Through all the pain of the pandemic, we were nevertheless blessed with the opportunity to re-examine our lives. To take a look at the path we chose and reconsider if we'd done as much with our brief time on Earth as we could. And maybe make a change.
The kind that conductor Andrew Manze undertook about a decade ago. In classical music circles, the Englishman had been regarded as an early music specialist, focusing almost exclusively on works created in Europe in the 1700s or earlier while making his name with groups like the Academy of Ancient Music and the English Concert. But then he decided to branch out and try his hand at leading larger orchestras in works of the 19th and 20th centuries, even premiering new pieces.
And, judging from his first collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra midday Thursday, Manze has blossomed beautifully. He's an extraordinarily charismatic conductor with very strong interpretive ideas, and he and the orchestra seemed to click quite well on works from the three most recent centuries from the pens of Johannes Brahms, Eleanor Alberga and Dmitri Shostakovich. It was a very rewarding concert, each work given a high-contrast performance guided so gracefully by Manze that there was no danger of whiplash from the twisting mood changes.
But the enthusiastic audience's loudest praise came for a pair of soloists from the orchestra. Violinist Susie Park and cellist Silver Ainomäe teamed up to present Brahms' "Double Concerto," a work with plenty of the stormy fury that's among Brahms' trademarks. Yet Manze made sure that the performance made plenty of room for subtlety and gentleness, too, eschewing histrionics and opting for an admirably delicate touch.
And the soloists were superbly simpatico, most notably during fast unison passages and the slow movement's gentle conversations that have always sounded like a tribute to Brahms' friendship with violinist Joseph Joachim. (The piece was something of an olive branch from the composer that helped the two put a multiyear estrangement behind them.) The central Andante felt like pleasantly floating on the surface of a lake, while Manze helped give the finale a devilish playfulness.
Also sparked by friendship was Alberga's "Tower," written in memory of violinist David Angel. It proved a moving tribute, especially when a central string quartet reduced the music to its hushed and wistful essence. It proved a lovely star turn for principal second violinist Jonathan Magness.
Like the Brahms, that piece often went from loud to soft and back again several times, but the concert's champion of dynamic contrast was Shostakovich's First Symphony. At age 19, the Russian composer already was establishing a style that stayed with him throughout his career, sometimes a jester, other times a harbinger of dark tidings.
While there was much menace to be found, there were also moments of dancing delight, albeit often bookended by daunting blasts of brass and percussion, chilling marches then giving way to oases of quiet reflection. Even when the work was at its most whimsical, Manze never really let anxiety leave the building. Shostakovich has become a Minnesota Orchestra specialty in recent years, and this performance brilliantly captured his emotional complexity.
Minnesota Orchestra
With: Conductor Andrew Manze, violinist Susie Park and cellist Silver Ainomäe
What: Works by Johannes Brahms, Eleanor Alberga and Dmitri Shostakovich
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.
Tickets: $35-$104, available at 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org
Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com
