's grand entrance in the final
movement was grand but not earth shattering; again it was more
integrated to the texture. Stern kept the final moments under control
as well, not letting the tympani blows turn into a frenzy of
uncoordinated sound and fury. A cool-ish performance, some might want
it more white hot, but this one concentrated on the music not the
showmanship.
Another star of the evening was the
array of microphones arranged for the recording. Not only did they
threaten to send Maestro Stern and the soloists flying off the stage,
the raising of the microphone stand to capture the organ got a hearty
ovation itself.
Look for a new Reference Recordings
Kansas City Symphony release soon: Prokofiev “Love for Three
Oranges”, Hindemith “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl
Maria von Weber” and the Bartok Suite from the Miraculous Mandarin.