Cellist Elliot Sterling with the Winston-Salem Symphony. JFarleyPhotography
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Saturday night, the Winston-Salem Symphony played its second installment (entitled “Expansive Landscapes”) in the 2024-25 season. W-SS Music Director Michelle Merrill conducted two works: the popular Concerto for Violincello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191 (1894-95) by Antonín Dvořák (Czech Republic, 1841-1904) and the seldom-heard Symphony No. 3, Op. 27 FS60 “Sinfonia Espansiva” (1910-11) by Carl Nielsen (Denmark, 1865-1931). The soloist for the concerto was the 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Sterling Elliott. The two vocal soloists in the Nielsen piece were soprano Jodi Burns and bass-baritone Jason McKinney, both graduates of UNC School of the Arts.
The first half was given over to Dvořák’s cello concerto, which is in three movements: fast-slow-fast, the traditional form for concertos. Almost every cellist of name has played and recorded it; it is considered one of the composer’s most outstanding (and popular) works.
Music Director, Michelle Merrill conducts the Winston-Salem Symphony. JFarleyPhotography
The piece opens with a somber theme, followed by several contrasting ideas, some of which will reappear throughout the work. It is a good three and-a-half minutes before the soloist enters, reiterating the dramatic opening tune. The cellist for the performance was the young Sterling Elliott, a musician well on his way to stardom – he has already garnered many awards. His playing here and throughout, was rock-solid. His silken tone was perfectly in-tune and in complete sync with conductor Merrill, as they both kept a close eye on each other. Merrill, for her part, helped lead the musicians in the wonderful ebb and flow of the music.
The slow movement is loaded with wonderful tunes, initiated by the clarinets; great orchestration keeps the orchestral colors in constant motion. There are poignant sighs, especially from the cello, played by Elliott with exquisite style.
The finale is loaded with various themes, some of which are discarded immediately, others that are explored in depth. A solo violin joins the texture (superbly played by Associate Concertmaster Daniel Skidmore) for an especially touching passage before the finishing flourish. The crowd was moved, thanking the orchestra and soloist with strong applause. In fact, the audience applauded after every movement.
A couple of comments about the soloist: his playing was musical and committed. There were times when one wished he would have a beefier sound. Indeed, there were times when he blended in with the orchestra as a member, rather than the star. It was hard to detect a lot of emotion from his demeanor; I would have liked a bit more theatre and passion in his physical expression that matched the emotions of the moment.
The orchestra started out with some minor ensemble problems (it’s not that easy to get 70+ musicians to begin a phrase at exactly the same moment), but that issue was short lived. There are so many wonderful things to say about Merrill’s loving and passionate treatment of the score, and the instrumental solos from every section, as well as magnificent ensemble playing from each section.
Carl Nielsen is recognized as “his country’s most prominent composer,” but outside of Denmark, he is, unfortunately, less-well-known. In fact, Merrill pointed out in her introductory remarks before the performance of his third symphony that this was a Winston-Salem premiere (and maybe never played in NC before) – she could find no record of it ever having been performed in the city before. (It was the first time I have heard it live.) She also thanked the audience for the applause throughout the previous piece but asked them to listen without applause to the end of the Nielsen.
The literature about the composer commonly points to his “quirky” and “idiosyncratic” writing, which I take to mean that one idea does not necessarily flow “logically” into the next, which keeps the listener on one’s toes. This four-movement work, according to the composer, “is the result of many kinds of forces.”
The first movement, for example, begins with the same note re-iterated 26 times in various rhythms. But then comes a non-stop barrage of different ideas, with extroverted and ebullient playing from the orchestra. It certainly exudes “the chaotic energy that is the essence of the life-force,” as Néstor Castiglione wrote in liner notes of a recording.
“The second movement is the absolute opposite,” Nielsen wrote: music describing heaven and more. Especially effective is the addition of two singers who provided a wordless duet. These were beautifully performed by Burns and McKinney, whose voices cut through and over the orchestral sheen.
The third movement depicts “both evil and good” (Nielsen) while the finale a “hymn to work,” and it is here that Nielsen also calls the movement “expansive,” from which the symphony may have gotten its title.
It has been a while since I’ve ever heard the Winston-Salem Symphony play with such enthusiasm and energy. Solos abounded, especially in the winds and the brass, all of which were acknowledged by Merrill, who also deserves applause for bringing this piece to our ears, and for so brilliantly leading the orchestra.
