San Francisco Classical Voice | August 14, 2002
By Nina Shuman
Whoever says the symphony orchestra is a dying art form will have to make its case against the Russian National Orchestra. Last Wednesday, August 14, these cultural ambassadors from Moscow presented an electrifying evening at St. John's Catholic Church in Napa. Under the direction of Carlo Ponti, Jr., one of the orchestra's associate conductors, RNO took a program of standard warhorses, made them all sound fresh and new, and sent a lot of patrons home very, very happy. With so many American orchestras on the brink of bankruptcy, struggling for survival, trying to figure out how to attract new audiences, employing all kinds of marketing ploys and programming hooks, I couldn't help wondering if there are any lessons to be garnered from our Russian friends.
Upon entering the church, the first thing that struck me was that the playing area was empty. No last minute practicing or casual conversation on stage. At 8:10 the members of the Russian National Orchestra made their entrance led by concertmaster Alexei Bruni. The string sections are arranged in a European configuration used in some of our opera houses but rare in the American symphonic world. From left to right, you see the first violins, then the celli, with double basses lined up behind them, then the violas, and second violins on the outside, close to the audience. The concertmaster did not stand to signal the oboe for an A, nor did he request separate A's for the various sections. He merely glanced at the principal, got one general A for all, and they were ready to proceed.
Conductor Carlo Ponti, Jr. has the dashing good looks of a 19th-century Romantic poet. He could be the perfect Lensky to Ralph Fiennes' Onegin. Ponti projected an excellent rapport and spirit of collaboration with his musicians and his audience, and both responded in kind with great enthusiasm. There is no contrived aestheticism in his leadership. His conducting is clear, precise and expressive. Every gesture was geared to anticipate character changes in the music and to give the players what they needed.
Silken Slavic strings
Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien begins with a fanfare played by two trumpets. The sound was somewhat brash as the players were not in absolute unison. They adjusted quickly and were perfectly in tune a few bars later when the fanfare is restated. At the first entrance of the strings, I had the sensation that someone had suddenly wrapped me in a very fine sable coat. Such warmth! Even the tympani were so beautifully in tune that they seemed to be singing.
Years ago I heard a recording of Timofei Dokschitzer playing Fritz Kreisler tunes on the trumpet and was utterly transported, and so I looked forward to hearing his transcription of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with great anticipation. Vladislav Lavrik, the trumpet soloist, navigated the opening glissando with great panache. This "young man with a horn" proved that he would do just fine in any big city. Lavrik has a gorgeous sound, with tasteful use of the wa-wa mute, and displayed the kind of innate musicality that is beyond teaching. The orchestra, on the other hand, came across as square, lacking in humor and in that special brand of jazziness associated with New York and intrinsic to this piece. Still, the RNO did well, as cultural ambassadors of a sort, to program a work by one of the great American composers.
The Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is of course a feast of instrumental colors, and the RNO reveled in them. In "Gnomus," the glissandi played by violas and celli emerged with enchanting prominence. "The Old Castle"'s saxophone solo was mellow and evocative, with the muted strings creating the shimmering effect of mist rising from the moat. "Tuileries" was executed with tremendous character and flexibility of tempo. Have you ever heard a tuba sound really beautiful? Such was Alexander Kazachenkov's rendition of the solo in "Bydlo" ("The Ox-cart"). Even in the loudest passages, the orchestra's dynamic level fit the context of the movement, keeping well-deserved focus on the tuba. "Chicks" was not played at breakneck speed, but was very clean. (Having only recently been exposed to real live chickens on a farm, I am still amazed at the ability of composers to portray them in music.)
In "Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle," the RNO exhibited an amazing unity of purpose in the unison passages, with another magnificent trumpet solo from Vladislav Lavrik. "Limoges" was the only movement lacking in precision and dynamic contrast. Almost as if to compensate, the entire brass section played with a wonderful range of dynamics throughout "Catacombs." In "The Little Hut" the bassoon had a lovely solo, and for the first time in my experience I actually heard a contrabassoon play quietly! "The Great Gate of Kiev" did not open with the grandeur it might have had if the brass chords had been more finely balanced. But the RNO did save the loudest for last, with an appropriately rousing response from the audience.
Mixed audience uniformly rapt
The audience was a prime representation of California inclusiveness. I spotted a number of ladies in formal designer gowns, young people, old people and just plain folk. Everyone seemed comfortable and, more importantly, engaged by the performance.
The orchestra played two encores, Mozart's Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, and Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla. Although the first is a piece the orchestra has recorded, it seemed a strange choice in this program. The woodwinds, especially the double-reeds, got swallowed by the large string sections (the performance inadvertently made an excellent case for using reduced string sections in music of this era). Ponti seemed to be working harder than he had all evening to maintain energy and unity of ensemble. Tempi fluctuated. It was as if they were all tired.
Any suggestion of fatigue was immediately dispelled at the start of the second encore. Suddenly everything was back in perfect balance. The orchestra seems to have this music embedded in its DNA: they could probably play it after 187 grueling hours on the road, and still take home the gold. Ponti seemed to know this, often barely conducting at all, having both arms at his side, allowing the orchestra to do what it does best. Many thanks to the Napa Valley Symphony and supporting sponsors for presenting this illustrious ensemble in our neck of the woods.
(Nina Shuman is a conductor living in northern California.)
© 2002 Nina Shuman, all rights reserved