Mary Catherine Edwards
For the Salisbury Post
The Salisbury Symphony Orchestra presented a concert entitled “Playful Masterpieces” Saturday night at Keppel Auditorium. Music Director David Hagy was at the podium for the program which included Bela Bartok’s Divertimento for String Orchestra, Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major. North Carolina pianist Jesse Davis was the piano soloist.
The program opened with Bartok’s Divertimento for String Orchestra which was commissioned by Swiss conductor Paul Sacher for the Basel Chamber Orchestra in 1939. Written in Concerto Grosso style, this work featured lively first chair solos echoed by the tutti orchestra. In the opening Allegro the strings passed syncopations and three note phrases around spiritedly, creating an animated musical conversation.
The introspective second movement was a contrasting interlude from the theme of the evening. Hagy and the orchestra captured the foreboding mood Bartok must have felt writing on the eve of World War II. The strings treated Bartok’s dissonant tones with a quiet darkness, reflecting the anxiety of a composer about to flee Europe.
In the Divertimento’s final Allegro, the orchestra resumed the first movement’s animation, spinning out playful runs with folksy style. Gypsy-like solos for concertmaster Dan Skidmore were echoed aptly in the orchestra’s responding turns. Director Hagy did a great service bringing an underplayed but enjoyable work to Salisbury audiences.
The woodwind and horn complements of a classical symphony joined the strings on stage for the Schubert Symphony No. 5 in B flat. This work was the perfect antidote for concertgoers who considered staying home due to cold weather. Hagy and the orchestra created a warm and cozy atmosphere with Schubert’s signature lovely melodies. Their familiarity with the piece made for a relaxed and competent performance. Director Hagy wove a cohesiveness between winds and strings, especially in the Adagio. This kind of cohesiveness is no doubt not only a result of the week’s few rehearsals but a result of years of collaboration between Hagy and his musicians.
North Carolina pianist Jesse Davis was soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in G major. He began the opening piano solo with flair and promise. Throughout the concerto, Davis pushed tempi to the edge. However, too much flash and not enough control made for some uncomfortable moments in the Rondo Vivace. Those moments did not stop the audience from enjoying Davis’s performance. The audience showed appreciation for his bold and spirited performance with a standing ovation.