LINDSAY DEUTSCH Morihiko Nakahara Steps to the Plate
At last, the moment arrived to begin a new chapter of the South Carolina Philharmonic with its bright young conductor, Morihiko Nakahara. The electronic billboards and banners all over town tell us he’s “Maestro Morihiko.” Management of the orchestra has taken extraordinary steps to introduce him to the public with great flair, great taste and vitality. Apparently his last name has taken a back burner; once you’ve met him, you know it fits. The opening program of the seven-concert Master Series took on a just a little of the flavor of a pops concert — short works, all classics in their own way and all “fun” to listen to. The message in Nakahara’s programming seems to be: (1) classical music is not dead, and (2) we need to pay attention to what our contemporaries are presenting in classical music venues. A look at the entire season reveals that there is no absence of major works, all coupled with some attention to contemporary idioms, some of which might be viewed as “crossover” concepts. No harm: New ideas always re-mold traditional forms. Remember, Brahms hated Wagner. And Bach couldn’t leave old styles alone — he had to convert them to new ideas. This first program wasted no time establishing a tight ensemble with Mozart’s Overture to Idomeneo. Particularly the strings immediately displayed a higher standard than a number of past seasons have seen. We shall look forward to greater heights. The works after intermission, Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, Akira Ifukube’s Ballata Sinfonica (in two movements) and Antonin Dvorák’s Carnival Overture actually constituted the equivalent of a four-movement symphony while at the same time bringing in dances of Cuban and Mexican cultures, Western-influenced Japanese music, and plain old Bohemian fun. It was a brilliant grouping of works that transcended a “pops” concert. A surprise was — gasp — an encore! When did they find time to rehearse Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor? They did. And it was great, although Bugs Bunny didn’t appear. Shucks. The crème de la crème of the evening was virtuoso violinist Lindsay Deutsch, 23, playing one of the most formidable works for solo violin and orchestra of the last decade — John Corigliano’s “Chaconne” from The Red Violin. Deutsch, young though she may be, plays with the passion and virtuosity of a much older veteran. The enormous spectrum of emotions in Corigiliano’s work, which was developed from his thematic materials for the 1998 film The Red Violin (for which he took an Oscar), is a significant task for soloist and orchestra. While some may find its content a challenge, we can only assert that if you watch the film and revisit a recording of the Chaconne, you will find new and deeply meaningful doors opened to you. This excellent performance also challenged the orchestra and conductor to maintain such a fine standard. Brilliant touch again: immediately after the Corigliano, we heard Deutsch play “Meditation” from Thaïs by Jules Massenet, showing even more of the beauty of not only her innate technique and musicality, but of the excellence of the 1742 violin she plays. In this concert, Maestro Morihiko gave high priority to creating clarity and maintaining accuracy, coupled with his intense knowledge of the scores. His energetic, enthusiastic approach seemed to be contagious with the orchestra. One trusts that the orchestra will continue to reach for those standards that make music great. |