Along the way toward that explosive finale, the keyboard and ensemble (MacMillan uses only a string orchestra here) toss around catchy folk songs and dance rhythms in any number of ways, suggesting nostalgia in some places, drunken determination in others.
The cleverness and tension in the schizophrenic score came through vividly Thursday night. British pianist Rolf Hind played with a rather soft and self-effacing touch in the first two movements, which made his eventual explosions in the finale - including a passage where he was called upon to drum out frantic beats on the underside of the piano - all the more startling.
MacMillan brought obvious authority to the podium and drew some lively playing from the BSO strings in the concerto. In Stomp, he summoned from the full orchestra a good deal of sound and fury.
Except for the Sixth, Beethoven's even-numbered symphonies are considered by some to be less important, less eventful than the rest, an unfortunate and unsupportable viewpoint. The Second is particularly rich in potent ideas, as MacMillan illustrated in remarks to the audience before going on to produce a thoughtful, invigorating performance.
He offered much more than mere traffic control, emphasizing the work's sinewy power and paying attention to the subtleties that give it so much character. The orchestra jumped into the action with impressive force.
Chamber Orchestra
The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra did some exploring of its own this week in another of the imaginative programs music director Markand Thakar has put together this season. Focusing only on the string sections of the orchestra, Thakar balanced two chestnuts, Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik and Dvorak's E major Serenade, with a little-played gem by Puccini, Crisantemi, and something rarer still - the U.S. premiere of the Veena Concerto by Canadian composer John Burge.
A seven-string instrument from southern India, the veena has a distinctive tone and, judging by this 2004 piece, a good deal of expressive possibilities. Burge wrote the concerto for Lakshmi Ranganathan, who doesn't read music. Not surprisingly, room is left for improvisation from the soloist, but within a tidy, three-movement structure.
Burge's style owes something to minimalism (which, of course, owes something to Eastern music), and he employs the technique to generally engaging effect. The second movement is particularly attractive, with the veena intoning a pensive, scale-like melody over gently shimmering, reiterative pulsing from the ensemble.
The performance Wednesday night at Goucher College flowed smoothly. Ranganathan, sitting cross-legged on a small platform, seemed in perfect synch with Thakar and the ensemble.
As for the rest of the concert, the Mozart piece passed by pleasantly, though with some unevenly matched violins. Thakar caught the mood of the elegiac Puccini work beautifully, and the playing was admirably sensitive. Other than the uneven tonal quality in the violins, the Dvorak gem received a nicely balanced, characterful performance.
tim.smith@baltsun.com
