Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@cincysymphony concluded its 2024-25 season with a wonderfully mixed menagerie of music highlighted by Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto and a swinging masterpiece by Duke Ellington.
Under the direction of Damon Gupton, Cincinnati Pops Principal Guest Conductor, the orchestra opened with a lyrical and dramatic reading of The Noon Witch, one of three tone poems by Antonín Dvořák based on fairy tales by the writer Karol Jaromir Erben. Pianist Michelle Cann then joined the orchestra for a vibrantly virtuosic reading of Grieg’s Piano Concerto. From the first A minor chords in the opening movement to the final flourishes in the third, Cann’s interpretation was joyous, lyrical and brimming with vitality. She encored with a piece that has become a real specialty of hers: a jazz arrangement by African-American pianist Hazel Scott of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
Three musical bonbons filled out the second half, opening with a pulsating performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Scherzo à la russe, originally written for Paul Whiteman’s jazz band in 1944. A rare treat followed in Arthur Honegger’s 1920 score Pastoralle d’été, a piece that the CSO had not played since 1966; this gave wonderful opportunities for solo moments from the principal wind players of the orchestra, especially flute, horn and clarinet.
Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige (in an orchestration by Maurice Peress) filled out the evening with a great chance for the orchestra to let loose, particularly the brass (including solo trombone in the first movement), a full battery of percussion with added drum set, and a dynamic, jazzy alto saxophone solo in the second movement. Maestro Gupton certainly knew how to bring all these elements of Ellington’s music and more to the forefront and keep its swinging spirit while maintaining a sense of elegance.
What a fabulous way to end a fabulous season of music making in Cincinnati, even as we said farewell to three retiring musicians who accumulated 132 years of experience in the orchestra: violinist Paul Patterson, associate principal oboe Lon Bussell and legendary cellist Norman John’s in his 50th anniversary season.
Bravi tutti!!