It wasn’t hard to figure out if the Colorado Symphony’s family concert Sunday afternoon was a success or not.
Excited whispers, delighted laughs and enthusiastic applause made it clear that the one-hour program was a hit with the sold-out audience in Boettcher Concert Hall.
Exemplifying the contented listeners was a little girl in pigtails who was bouncing in her seat and using both hands to conduct along with the music. A Marin Alsop in the making perhaps?
The fun program brought together two of the most popular pieces in the orchestral repertoire — Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals” (1886) and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” (1936).
But because they were written with children in mind, they tend to be performed solely on family programs. Concertgoers who attend only the orchestra’s main subscription series never hear them, and music critics rarely review them.
And that’s a shame.
While these works are certainly good for kids, they are hardly just kid stuff. The composers took this music seriously and so did associate conductor Scott O’Neil and the symphony musicians Sunday, investing this music with due dynamism and expressiveness.
These evocative works contain no shortage of challenges, especially the abundant solos. Typically, these solos would be taken by the principals — the heads of each section. But because many of them had the day off, the audience got a welcome opportunity to hear some of the orchestra’s talented No. 2s.
A particular standout was flutist Catherine Peterson, with her bright, ringing tone and sure technique. She impressed in the “Birds” section of “Carnival” and gamely portrayed the bird in “Peter and the Wolf.”
Two well-matched, local talents — Pan Xiao and Priscilla Shinae Oh, winners of the Wells Music Yamaha Piano Competition — served as the keyboard soloists for “Carnival,” one or both playing in nearly all of the work’s 14 sections. The two young pianists seemed undaunted by the pressure or the music’s difficulty, performing with commendable poise and polish.
Also deserving note was Joey Wishnia, who brought a veteran-actor’s flair to his animated narration for “Peter and the Wolf.”
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
