New Jersey Symphony Orchestra – Xian Zhang, conductor; Jennifer Frautschi, violin. April 9, 2016.

Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ.  Balcony (Seat E101, $37.60).

Program

Marche Slave, Op. 31 (1876) by Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).

Violin Concerto, Op. 14 (1940, rev. 1948) by Barber (1910-1981).

Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (1878) by Tchaikovsky.

This is the first series with Zhang as the conductor after she was named the next music director of NJSO.  I had seen Zhang two or three times before, conducting the New York Philharmonic when she was an associate conductor there, and the New Jersey Symphony recently as a guest conductor.  CS, Shirley, and Agnes also came to the concert.

Calling this program “Zhang conducts Tchaikovsky” is only partially correct as there is also a Barber concerto.  Perhaps someone can Barber with Tchaikovsky, but not I.  Even though this is touted as “the most-performed” violin concerto by an American composer, it is still not program all that often.  A search of my blog indicated this having occurred twice: in 2015 with Lisa Batiashvili, and in 2010 with Gil Shaham.

The name Frautschi is quite familiar as there is a Laura who is with the Orpheus and Mostly Mozart Festival orchestras.  Jennifer Frautschi looks quite a bit younger.  She is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Grant (I wonder if this is now renamed David Geffen Grant), and performs on the 1722 “ex-Cadiz” Stradivarius.  Things look good if name recognition is the game.

The parallel that sprang up in my head once the concerto got underway was Sibelius. Not that the two sounded at all alike, but I thought the first movement of Barber sounded wistful and sad, and the second, frustration.  However, while Sibelius there was a clear “resolution” in the third movement, Barber’s third movement seemed to be an etude showcasing the soloist virtuoso technique.  The three movements are Allegro, Andante, and Presto in moto perpetuo.

Frautschi came across as a better musician than a technician.  She managed to convey (what I thought was) the mood of the first two movements quite well, although her intonation was off slightly on occasion.  However, the third movement sounded just like a good student playing a difficult exercise piece: passable, but not much beyond that.  The most puzzling aspect is how the Stradivarius sounded ordinary in the smallish Count Basie venue.

The program started with Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave.  It is a collection of some very familiar tunes, which the Program describes as “a mish-mosh of Serbian tunes that sounded strikingly like Tchaikovsky’s original themes.”  On top of that was the Russian National Anthem.  Indeed it was a music that one could tap along.  I do wish a listing of the tunes had been provided though.

Perhaps this piece set my expectation for the rest of the program.  There was quite a bit of volume dynamics in the presentation, but somehow the music sounded flat for eight or so of the ten minutes.  The only time it got exciting for me was the end where everything was thrown into the coda, including the Russian National Anthem.

Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony is in four movements: (1) Andante sostenuto; (2) Andantino in modo di canzona; (3) Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato; and (4) Finale: Allegro con fuoco.  While I am quite familiar with it, somehow I had in mind the theme from his Pathetique in my head as the performance was to begin.  So, on the bright side, the piece sounded refreshing when it began.

Everything seemed to work well.  The orchestra was together, the dynamics were good, the different sections were quite impressive.  However, at the end we have only a competent orchestra playing some well-known passages by following the dynamics markings faithfully.  There is this missing element of what the music was trying to say.

In the past Zhang usually wore heels.  Today she wore flats, which made her small stature that much more noticeable.  She conducted with the same level of gusto I have come to associate with her.  The orchestra responded to her well, which is a good thing.  I hope as she develops a closer relationship with the organization some of the musicianship would come through more clearly.  She did engage the audience with a short talk at the beginning of the program, including the fact that Barber knew he wanted to be a composer at a very young age.

The event was newsworthy enough that I found a New York Times review on the concert.  The reviewer is generally positive, describe Zhang as “a name worth memorizing” and “a pint-size bundle of energy.”  She also said the orchestra had moments “that would be the envy of better-known ensembles on the other side of the state lines.”  I assume she is referring to both NY and Philadelphia?