Bso Concert Review Dressed Up

BSO Concert Review

Dressed up for cacophony, and tasting for more -- might be an apt title for this Boston Symphony Orchestra concert conducted by Vasily Petrenko and, for the final performance, Assistant Conductor Julian Kuerti. This all-Russian program features Stravinsky's Scherzo Fantastique, Rachmaninoff's tone poem the Isle of the Dead, and the infamous, and the infamous Symphony #10 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Performances are October 8, 10, and 13 at 8pm, October 9 Matinee at 1:30 PM, Symphony Hall in Boston.

While each piece is unique, and perhaps the theme of Russian romanticism, neoclassicism, and even a bit of avant garde thrown in, one certainly needs to be in the mood for vibrancy, chromaticism, and angry percussivness for most of the evening. Even when the composers wax poetic, there is an underlying theme of dread, just under the surface and peaking through occasionally. Russian born conductor Vasily Petrenko, now with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, makes his BSO debut leading this all Russian fest with typical Russian fire, accentuating the dissonance and most especially showing his dichotomous training (Soviet vs. Russian) with the Shostakovich. Young conductor Julian Kuerti, though, brings just the right amount of testosterone and vibrancy to the final performance, neither rushing the musicians nor spending time languishing a phrase; although there are times in the Rachmaninoff one might have asked for a bit more "breathing" room in the phrasing.

The BSO, renowned for at least the last 50 years for the quality of its ensemble and virtuoso excellence of some of the top players, never disappoints. Two of this reviewers past favorites, Ray Still on Oboe and Richard Herseth on trumpet are aptly represented with the superb brass work of Thomas Rolfs and crew; and some of the most sublime oboe passages by Principal Oboe John Ferrillo, with whom one can clearly tell he had years of experience at the Metropolitan Opera, for his attention to detail literally sings through the woodwind section.

Each of the Russian offerings has a unique place in the musical life of the individual composer. Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead was based on a painting by Arnold Bocklin and completed between January and March 1909, while Rachmaninoff was living in Dresden. Bocklin painted numerous versions of Isle, but it is Rachmaninoff's dirgelike vision of the rowing motif, the Dies Irae of the Latin mass, that remains as constant. and, in typical Rachmaninoff fashion, the BSO is perfect for the piece with its sweeping tonality, clashes of chromaticism, and simple theme, yet complex underpinnings.

Stravinsky studied under the great Russian pedagogue and master of the tone poem, Rimsky-Korsakoff. This is nowhere near as obvious as listening to the harmonization and almost studied use of the different sections of the orchestra in their technical glory. Indeed, the opening of the Scherzo fantastique almost sounds as if a younger Rimsky-Korsakoff added on to Scheherazade or Tsar Sultan. Comic and tragic both, every instrument scored is left out to "sink or swim" and is exposed in the delightful character of the piece.