A
Ravishing Anniversary Performance from the Canton Symphony
By Tom Wachunas
On
February 16, 1938, the newly formed Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO), conducted
by Richard W. Oppenheim, gave its first-ever concert at the Canton City
Auditorium before a sold-out crowd of 3,300 listeners. Seventy-five years to the day after that
rousing debut, the CSO re-created the same program in Umstattd Hall with a
clearly impassioned Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann at the podium, conducting an
equally inspired orchestra.
The program consisted of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony No. 94,
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and
Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave. So while
this was a concert of very familiar works which have endured as international
audience favorites, there was nothing “old hat” or phlegmatic about
Zimmermann’s reading of the material. As always, he effectively ignited this
orchestra’s riveting unity of purpose and youthful capacity for investing the
familiar with startlingly fresh aural fire. What was old became new again,
wholly meriting repeated jubilant ovations from an enthralled audience.
Much of the CSO’s signature charisma is
rooted in the astonishing string section, which on this occasion was as warmly
sonorous, technically impeccable and powerfully emotive as I’ve ever heard,
beginning with the Beethoven. It is no small feat to make the dramatic tensions
and spirit of triumphal heroism of Egmont
a palpable, heartfelt reality. And that is precisely what the orchestra achieved
here with an edge-of-your-seat intensity.
Though certainly less stormy in nature (and
indeed lightweight by comparison), Haydn's Symphony No. 94 is nonetheless
sweetly engaging in its overall lyricism and vigorous effervescence – qualities
which the orchestra rendered with jaunty confidence. As for the so-called
surprises in the work, I think that (excepting for those listeners who may have
never before encountered the piece) the sudden fortissimo chord with
accompanying drum whack in the lilting second movement, and the unexpectedly
loud timpani roll in the spritely final movement, retain their appeal in
much the same way a classic joke does. You know the punch line and when it’s
coming, yet it still brings a smile every time.
For
the second half of the evening, everything
that makes this musical body a true cultural treasure was in glorious form.
From the precisely balanced aural dynamics of all sections working together and
depth of color and texture, to the many flawless passages from soloists, the
entire orchestra brought breathtaking thrust to the complex musicality of the
exotic Scheherazade and the
relentless, thundering panache of Marche
Slave.
Throughout Scheherazade, Concertmaster Lauren Roth poured an unforgettable and
otherwise larger-than-life dimensionality into her soaring violin cadenzas. The
intense sensuality of her bowing brought to mind a sorceress wielding her magic
wand to entrance us with intriguing tales of love and adventure. Her playing
often exuded a mournful urgency, at times beautifully echoed in the solo
passages from principal cellist Erica Snowden. Roth’s inspiring virtuosity is a
vital asset to this orchestra, already rich with unassailable artistry.
According to a recent article in The
Repository, Canton’s daily newspaper, at one point during the original 1938
concert, the vice-chairman of the Canton Symphony Association said to the
audience, “We have sown musical seeds in Canton. Now it is up to us to keep the
soil fertile and cultivated.” Seventy-five years later, it is eminently clear
that Canton has reaped a sumptuous, bountiful harvest.
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