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MSO Water Festival 'Toward the Sea'
The Milwaukee Symphony’s water-themed run of three concerts has produced a variety of delights: exploring the basic tactile joy of the substance, seeing a reflection of our coastal cityscape in Britten’s Sea Interludes, and visions of sea nymphs and regal pomp in a Baroque program. The final installment of the series was the most thought-provoking, digging into more ineffable territory with mostly contemporary repertoire.
Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) felt like an outlier next to rep from the 20th century and beyond, but set the tone with its foreboding melody. The cello section sang beautifully, and Todd Levy brought a light touch to the clarinet solo.
The orchestra stripped down to a string ensemble with Sonora Slocum on alto flute and Julia Coronelli on harp for Toru Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea. A smart programming choice, this piece’s harmonic world complemented the Debussy to come. The music conveyed the infinite expanses of the sea and a sense of longing up to its magical ending.
Principal bassoonist Catherine Van Handel, wearing an apt aquamarine dress, excelled in David Ludwig’s concerto Pictures from the Floating World. The orchestration was balanced enough to let Van Handel’s velvety tone shine, though the bassoon writing spent too much time occupying a certain register with the same types of lyrical, stepwise gestures. Moments of more animated action for the soloist were fleeting, leaving me wanting more.
Helen Grime’s Virga opened the second half with vivid orchestral colors, siren-like woodwind motives, and somber string melodies cutting through. The middle register sound got a bit muddy at times.
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In the beloved Debussy piece La Mer, Maestro Ken-David Masur brought care and intention to his interpretation, constantly coaxing effects out of different instrument sections and showing the push and pull of Debussy’s dynamics. Thrilling climaxes, exceptional work from the cello section, and an overall great team effort made this a satisfying conclusion. This kind of piece is what live concertgoing was made for. You can both hear the details and see the visual element of instruments picking up the thread of the musical narrative as the composer paints with sound.
