Vail – Mark your calendars. It’s a good bet the Philadelphia Orchestra will be back for next summer’s Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
The ensemble’s first Colorado residency, which ended Saturday, was a success in nearly every way. It generated a sellout and two near sellouts, and, if three musicians leisurely enjoying ice cream Friday afternoon was any indication, the players had a good time as well.
Most important, the music-making was first-rate, as Friday evening’s penultimate concert in the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater made abundantly clear. Philadelphia is one of the world’s great orchestras, and it sounded like it.
The program’s brilliant second half will not soon be forgotten. With seasoned guest conductor Hans Graf on the podium, the orchestra took on two celebrated works meant to be orchestral showpieces, and that’s exactly what they were.
In less sophisticated hands, Ottorino Respighi’s “Fountains of Rome” can sound saccharine and trite. But this transporting, sublime version made it impossible for listeners not to sit up and hear afresh.
The warm, enveloping, plush sound for which this orchestra has long been acclaimed could be heard to advantage, as Graf drew forth the piece’s rainbow of tonal colors, finding just the right dynamics and keeping things balanced.
Next, setting Respighi’s fancies aside, Graf and orchestra pounced on Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Suite, bringing a fevered urgency to the climatic “Infernal Dance” and then drawing back for the soothing “Lullaby” and a suitably moving take on the “Final Hymn.”
The concert opened with an exuberant interpretation of Emmanuel Chabrier’s short “España,” Rhapsody for Orchestra, a lively, carnival-like piece that is a perfect opener for a summer festival concert.
Then came the evening’s only weak moment – Edouard Lalo’s “Symphonie Espagnole” for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 21. This less frequently heard work (actually a concerto, despite its title) is a good but not great work, requiring a passionate, even showy soloist to pull it off.
Unfortunately, 25-year-old Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo didn’t fit the bill. While she has abundant technique, as she made clear in the lightning twists and turns of the final movement, her playing was too controlled.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
