By Márcio Bezerra
Most people come from the Midwest to enjoy our mild winters. However, on the rainy afternoon of Feb. 11, one, for a little over two hours, envied the folks living in Detroit thanks to the thrilling concert given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
It was a reminder that, no matter how well intentioned our local groups are, nothing beats a full-time orchestra that provides professional growth opportunities for the musicians and a deeper engagement in the communities they serve. In classical music, the gig economy does not work so well.
How Detroit can sustain a full-time ensemble and the much wealthier South Florida cannot is a topic for a later discussion. What is not up for discussion is the superb musical experience the audience had at Dreyfoos Hall.
Under the direction of recently appointed music director Jader Bignamini, the DSO started the program with Emerge, by Michael Abels, an American composer best known for his film scores (Get Out) and the opera Omar, which he co-wrote with the singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, a work that won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Music. Part of an increasing body of works of art responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Emerge is an engaging piece that starts in a programmatic way, with oboe and strings “tuning.” The work grows in an organic and well-balanced manner, closing on a satisfying climax made very effective by the superb musicianship of the orchestra and its director.
Next, the orchestra was joined by cellist Alisa Weilerstein for Edward Elgar’s unabashedly romantic Cello Concerto (in E minor, Op. 85).
Habitués of the Kravis Center will remember Weilerstein performing at the Young Artists Series many, many years ago. In this interim, she has blossomed into a major artist, bringing cello playing to new heights, thanks to her total interpretative embodiment of the music she performs.
The Elgar concerto was a good example of her approach, as it featured not only her deep, beautiful sound, but also her passionate and virtuosic playing.
Bignamini and the Detroit Symphony were formidable partners, collaborating in what must have been one the most memorable performances of a concerto at the Kravis in recent years. An extended ovation prompted to an encore (highly personal) rendition of a sarabande by J.S. Bach.
The second half of the program featured Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (in B minor, Op 74, Pathétique). No matter what one’s opinion of Tchaikovsky’s handling of larger sonata form may be, the Pathétique is a musical masterpiece that, when performed well, grasps the listener emotionally from the first to the last note.
And performed well it was by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Bignamini’s control of phrasing and dynamics helped to deliver a polished rendition; his rhythmic drive during the third movement almost prompted an anticipated standing ovation before the finale.
All in all, an afternoon to remember. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra displayed the capabilities of American-music making at its best.