Brahms 1st Piano Concerto, San Diego, California
[His] style was well suited for this concerto’s assertive themes… demonstrated great power and digital dexterity…
The Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra’s (TICO’s) first concert of the season was appropriately called Numero Uno because it featured Beethoven’s Leonore Overture #1, Schumann’s Symphony #1 and Brahms Piano Concerto #1. The November 13 performance at Tifereth Israel Synagogue demonstrated how the musicians relished playing this serious standard fare.
Conductor David Amos and his forces brought forth the intrinsic beauties of the Schumann score. The secure opening fanfare, the flute and oboe solos, the precise, dotted rhythmic passages, all contributed to the first movement’s effectiveness.
The second movement larghetto showcased the full cello section in the lovely melodic theme. Amos and the orchestra captured the spirit of the vigorous scherzo, and the final movement opened with a wonderful burst of virtuosity from the first violins. Even though the symphony is subtitled Spring, it was a joyous listening experience in the Fall.
Soloist for the Brahms Piano Concerto was Dan Franklin Smith…[who] demonstrated great power and digital dexterity in the concerto. He was attentive to the intricate obbligato piano passages which Brahms interweaves with the orchestral material. This concerto often pits the piano as another orchestral voice in the thick symphonic texture, unlike most piano concerti where the piano is dominant with the orchestra accompanying in a subservient role. Although his dynamic palette did not contain enough lyrical tenderness for my taste, his style was well suited for this concerto’s assertive themes.
Leonore Overture #1 is seldom programmed. It has many of Beethoven’s remarkable musical characteristics, but it does not have the melodic appeal or the cohesiveness of the other Leonore Overtures and the Fidelio Overture, all written for the same opera, Fidelio.
This program, presented at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, was introduced by Rabbi Arnold Kopikis. TICO is a cultural asset of the Jewish Community and it is gratifying to see it performed at other synagogues, churches and parks in addition to its home base at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.
Wingard is a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra
– Eileen Wingard, © San Diego Jewish World, San Diego, California. All rights reserved.