WILMINGTON, NC – The North Carolina Symphony, our superb state orchestra, gave a generously full concert that featured the music of a gifted younger composer, a world-class soloist, and one of the great symphonic masterworks. Led by Carlos Miguel Prieto, the orchestra brought forth drama, a panoply of color, and notably fine instrumental playing.
The first piece was warp & weft (titles without capitals are a trademark of the composer) by Sarah Gibson (1986-2024) who tragically died this year of cancer aged 38. Her music has been performed by a number of orchestras; this piece was commissioned in 2019 by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, one of several orchestral commissions she received. The composer described it as “inspired by the trailblazing work of artist Miriam Schapiro, [the piece is] a celebration of the creative process…inspired by the art of weaving.” The choice of weaving specifically was intended to honor work traditionally done by women. She goes on to describe how the loom’s horizontal axis (the weft) is represented in the music by melodic material, and the vertical axis (the warp) by “strong vertical chords.” In a 2022 interview, she said: “the warp and weft is essentially just the form of the piece.”
The work is rich in color – the swirling colors also mentioned in the composer’s notes. The sound of weaving is evoked, in fact, at the very beginning. At 14 minutes, the piece is substantial, and the inventiveness is well-sustained. In this performance there was plenty of color and rhythm, but the unfolding melodic material, sometimes expansive, did not fully achieve that character. Mr. Prietos’ beat was almost uniformly large and strongly defined, well-suited to keeping the ensemble together, but not to bringing forth the expressive range of melody and phrase and melding the diverse material. Listeners in Wilmington, however, have reached the point of appreciating sometimes-challenging newer works, and the audience in the well-filled Wilson center responded positively to this music which bears getting to know well.
The very opening orchestral notes of the following Piano Concerto No. 3 by Beethoven showed Prieto in a completely different guise. This innovative, large-scale work featured soloist Stephen Hough. Mr. Hough is one of today’s most prominent pianists. He performs around the world, including 29 concerto appearances at the BBC Proms, one of the globe’s most prestigious concert venues. He has made dozens of recordings which have garnered many prizes. Multi-talented, he has composed for a variety of combinations including orchestra, choir, and chamber ensemble, and has published four books.
The dark opening motive of the concerto was finely characterized, with longer staccatos that had a weighty feel. The orchestra was clearly going to be a full companion to the soloist. The connection was sustained through the broad expanse of the piece, which lasts well over a half hour. It was a rich and satisfying performance. The orchestral sound was more on the lush romantic side, especially in the second theme of the first movement; Prieto led with expression and character. One feature of his conducting is his very active left hand, something not seen so often. Hough, in the meantime, turned to the orchestra to, it seemed, experience the extended opening tutti along with them – most piano soloists gaze quietly at the keyboard. Then, in the dramatic opening scales, he responded in a bodily way to the rhythm, something he did often. He is an energetic and highly involved soloist. There were lovely ascending broken chords, brilliant scales, and sharp articulation. The piano was always rhythmically crisp. There was fine expression too, such as in the lyrical beginning of the development, and the transition to the return of the second theme. The piano’s large-scale cadenza brought virtuosic drama and a trill notable for the portent and mystery it conveyed.
The second movement had a gorgeous atmosphere, an almost religious expressivity. Both piano and orchestra carried a lush sound. An especially soft passage in the piano stood out for its sense of poetic, inner drama. The third movement is a rollicking rondo. Once again, the listener was impressed with the flawlessly clean articulation and energized character of the piano solo. Late in the movement there was a lovely return, and the wind-up to the brief cadenza was dramatic. The exuberant ending, resolving the work in the major mode, came with glittering piano fingerwork.
This performance, filled with brilliance, expression, and subtlety, was nothing short of a wonderful experience, conveyed by both orchestra and soloist.
After the intermission came Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, which like the preceding Beethoven is in the key of C minor. Frankly described by the composer as written in the shadow of Beethoven, it was begun by the young Brahms, freshly made famous by Schumann in a journal article lauding him as a genius, and finally completed nearly two decades later when Brahms had become a celebrated composer. (Readers can find online a photograph of Brahms from 1853, just around the time that he met Robert and Clara Schumann). The influence of Beethoven on this symphony is most directly observable in the four-note motive of the first movement, strongly similar to the renowned one from Beethoven’s fifth. Meanwhile, this epic 45-minute work has taken its place in the symphonic canon alongside Brahms’ three following symphonies as a powerful and original statement.
Prieto, who conducted the work from memory, together with the orchestra seemingly in its element, brought forth the full range of expression and drama. From the dark introduction of the first movement, with the portentous drum, to the massive buildup which brings about the catharsis at the close of the piece 45 minutes later – like the Beethoven, in C major – the long line was sustained throughout. The tone in the brass was notably rich (if occasionally it overbalanced the other instruments). The buildup to the first movement’s recapitulation was gripping. The oboe solo in the second movement was richly expressive, with the long phrases of cantabile sustained seamlessly, and luscious interaction of the violin and horn at the end. The clarinet solo in the third movement was beguiling; Brahms loved the clarinet. The return was simply lovely. The dark sustained opening of the fourth movement brought tight pizzicato and rich brass swells. Meantime, when the moment arrived, the flute soared expressively overhead. The brass was magnificent when, after such drama, the sound opened out spaciously into the famous theme in C major. Leading eventually to the majestic chorale and triumphant coda, it was a thrilling ending.
The audience was highly appreciative, even if there didn’t end up being a well-deserved curtain call. North Carolina in general and Wilmington in particular are privileged to have a top-class orchestra and concert hall for presenting performance experiences of this caliber.
