By Dr. Gerald Cochran

Special to the Post

The Salisbury Symphony Orchestra and Maestro David Hagy presented yet another grand triumph in its concert titled “Remembrance.” Dr. Hagy has an extraordinary knack for programming works that fit a theme, and this concert was no exception. All of the pieces were about remembering someone or something.

Opening the concert was Heritage Fanfare, a grand fanfare for brass and percussion remembering the contribution of the Jewish people to civilization by John Duffy (b. 1926). The concluding note of the fanfare segued without break into Dan Locklair’s (b. 1949) In Memory – H.H.L., an elegy composed in memory of his mother. The aural shift was striking, and both combined and contrasted the two pieces, with a stunning, overall effect of both great joy and great sadness.

John Duffy is a composer noted for his work in television and film. Dan Locklair, who was present at the performance, is composer-in-residence and professor of music at Wake Forest University.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) wrote music that celebrated his homeland, Finland, and the Finnish people. His Violin Concerto in d minor, Op. 47, is a remembrance of this homeland in that it has likenesses of folk music and dance throughout. This concerto is considered one of the most difficult, both technically and musically, in the standard violin and orchestral repertoire. The soloist, Bryan Hall, played with great beauty and extraordinary brilliance, and the orchestra proved an exceptionally able collaborator. From the stunning virtuosity of the first movement, to the lyrical and gorgeous second movement, to the frantic, pulsating rhythms of the finale, the performers enraptured the audience with the beauty of the music and their playing.

Bryan Hall is a native of High Point and had previously worked with David Hagy when he was in the fourth grade in 1998. Since then, he has studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of music, and The University of Texas at Austin, from which he has earned a doctoral degree. He now serves on the faculty of The University of Alaska Fairbanks and is concertmaster of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra.

The concert of remembering concluded with Symphony No. 6 in b minor, Op. 74, “Pathetique” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). This was one of Tchaikovsky’s finest works, and his last. He conducted the premiere in St. Petersburg and nine days later he was dead. Controversy swirls about whether or not he committed suicide, and whether or not this was a suicide note. In any event, this symphony is grand and triumphant and poignant, and serves as a fine remembrance of the composer. The first movement starts softly and slowly, building up to a forceful climax. The second is a waltz, but in five-beat measures, making it feel a bit unbalanced. The third is a grand and triumphal march which, like the opening two works in the concert, fades into the despairing lamentation of the final movement.

I would consider the performance of this work one of the Salisbury Symphony’s greatest achievements. The emotional intensity of the players was palpable. With augmented string sections, especially cellos and double basses, there was added sonority and depth. Not to be omitted were the sparkling performances of the woodwinds, brass and percussion, and, of course, the expert direction by Maestro David Hagy.