GREENSBORO, NC – Although Christopher Dragon is the newly appointed music director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and Chelsea Tipton is named as the new Principal Guest Conductor, it was guest conductor François López-Ferrer who started this year’s classical season focusing on Spanish/Argentinian music (with a bow toward 19th century Europe). López-Ferrer, born in Switzerland to a Cuban mother and Spanish father and raised in the US, was the winner of the 2024 Georg Solti Conducting Award and has an impressive international career.
He is also a fun conductor, bringing a lot of humor to the podium, starting out Saturday night’s concert with a talk that began with something like, “I know what you’re thinking—great! Here’s a conductor who’s going to give a long, boring lecture . . . don’t worry, it’s not long.” And he explained the overarching international theme of the represented composers: Spaniard Manual de Falla (1876-1946), Mexican José Pablo Moncayo (1912-58), Argentinian Alberto Ginastera (1916-83), and Norwegian Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). All the composers drew folk music from their homeland.
Falla’s music sandwiched in the others, beginning with Spanish Dance No. 1 from his one-act opera, La vida breve (“The Short Life,” 1905), and ending with the Suite No. 2 from the ballet El sombrero de tres picos (“The Three-Cornered Hat,” 1917).
Spanish Dance featured impressive castanet playing from principal percussionist Wiley Arnold Sykes III, who accompanied the flamenco-infused score with amazing virtuosity (by memory, no less). The Suite No. 2 is comprised of four parts, all of which were filled with Andalusian rhythms and melodies, with brilliant orchestration that featured several solo instruments. Maestro López-Ferrer acknowledged these individuals amid the exuberant applause from the audience.
The second piece on the program was Grieg’s beloved and ever-popular romantic gem, the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 (1868). The brilliant pianist Gabriela Martinez served as the impressive soloist. The “folk” influence in the Grieg? The final movement is based on an energetic Norwegian dance, a Halling.
This is a score familiar to many, and there was much to praise for the players in the orchestra, but the spotlight was focused on Martinez, who played with power and passion in the dramatic sections and with wonderful sensitivity and delicacy in the elegant sections. Her wonderful phrasing coupled with her rhythmic freedom was impressive, especially in the cadenza, which, although written out, sounded improvised. The audience was obviously smitten by the pianist’s performance as demonstrated by their enthusiastic appreciation.
After intermission, López-Ferrer gave more information about the music coming up, explaining that the “main melody” in the traditional Mexican dance Huapango was always varied. According to Moncayo, “The transcription of it was very difficult because the huapangueros (musicians) never sang the same melody twice in the same way.” So, the piece ends up being a series of variations, with brilliant orchestration, wonderfully realized by the GSO.
Ginastera’s Four Dances from the ballet Estancia, Op. 8 (“Country Estates,” 1941) concern Argentinian gauchos (horsemen) and a lady from the country who is won over by a city boy who outdances the cowboys. It is a brilliant score, with fabulous orchestration, featuring every section of the symphony to good effect. The energetic final dance, Malambo (an Argentinian dance associated with gauchos), was a showstopper with horns blaring, strings sawing frantically, and large percussion section and brass thrown in for more oomph.
A bit about the conducting style of François López-Ferrer. He had many different gestures: dancing, imploring, goading, and coaxing, all of which the orchestra responded to magnificently with verve and vigor. Furthermore, the entire second half was conducted without the aid of a score, an impressive feat. It was a great way to kick off the new season.
