This weekend brought a huge program to the Schnitz.\u00c2\u00a0 Huge how?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, first, in terms of a major new talent that is just beginning to be known here in America, the Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.\u00c2\u00a0 Second, the Walton First Symphony, a gigantic workout for the entire orchestra that makes a similarly large (read LOUD) sonic statement in its second performance in OSO history.<\/p>\n
Where to start with violinist Baiba Skride (BYE-beh SCREED-eh)?\u00c2\u00a0 She’s got virtually flawless technique, with a paradoxically rich, yet transparent sound, and one of the finest Strad violins (from 1725) I’ve ever laid eyes (and ears) on.\u00c2\u00a0 In her opening night performance (and preceding rehearsals) she managed to take the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto<\/strong> from being merely a self-aggrandizing showpiece parody (as often witnessed in the progeny of the Galamian\/DeLay school) to a satisfying musical experience with an over-arching shape that makes the second and third movements part of the structure rather than simply being encores for the wad-blowing of the first movement.\u00c2\u00a0 She actually follows the many tempo instructions given by the composer (and opens all of the customary cuts), which results in a more laid-back first movement that doesn’t often go for the jugular, but which slowly builds tension while also giving each theme the proper breathing room to speak properly.\u00c2\u00a0 In performance, she created an atmosphere of true chamber music-making more powerfully than any other soloist I’ve worked with so far.<\/p>\n The program opened with Sibelius’ Scene with Cranes<\/em><\/strong>, which is a powerfully evocative work showing the inner landscape of dreams.\u00c2\u00a0 I think of it as a very lightly drawn landscape in delicate pastels, with most shadings of dynamics never rising above piano<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Walton First Symphony<\/strong> is such a gigantic work – exhausting to perform – that seemes fueled by enormous reservoirs of anger and nervous energy.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s worth hearing if only for the magnificent, full-throated brass playing of our excellent horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba sections.\u00c2\u00a0 Even the dull acoustics of the Schnitz were humming with the huge chords in the first and fourth movements – no small feat!\u00c2\u00a0 Saturday night’s performance ended with an incredibly loud “BRAVO!!!” that came from the far reaches of the upper balcony – so jarring to the audience that it stunned them out of their initial appause – seemingly they were worried that the excited Anglophile might have preempted the actual last chords of the piece.\u00c2\u00a0 But no, he waited until the end (but not before the sound had died out) to scream his approval – and though his enthusiasm was appreciated, it did lead to a lot of open laughter in the orchestra as the confused scene played itself out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This weekend brought a huge program to the Schnitz.\u00c2\u00a0 Huge how?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, first, in terms of a major new talent that is just beginning to be known here in America, the Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.\u00c2\u00a0 Second, the Walton First Symphony, a gigantic workout for the entire orchestra that makes a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[148,135,2,21],"tags":[159,3668,935],"class_list":["post-1377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","category-violin","tag-concert","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-tchaikovsky-violin-concerto"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-md","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1373,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/02\/baiba-skride-documentary\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":0},"title":"baiba skride documentary","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The German broadcasting network Deutsche Welle has an excellent documentary on the supremely talented Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, who is making her OSO debut this weekend. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/baiba-skride-400x269.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1387,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/03\/in-the-ear-of-the-beholder\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":1},"title":"in the ear of the beholder","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"David Stabler wrote a review [not posted on the Oregonian's website at the time of posting] of this Saturday's classical series concert featuring the Latvian violinist Baiba Skride as soloist in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto along with Sibelius' Scene with Cranes and the Walton First Symphony. He was not enamored\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1471,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/25\/jennifer-koh-goes-to-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":2},"title":"jennifer koh goes to ’11’","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Jennifer Koh - Photo \u00c2\u00a9 Janette Beckman It's been amazing, watching violinist Jennifer Koh play the Brahms Violin Concerto with us this weekend.\u00c2\u00a0 During the rehearsals, she was controlled, a bit reticent, and was clearly getting used to conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni's approach to the score and the orchestra. Then came\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/jennifer-koh-c-janette-beckman-400x339.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5960,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/03\/13\/all-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":3},"title":"all-stars","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night was the first night of our latest classical subscription program (repeats on Monday night). Rather than give a blow-by-blow, I'll give my shout-outs for my heroes of the evening. Baiba Skride, our violin soloist, played the holy bejesus out of the Khatchaturian Violin Concerto. She is just an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/5523400684_50a5c6aac2_b-400x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/02\/01\/osos-2010-2011-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":4},"title":"OSO’s 2010-2011 Season","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday evening, the Oregon Symphony unveiled its 2010-2011 season programming.\u00a0 I was giving the pre-concert talk that night, so I couldn't be at the unveiling reception, but I suspect that there must have been a fair amount of applause and the sound of jaws hitting the floor as the specifics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "programming"","block_context":{"text":"programming","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/programming-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Joshua-Bell-photo-002-250x313.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5336,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/22\/hilary-hahns-new-album-drops\/","url_meta":{"origin":1377,"position":5},"title":"hilary hahn’s new album drops","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Violinist Hilary Hahn makes her Oregon Symphony debut on our opening Classical series concerts on October 2 - 4, and you can get a chance to listen to her playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto on her newly-released album on Deutsche Grammophone.\u00a0 This beloved work is paired with the Jennifer Higdon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/ir?t=dailyobservat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0042HSGLW","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}