Photo by Jonathan Kim via MSO - Facebook
MSO - Tai Murray and Stefan Asbury
Tai Murray (left) performs with Stefan Asbury (right)
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s May 30 concert was long. It felt especially long because most of the works had many movements. But what a program! Advertised as “Bernstein and Bartόk,” this banquet of music left me not just satisfied but impressed with the MSO, guest conductor Stefan Asbury, and violinist Tai Murray.
In Vyšehrad (The High Castle) from Bedrich Smetana’s Má vlast, principal harpist Julia Coronelli played the opening solo with sensitivity and shape. Stefan Asbury’s manner on the podium was clear, controlled, yet enthusiastic. He effected a grand spirit in the climaxes evoking festivals of ancient times. Strings were crisp in the contrapuntal sections, and I liked the dreamy clarinets over the strings near the end. A few times I heard some random brass detail poking out oddly. This piece is overlong and not even the best interpretation can make it feel tighter, but as an opener, its simpler materials helped to warm up the audience before the headier excursions to come.
Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium is a masterpiece, one of the finest violin concertos written by an American. Perhaps its unwieldy title and esoteric programmatic element have kept it from higher visibility among his output. Violinist Tai Murray gave a worthy reading of this music, starting from the high-wire act of the opening cadenza. She had a curious stage presence, very introverted, with no extraneous dazzle or showmanship. It came across as pure devotion to the music. I liked her easy manner slicing through the lilting gestures in the subsequent section. The lyrical second movement benefited from ensemble counterpoint with balance and presence. Murray and the orchestra positively ripped into the Presto third movement, trading off lightning-fast runs. The fourth movement, “Agathon,” one of Bernstein’s most beautiful utterances, was tremendous. Asbury coaxed lots of detail out of the ensemble and achieved much pathos in the buildups. Murray offered beautiful lines and a well-shaped cadenza. I didn’t want this gorgeous music to end.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The finale, “Socrates,” put an exclamation point on this fine music-making, showing the group’s skill in switching gears through a kaleidoscope of moods. Murray’s duet with cellist Shinae Ra was incredibly touching. A fast section with jazzy flair came off great, and the percussion section was a highlight in general. Kudos to the glockenspiel! It was a crucial touch at some moments.
As sometimes happens after intermission, the MSO hit a bit of a speed bump. The “Prologue” movement from Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story had a slightly slower tempo than I was used to, some disjointedness, and felt a bit anemic until the drum set kicked in. Then the MSO won me over with some wonderfully brash, in-your-face sound and brassy blasts. Similar moments in the piece came off really well. “Mambo” was fierce. The sound leapt from the stage, and the tight ensemble gave it all the sweaty magic of West Side Story. “Cool” had a bit of a relaxed tempo, but good detail and another raucous climax. “Finale” featured a wonderful succession of solos from Sonora Slocum (flute), Katie Young Steele (oboe), and others.
By this point, my ears were stuffed, but I had to prepare myself for the insanity of Bartόk’s The Miraculous Mandarin. This piece has a lot in common with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring: a ballet with a scandalous premiere, a programmatic element involving a young woman offering herself up in some way (I’ll let you look up the details), an oppressive mood, lots of juicy woodwind solos and an absolute gauntlet for the orchestra. Stefan Asbury nailed the feverish mood right off the bat; the piccolos were screaming! It was kind of terrifying. Principal clarinet Todd Levy had the honor of two crucial solos. Both were great. I liked his third movement solo more, which felt more possessed and obsessed. Other woodwinds contributed to a fully realized hazy mood. Some brass climaxes later in the piece made me shiver, and the trombone section did remarkable work in the passage going into the “Chase” movement. Asbury’s final gesture on the last note, a kind of “gotcha!,” was perfect.
The more I think about this concert, the more it seems like a big deal. These were some major 20th-century orchestral excursions, and the MSO rose to the challenge. Stefan Asbury had a good rapport with them and seemed like the kind of conductor I’d want to play under. Many times I’d see a certain gesture from him and think “yes, that’s exactly it.” I remarked before that this evening felt long. Replacing The High Castle with something about half the duration might have helped.
