The Colorado Symphony explored three very different faces of romanticism during a program Friday evening in Boettcher Concert Hall featuring the welcome return of former principal guest conductor Peter Oundjian.
The concert opened with the symphony’s first performance of John Corigliano’s “The Red Violin: Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra,” which was created in conjunction with the composer’s Academy Award-winning score for the well-received 1999 film.
An evocative, solidly tonal work with an emphasis on percussion, it swings dramatically in mood and character, opening with a delicate air of exoticism and shifting to later sections with considerably more animation and faster tempos.
The piece gives the soloist quite a workout, from moments of dreaminess and atmospheric slides to others with devilishly fast, nonstop fingerwork. Guest soloist Anne Akiko Meyers handled it all with sure technique and deft expressiveness.
As a kind of encore, Meyers returned to the stage for a sensitively shaped version of the famed Meditation from Act II of Jules Massenet’s opera, “Thaïs.” All in all, it was a strong outing for the young violinist, who has established a solid, well-deserved international career.
Concluding the evening was the symphony’s first performance in nearly 20 years of the Symphony No. 4 in E flat, “Romantic,” by Anton Bruckner, a composer whose music can be counted on to generate strong responses both pro and con.
Although the one-hour, intricately constructed work is a kind of endurance test for both the players and audience, the musical rewards are many, including beautiful melodies and rich orchestration that unfold in slow, deliberate fashion.
Oundjian, the former first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet who just keeps improving as a conductor, was an ideal choice to lead this selection. He has a knack for bringing coherence and sweep to expansive works of this kind.
He and the orchestra delivered a cohesive, beautifully balanced interpretation of this symphony with detailed attention to its endless subtleties.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
