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Pittsburgh Symphony ignites Sibelius in Seattle

Pittsburgh Symphony ignites Sibelius in Seattle
by Rod Parke - SGN A&E Writer The more I love a piece, the more I fear I will be disappointed by a concert performance. Peak experiences in music are precious, powerful, and unpredictable. All the elements have to be in place: right conductor and orchestra, right music, and right mood of the listener. Indigestion, bad acoustics, or a second-rate performance can ruin the whole event. In the case of this concert by the visiting Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the piece was Sibelius' 'Symphony No. 5.' The whole work can be magical, and the last movement has moved me to tears of joy innumerable times since that first happened in my dorm room at Columbia in 1957. Listening to this music, it is hard to realize that Finland has no mountains! The music screams, "Mountains!" And the early movements are filled with the freshness of mountain air. I love this music beyond words. I waited to see if the magic would happen at this concert. British conductor Sir Andrew Davis is known to me from my visits to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he is Music Director. I've liked his work with Verdi's 'Otello' and Wagner's 'Ring' but had no sense of how he would do with Sibelius. I shouldn't have worried. Davis and the Pittsburgh got everything right. First, the orchestral colors, essential to Sibelius above all, were spectacular. Gossamer strings played crystalline pianissimo while moody bassoons floated among them. Nothing felt rushed, while tension built towards each climax. Moments where Sibelius wrote intentionally murky sounds were just so, while clarity reigned supreme on top of the darkness. Moods shifted with apparent logic. Every minute connected with my spine. Then came that last movement. Talk about tension! It all led to that mountain of sounds, piled on top of each other, such as nobody's sound system could ever replicate. Gleaming brass, full-bodied in itself but buoyed by the double basses singing out with all-encompassing warmth. Pulsing rhythms, affirming echoes in the strings, all surging forward with just the right flow, not too fast, stretching it out for maximum effect. I cried in gratitude, in joy, in complete satisfaction that, yes, it can be this totally overpoweringly beautiful and emotionally affirmative of everything about the human condition. Of course, the orchestra itself has to be damn good to make this happen. Not just in the Sibelius but all evening long, the Pittsburgh rose well above the merely adequate. I could fault nothing in their sound, their togetherness, and their energy. Besides the Sibelius, we heard a flawless performance of Stravinsky's "Suite from 'Pulcinella.'" With tunes by baroque composer Pergolesi (1710-36), the witty twentieth-century Stravinsky mixed a brew of tasty textures, raucous rhythms, and lovely lilts, the joys of which it would be hard to miss. Sir Andrew made sure it was all buoyant, while the players showed terrific ensemble. Davis honored Stravinsky's wit with sudden outbursts of brass and burlesque glissandi by the trombone. Delight was everywhere to be found. Piano soloist Jonathan Biss joined the Pittsburgh for Schumann's 'Piano Concerto in A minor.' Yet another gifted young pianist on the scene today, Biss played with élan and technique to spare. His Schumann had more snap than one generally hears, with each phrase ending with the kind of energy I associate more with classical rather than romantic composers. But I confess the Schumann is not my favorite piano concerto. Perhaps the lack of impact I felt was more due to my own tastes than to any fault of the soloist. Certainly the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was an excellent partner to Biss. Perhaps my impatience to get to the Sibelius had something to do with my lack of excitement over the Schumann. Every critic has his/her biases. For me, Schumann can't compare with well-performed Sibelius. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rmp62@columbia.edu