New Jersey Symphony Orchestra – David Danzmayr, conductor; Stefan Jackiw, violin. April 29, 2017.

Prudential Hall at NJPAC. Tier 1 (Seat D108, $52).

Program

Suite from The Incredible Flutist (1938, suite extracted 1940) by Piston (1894-1976).

Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 (1935) by Prokofiev (1891-1953).

Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 (1889) by Dvorak (1841-1904).

I knew of Walter Piston when I attended music theory classes as an undergraduate, he and Hindemith being professors of music and Harvard and Yale, respectively.  Today was my first encounter with his music, as far as I can remember.

The Incredible Flutist is a ballet based on the usual formulae of romance and comedy, the extracted suite comprises 13 sections played without pause, and is about 16 minutes in duration.  The Program Notes claims with its prominent dance rhythms the action is easy to follow; alas, it didn’t provide a listing of the sections, so I am not sure what I was trying to follow.

A couple of things stand out.  First is the orchestra members were asked to make noises during a crowd scene, with one doing a great job of barking like a dog.  Second is for a piece titled “The Incredible Flutist” I didn’t hear a strong flute theme; and there were two flutists, plus a piccolo.  The piece is pleasant enough, but has since receded from my memory.

I was first exposed to Prokofiev’s second violin concerto while in high school.  My own violin teacher was playing it as part of his quest to be awarded “fellow” by some British institute.  Together with Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto, they were my first exposure to modern music.  The violin concerto is both technically challenging and passionate.

We heard Jackiw perform a couple of years ago with this Symphony Orchestra, where he played Dvorak’s Romance and Ravel’s Tzigane.  Those were pieces to showcase a violinist’s technical ability; Jackiw did fine for the most part.  Tonight was also a test of how he was as a musician and interpreter.

I thought he pulled off the piece technically, and did it with confidence.  However, the piece sounded dry and without a coherent message.  In that regard he still has a ways to grow yet.  I commented two years ago that his violin sounded adequate, but in the much larger Prudential Hall it sounded weak to someone sitting in Tier 1.

Jackiw after performing Prokofiev's Second Violin Sonata, with conductor Danzmayr looking on.

For some reason my reaction to Dvorak’s Eighth is either hot or cold.  I really enjoyed it tonight.  A lot of credit must go to the conductor Danzmayr, who leads the Zagreb (Croatia, I found out) Philharmonic.  He brought out a great sound from the orchestra.  He often didn’t keep track of the score and would end up turning the pages frantically to catch up.  But it seems to work for him.

The four movements of symphony are Allegro con brio, Adagio, Allegretto grazioso, and Allegro ma non troppo.  And the flute got a great workout in this work, much more than it did in the “Incredible” piece.

The attendance in Tier 1 was not great, with more than 50% empty seats.  Indeed NJSO was running a “$35 for best seat” program when I looked at their website.