Music Reviews

Sep 13, 2004 - The Reno Philharmonic opens its 36th season with a lovely set of boffo performances

By Jack Neal

Breathes there a man (or woman) with soul so dead they disdain lushly romantic music. If so, they would have been quite alone at Sunday afternoon's (9/12/04) stunningly romantic 36th season opener for the Reno Philharmonic.

The near capacity audience was enthralled, to say the least, with the Philharmonic's big, rich sound, the superb virtuosity and sublime musicianship of pianist Jon Nakamatsu, and - as always at the start of his seventh season - the exacting and impassioned leadership of conductor Barry Jekowsky.

From the stirring strains of "The Star Spangled Banner" (how thrilling to hear our National Anthem as it should be heard) and the roof-raising brass sounds of Dukas' Fanfare from "La Peri," through the darkly voluptuous intensity of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, the concert was awash in rich textures and colors and quite wonderful on all counts.

Performing the Brahms Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra is not for the timid. Nor is it for the brash and vulgar. Jon Nakamatsu, the 1997 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, is neither timid nor vulgar. He brings a sensational technique to the concerto's extensive demands, but never lapses into mere keyboard athletics. His playing does dazzle, however. It also touches the heart and that's exactly as it should be.

The collaboration between Nakamatsu, Jekowsky and the distinguished musicians of the Reno Philharmonic, beautiful work by cellist Peter Lenz and exquisite playing by violinist Philip Ruder (to name two), created a benchmark reading that must be as Brahms envisioned - or very close to it.

The concerto is strong, powerful and intensely communicative. Nothing is lost between Brahms and his audience with this fully satisfying rendition. With the world's new breed of concert pianists there can be an all too clinical approach to what's tasteful that squeezes the thrill out performances. The powerhouse pianists from the past, such as Gieseking, most often threw caution to the winds. There's nothing clinical about Nakamatsu's Brahms. Neither is there anything clinical about Jekowsky's conducting. The string portimenti he encourages at the start of the Allegro appassionato movement is but one example of the detailed feeling that makes this conductor such an attractive interpreter of music that oozes with character.



If Eugene Ormandy learned to conduct Rachmaninoff at the feet of the composer, Barry Jekowsky must be in touch with Rachmaninoff and Ormandy by osmosis. Rachmaninoff dedicated his Symphonic Dances to Ormandy and his favorite orchestra, the Philadelphia. And what a terrific orchestra it was and is. And what a fine orchestra the Reno Philharmonic is and will continue to be.

Jekowsky shapes the dances as Rachmaninoff, when conducting, would have shaped them. The dances have a progression from lushness to dispair, from longing to exhilaration and Jekowsky misses nothing nor is anything over done. The performance builds slowly and methodically to its climax in the middle of the third movement. The deliberate pacing draws out orchestral coloration and textures creating brilliant flashes of instrumentation - some morose, others tender, still others triumphant. Peter Epstein's melancholy alto saxophone sounds in the second movement fits in perfectly with Jekowsky's and the orchestra's exacting attention to tonal shadings and color.

For Rachmaninoff lovers, and there are lots of us out here, the Reno Philharmonic's splendid take on Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances is an encounter with a collection of romantic masters (composer, conductor and orchestra) to die for.

Sunday's concert will be repeated Tuesday, September 14, 2004, at 7:30 p.m. All Reno Philharmonic MasterClassics concerts are performed at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia Street, Reno.

The orchestra's next series of programs will be October 10 and 12, 2004, and will feature Mozart's Symphony No. 36 ("Linz"), Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 with violinist Daniel Khalikov, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8. For information about Reno Philharmonic events call 775-323 6393.