Photo by Kristin Hoebermann
Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg returned to town to play with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) last Friday evening, bringing her one-of-a-kind artistry to the fascinating Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. It feels like an understatement to say that the performance was a triumph.
Salerno-Sonnenberg seems to live through every note. I have always thought of her as a musical equivalent of a great actor, going far beyond what is on the page and performing with rich and deep understanding of subtext. Honest emotion emerges as she finds what seems to be the most dramatic potential in any music she plays. There was plenty of drama in this concerto. And there were those Salerno-Sonnenberg meaningful looks out at the audience adding to the intensity.
Salerno-Sonnenberg was mesmerizing as she played daringly soft at times. She whipped up a dizzy frenzy in the blazing second movement scherzo with brilliant, intricate and gutsy playing. The long solo cadenza that leads into the fourth movement went from mournful murmur to hot anger. When the concerto finished the audience gave an immediate roar. If I had to choose the most exciting performance of this MSO season, this would be it (edging out the John Williams concert). Edo de Waart and the orchestra at the top of their game added to the excitement.
The program had a 1940s theme, with three pieces written between 1940 and 1948. Samuel Barber’s Essay No. 2 featured captivating playing from the woodwinds. De Waart led a well-shaped account, leading into the stately and powerful conclusion. De Waart and the MSO were terrific in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. The woodwinds were featured again with a wonderful, long section of dialogues between instruments (which seemed to give the piece a faint bit of kinship with Barber’s).
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The second movement waltz was fluid and elegant, with De Waart and the orchestra moving with such grace through changes of tempo. Brass and horns were sharp and powerful in the final movement. Strings sounded both lush and crisp throughout. The dancelike quality inspiring each of the three movements was playfully present in this colorful, vivid performance.
