Reviews

Symphonicity: Destination Latin America
Sandler Center, October 7, 2018
Review by John Campbell

Conductor Daniel Boothe opened his second season with Symphonicity with an innovative selection of music titled “Destination Latin America.” Music by Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) and Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) concluded the program that included music by United States composers in the Latin style.

Symphonicity opens each concert with the National Anthem and Virginia Beach audiences always stand and sing along. First on the program was Cuban Overture by George Gershwin (1898-1937), a Brooklyn-born Jew of Russian and Latvian descent. Blending European classical music with American jazz was Gershwin's way into the concert hall after his great success as a tune-smith of popular songs. He had a natural talent but only a limited education in composition, never becoming proficient at reading music.

After applause for the Gershwin ended, Maestro Boothe introduced guest timpanist John Kilkenny but first told us that Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) had written a very unconventional concerto titled Raise the Roof (2003). With five kettle drums set up on the front of the stage to the right of the conductor, Mr. Boothe explained that the pedals for the percussionist's feet allow him to change the tuning of each drum to create a lyrical sound. A repeated mambo-like motif in the strings and winds opened after a quick drumroll. A solo tuba speaks, drum rolls follow, then flute, then drum with strings. We have entered a world of exotic orchestration with other, smaller percussion—tambourine, dominant cowbell—with muted trombone.

Mid-piece the sustained melodic timpani with bells and cello offered an inviting, persuasive sound-space that soon became a slow brass dance. Hand strikes on the drum heads, maracas and piano in a Latin rhythm exploded into a retro big jazz band sound, strings soothed briefly and brass led to the obstreperous end.

After intermission we heard the very short Fanfare for the Latin-American Allies (1942) by Henry Cowell (1897-1965) who had briefly been one of Gershwin's teachers. It was a tear-invoking lyrical march written during WWII when Brazil helped the U.S. patrol the waterways. Otherwise the Latin American countries' aid was mostly symbolic.

Mexican composer Manuel Ponce's (1882-1948) Poema Elegíaco showed that though he was influenced by French impressionism his work had more melodrama. His work favored Mexican popular folk material and was best known for his solo songs. Poema Elegíaco is a hauntingly sad and beautiful piece with strings, flute and woodwinds featured at different points. After all, elegies are written for sad occasions and Symphonicity's playing brought out a feeling of a real experience.

Symphonicity is an all-volunteer group of players who play for the love of music. Composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) was a perfect choice for the closing piece. Drawing from the traditional tunes of the Argentine gauchos (cowboys), Estancia Suite began life as a work commissioned by Lincoln Kerstein for American Ballet Caravan in 1941. The company was dissolved before it was performed and the music was first played as a concert in Buenos Aire's Teatro Colón in 1943. This performance consolidated Ginastera's reputation as an Argentine national cultural figure. The ballet was first staged at the Colón in 1952.

Typical Latin themes abound—driving rhythms, tension-building harmonies and moments of tender lyricism. The story is of a city boy who falls in love with a rancher's daughter. Not until he proves his worth by out-dancing the gauchos does he win her love. The fourth movement, Danza final Malambo, is intense and frenetic with flashy, improvised footwork and wild orchestral playing. Conductor Boothe's notes end with “The players will need to bring their own version of fancy footwork to the stage.” This was realized when, as an encore, the ending was repeated and the players' animation on stage seemed spontaneously choreographed.