After winning the American Symphony Orchestra League’s prestigious adventuresome programming award last year, the Lamont Symphony Orchestra was at it again Thursday evening.
The University of Denver student ensemble performed Joseph Schwantner’s “Angelfire (Fantasy for Amplied Violin and Orchestra),” a bold selection by any measure. The still little-known, 20-minute work was premiered in 2002 by the National Symphony.
Showing the kind of derring-do and indomitable virtuosity for which she is known, the violin soloist for that work’s debut five years ago joined the Lamont Symphony for this repeat performance – Anne Akiko Myers.
Her appearance was made possible through a collaboration with Newman Center Presents, DU’s performing-arts series. The partnership is in its second year and is quickly becoming something of a tradition.
It allows the students to work with a top-level soloist or outside group, showcases the orchestra and gives audiences an opportunity to hear a fine evening of music for an unusually attractive ticket price.
“Angelfire” is a tough, weighty and unrelenting work, with often dense, sometimes discordant harmonies and certain repetitive sections that draw on the minimalist style. The juxtaposition of the amplified violin and unamplified orchestra is jarring, deliberately isolating the soloist and adding to the overall uncomfortableness of the piece.
Much like the composition as a whole, the extremely difficult solo part has a kind of alien, sometimes agitated feel, because of its mix of packed, dizzyingly fast runs, very high-pitched passages and odd slides.
Myers seemed unfazed by the work’s daunting technical challenges. She bored into it with steely determination and unwavering intensity, offering an authoritative, grittily expressive interpretation.
The only glitch was a string, which broke with an audible snap about five minutes into the work. She stepped off stage and quickly replaced it, with the performance picking up at the 72nd bar, even though she might have started over.
The orchestral part offered its own set of technical hurdles, and conductor Lawrence Golan and the well-rehearsed symphony handled them capably.
Indeed, the ensemble acquitted itself well all evening, including a suitably light, translucent version of “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” with impressive solo flute work by Sonya Yeager-Meeks.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
