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Saint-Saëns at San Diego Symphony

The subversion of expectations has become my expectation

Saint-Saëns, confirmed Dionysiac.
Saint-Saëns, confirmed Dionysiac.

The first concert of the year at The San Diego Symphony was a miniature French festival. Overseeing the proceedings was conductor Ludovic Morlot. Previously he was the music director of The Seattle Symphony and has conducted world-renowned orchestras such as The Berlin Philharmonic and The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. 


The first piece was the non-French outlier of the evening. It was composed by a millennial named Gabriella Smith. The title of the piece was Bioluminessence Chaconne. It was a typical piece of contemporary music. It primarily relied on tone color and rhythm. Of course, there were harmonious elements but, true to contemporary form, nothing melodic emerged. Anything that I found to be interesting in the music was immediately interrupted by what appeared to be musical non-sequiturs. This is also true to the contemporary practice. The subversion of expectations has become my expectation. What would be truly novel is a piece that develops an element of the music in a way the audience can follow. The audience response was appropriately tepid.


The second piece was Violin Concerto No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns San Diego Symphony concertmaster Jeff Thayer was the soloist. It should be noted that Mr. Thayer performs on the 1708 "Bagshawe" Stradivarius. The instrument is a gift from Joan and Irwin Jacob's and the Jacob's Family trust. 


Saint-Saëns manages to subvert expectations with the dearth of fioritura sections for the soloist in this concerto. One might think that this makes the concerto technically accessible to a wider range of soloists. That might be true but it doesn’t mean that this is an easy piece of music to play. The soloist is forced to constantly focus on the tone and line of the music. Mr. Thayer played beautifully. Maestro Morlot made the most of the new Jacobs Music Center acoustic by ensuring the orchestra never covered the soloist. I was astounded that I could hear the solo violin from start to finish.


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Also astounding was “La nuit et l’amour”, the night of love. by Agusta Holmes. According to the program notes, Saint-Saëns proposed marriage to her but she rejected it. Based on this music, I would want to marry her as well. It was overtly romantic and atmospheric. What a gem to include on the program.


The big bad behemoth of the night was Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3. This is one of those symphonies that starts off strong and gains and gains and gains as it goes along. The momentum in the music is a Dionysian frenzy akin to Saint-Saëns’s accomplishments in his opera Samson et Dalila.  


When the organ came in forte, some of the unsuspecting patrons actually jumped in their seats. I must admit that it is something of a musical jump-scare. The orchestra, organ, and maestro Morlot blasted through the final section bringing the concert to a thunderous and victorious conclusion.

Video:

Saint-Saëns - Symphony No 3 in C minor, Op 78, "Organ", 4th Movement





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Saint-Saëns, confirmed Dionysiac.
Saint-Saëns, confirmed Dionysiac.

The first concert of the year at The San Diego Symphony was a miniature French festival. Overseeing the proceedings was conductor Ludovic Morlot. Previously he was the music director of The Seattle Symphony and has conducted world-renowned orchestras such as The Berlin Philharmonic and The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. 


The first piece was the non-French outlier of the evening. It was composed by a millennial named Gabriella Smith. The title of the piece was Bioluminessence Chaconne. It was a typical piece of contemporary music. It primarily relied on tone color and rhythm. Of course, there were harmonious elements but, true to contemporary form, nothing melodic emerged. Anything that I found to be interesting in the music was immediately interrupted by what appeared to be musical non-sequiturs. This is also true to the contemporary practice. The subversion of expectations has become my expectation. What would be truly novel is a piece that develops an element of the music in a way the audience can follow. The audience response was appropriately tepid.


The second piece was Violin Concerto No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns San Diego Symphony concertmaster Jeff Thayer was the soloist. It should be noted that Mr. Thayer performs on the 1708 "Bagshawe" Stradivarius. The instrument is a gift from Joan and Irwin Jacob's and the Jacob's Family trust. 


Saint-Saëns manages to subvert expectations with the dearth of fioritura sections for the soloist in this concerto. One might think that this makes the concerto technically accessible to a wider range of soloists. That might be true but it doesn’t mean that this is an easy piece of music to play. The soloist is forced to constantly focus on the tone and line of the music. Mr. Thayer played beautifully. Maestro Morlot made the most of the new Jacobs Music Center acoustic by ensuring the orchestra never covered the soloist. I was astounded that I could hear the solo violin from start to finish.


Sponsored
Sponsored

Also astounding was “La nuit et l’amour”, the night of love. by Agusta Holmes. According to the program notes, Saint-Saëns proposed marriage to her but she rejected it. Based on this music, I would want to marry her as well. It was overtly romantic and atmospheric. What a gem to include on the program.


The big bad behemoth of the night was Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3. This is one of those symphonies that starts off strong and gains and gains and gains as it goes along. The momentum in the music is a Dionysian frenzy akin to Saint-Saëns’s accomplishments in his opera Samson et Dalila.  


When the organ came in forte, some of the unsuspecting patrons actually jumped in their seats. I must admit that it is something of a musical jump-scare. The orchestra, organ, and maestro Morlot blasted through the final section bringing the concert to a thunderous and victorious conclusion.

Video:

Saint-Saëns - Symphony No 3 in C minor, Op 78, "Organ", 4th Movement





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