SLSO - Shows #7 and 8

S and I attended our last two symphonies of the season.  The second-to-last was a strange combination of pieces that I still haven't quite sorted out.  Nevertheless, here are my thoughts on them:

First up was the Benjamin Britten piece, Sinfonia da Requim, op. 20.  It was an unusual piece, with military musicality, but lacking the celebratory fanfare of most such pieces.  The history of the piece explains a little bit of the mood; it was composed in 1940, on the eve of America's entry into World War II.  Britten had moved to America the year prior, after accepting a commission from an unknown government to honor "the reigning dynasty of a foreign power."  Only later did he learn that he was celebrating the 2,600th anniversary of the Japanese dynasty.  He had made the piece as anti-war as he felt it was possible for music to be, and it was rejected by the Japanese government (although he was allowed to keep the commission).  (Source for this info: the SLSO program.)

Second we heard Camille Saint-Saëns's Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, op. 61.  It was a complete departure from the first and third pieces, but made for a lovely and melodic interlude.  I enjoy pieces that make use of the less popular instruments, and this one featured the bassoon, flute, and oboe (in addition to the obvious violin soloist). 

The final piece was Ralph Vaughn Williams's Symphony No. 4 in F. Minor.  Like the first piece, it had military overtones, with lots of horn and percussion.  The tempo and of the piece felt even more anti-war than the Britten piece -- so much so that the bass clarinetist had to take apart his instrument and clean it midway through -- although it was apparently never intended to be an anti-war piece at all. 


The final show, and possibly my last experience seeing David Robertson conducting, was a wonderful performance, although unfortunately we were five minutes late due to the crazy traffic as a consequence of the confluence of Hamilton, Circus Flora, and the Symphony all having performances at the same time.  As a consequence, we missed the first short piece, which was Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man.

The second piece was a stellar piano performance by Simon Trpčeski.  It was the three-movement Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, op. 18, composed by Serge Rachmaninoff.  It was a beautiful performance, capped off with an encore between Trpčeski and my favorite principal cellist, Daniel Lee.

After intermission, the final piece of the season was Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2, op. 30.  It builds to an upbeat finale over the course of its three movements.  A lovely way to end the season, although it makes me quite sad that David Robertson will not be with us next year.  He has such an easy personality, that even the most traditional pieces seem accessible when conducted by his capable baton.