Photo by Jonathan Kirn
Ryan Tani conducts Sibelius at the Bradley Symphony Centery (Feb. 2026)
Ryan Tani conducts Sibelius Symphony No. 6 and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto at the Bradley Center (2026)
February weather in Milwaukee is a series of variations in the key of gray. Days of cold, days of extreme wind, random snowfall. Not much color. But for all who passed into Bradley Symphony Center this weekend, bold colors and emotions awaited.
In the first half, Anna Clyne’s triptych Color Field (inspired by Rothko) sat next to Sibelius 6. Associate conductor Ryan Tani noted Sibelius’s intent for this symphony to be “pure spring water” offered up to audiences in contrast to the spicy musical cocktails of his time.
In Yellow, the first movement of Color Field, Tani worked well within a restrained dynamic range to evoke this color. Only the bowed vibraphone came through a bit hot. Red provided lots of cinematic flair, especially in the second section with an exotic string melody and tambourine. The return to the main material created a feeling of constant struggle and combat, at times evoking Mars from The Planets. I think the strings and percussion got out of sync during Orange, but the double reed solos at the end were nicely played.
Sonic Luxuriance
Photo by Jonathan Kirn
Pianist Kate Liu's MSO debut (Feb. 2026)
Pianist Kate Liu debuts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (2026)
Sibelius Symphony No. 6 has something in common with Nielsen 4, another big Finnish work the MSO played in the fall: it makes its best case for itself when heard live. The sonic luxuriance hits differently, and the Beethovenian elemental power really comes through. Maestro Tani conducted this piece with great enthusiasm, at times tipping into overconducting. I say that because some of the big gestures didn’t seem to get an equal result from the orchestra, and I’ve seen some visiting conductors get great results with more economy. A standout in this performance was the fourth movement, with its lovely dialogue between oboes and solo cello (the always-wonderful Susan Babini) and the later string feature that had a terrific tenuto sear.
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In the famous Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, pianist Kate Liu got the Romantic drama just right. She has a lot of strength in her playing. Her final cadenza of the first movement was excellent, showing a variety of tone colors. Tani made the long orchestral tuttis in that movement exciting. In the second movement, I heard a tempo disagreement between strings and flute at the outset. The contrasting fast section was quite fast, but Liu held it together with very clear and agile playing. She continued to impress in the finale, dispatching the big textures with ease and whipping off ferocious sequences of octave runs. The closing Big Tune was very well done by all. For an encore, Liu played Chopin’s Waltz in B minor, Op. 69, No. 2, with a pleasing rubato and spontaneous approach.
Beautiful moments abounded in this concert, but I left wanting a little more technical precision from Maestro Tani to match his tangible passion. I was delighted to hear Kate Liu’s playing and would welcome her back for any concerto. Walking back into the cold didn’t seem so bad after hearing the MSO’s colors in sound, from yellow/red/orange to elsewhere in the spectrum.
