Compelling Drama, Mesmerizing Virtuosity
Pianist Michelle Cann 
Gerhardt Zimmermann
By Tom Wachunas
…No, no, no, no, no, no, no /I'm overdue /I'm really
in a stew/
No time to say goodbye, hello /I'm late, I'm late, I'm
late
- Lyrics from “I’m Late” from Disney film Alice in Wonderland
Late indeed. With Thanksgiving
nipping at our heels, I’m slowly returning to my writeful place here on
ARTWACH, and very grateful for all the loving encouragement you readers sent my
way following my previous post about my medical woes. So here’s a long overdue
THANK YOU to the Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO), now celebrating its 85the
Anniversary, for yet another superb adventure into sheer musical excellence.
In writing about the CSO’s October 30
concert, Music Director and Conductor Gerhardt Zimmermann casually mentioned
that a few of the selections were meant to “…help usher in Halloween the next
day…” Fittingly, the intriguing thematic diversity of the program of four works
certainly did include a few especially haunting journeys to the dark side.
The evening
commenced with César Franck’s 1883 macabre symphonic poem, Le Chasseur
maudit (The Accursed Huntsman). The work was inspired by a ballad by German
poet Gottfried August Bűrger, and tells the tale of The Count of Rhine who, on
one fateful Sunday, decided to forego obligatory church devotions in favor of
galloping into the woods to hunt, happily blowing his horn. The absolutely sumptuous
sounds of the CSO strings and bright percussive chimes calling the faithful to
worship on a sunny day soon enough gave way to the piercing clarity of the
naughty horn calls. The hapless hunter proceeds to ride his way into the darkness
wrought by his guilty conscience and subsequent pursuit by Satanic demons. For
desecrating the Sabbath, the hunter became hunted by Hell itself. In telling
the story, the orchestra quite effectively soared to chilling depths of aural
scariness.
And then, a
mesmerizing respite from bittersweet morbidity transpired, thanks to the
exquisite technical virtuosity of guest soloist Michelle Cann. Her dazzling piano
wizardry was truly a wonder to behold as she brought to light and life the effulgent
lyricism of Piano Concerto in One Movement, composed in 1934 by African -American
composer Florence Price (1887-1953).
Cann returned after intermission to further
regale us with jaw-dropping panache in her rendering of Richard Strauss’s
complex and rowdy Burleske for Piano and Orchestra. When the enthralled
audience clamored for an encore, Cann eagerly obliged. With stern authority,
she pounded the keyboard with the first three brooding chords of Rachmaninoff’s
iconic Prelude in C sharp minor. But
then, not missing a beat (and no doubt in a Halloween spirit of clever mischief),
Cann immediately unleashed a raucous and riveting mashup of Rachmaninoff’s
motifs into a blindingly fast and seamless hybrid of jazzy- boogie-woogie -
ragtime variations. At once brilliant and hilarious.
The evening
concluded with yet another fierce trip into doom - Tchaikovsk’s magnificent
1876 Symphonic Fantasy, Fransesca da Rimini. For this narrative, Tchaikovsky
sourced Dante Alighieri’s iconic 1321 allegory, The Divine Comedy, particularly
its visit to the second circle of Hell, where sins of the flesh are punished,
the sinners whipped mercilessly by roaring winds in eternal darkness. In a
stunning interlude - slowly developed with achingly sweet melodies - Fransesca
da Rimini and her lover Paolo are allowed to rise above the torture and tumult long
enough to recall their carnal happiness in one of Tchaikovsky’s most
heartrending love themes, only to be sent back to explosive torment. When the
last frenetic cymbal crashes and violent drum rolls sounded the anguished finale
of this work, please don’t think me too frivolous when I say I could
practically hear a replay of the rattled lion’s chant in the Wizard of Oz movie,
“I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks, I do I do I do
I DO!”
And so once
again, when all was played and done, I too remained a believer. Certainly not
in fictional ‘spooks’ as such, but far more importantly, in the Canton Symphony
Orchestra as a palpable aesthetic force, haunting – and blessing – us with its
always potent and inspiring embrace of pure, artful sublimity.
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