Anchorage Symphony Orchestra's Passion & Seduction
by Terra Laughton - West Anchorage High School
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s Passion and Seduction concert on February 20th was a satisfying, multifaceted program sponsored by Alaska Regional Hospital. Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte Overture provided a light opening and a gentle transition into the Sympony’s program. Next came Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana, a serene piece perfect for the evening’s romantic theme. The final work before intermission was Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite. In 1928, Bartok reduced his final ballet to this suite, which contains two-thirds of its score. Conductor Randall Craig Fleischer chose to provide super titles describing the ballet’s storyline; some were directly taken from notes in Bartok’s score, the rest Fleischer wrote himself. The ASO seamlessly moved from the suite’s frenzied pace to slower, suspenseful selections and back again. The dissonance present throughout the suite was reminiscent of Stravinsky’s famous Rite of Spring, a ballet written around the same time and a clarinet solo played by Karl Pasch beautifully depicted the seductive dance of a young girl forced into a perilous scheme. The Symphony resumed with what is arguably the most famous piece from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite, Montagues and Capulets. The selection transitioned into a pastoral-feeling representation of the character Friar Laurence. Finally, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances rounded out the program with active, playful rhythms. Several changes in personnel took place on the 20th. Matt Berman served as Concertmaster while Kathryn Hoffer was unavailable. In addition, UAA percussion major Brady Byers assisted in the percussion section and Don Cosgrove played tenor saxophone, a rare sound in a symphony orchestra. The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra easily achieved their goal of evoking passions and romance in their fourth concert of the season.
Passion and Seduction
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, February 20, 2010 @ 8:00pm
Atwood Concert Hall
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