Fury. Drama. Passion.
Continuing the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s tribute to Sergei Rachmaninoff, CSO music director Jeffrey Kahane and Russian piano virtuosa Olga Kern brought down a full house with the composer’s theatrical Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40, and “Symphonic Dances” on Friday night
But first, Kern opened the evening at Boettcher Concert Hall with a piece not on the program. Stunning in a flared, garnet gown, she soared through Rachmaninoff’s 18-minute Piano Sonata No. 2 with aplomb. Sure, steady and sensual in her approach to the harmonically dense solo work, she rendered its dreamy middle movement and weighty finale to a rapt audience.
With the orchestra on stage, the fetching fashionista then re-emerged in a feathered, copper-hued evening dress to deliver the piano concerto with warmth and precision. Upon a brief but vivid orchestral exclamation, the 34-year-old soloist dotingly shaped each subtle motif of the concerto even as she confidently landed its grandiose chords and pianistic pyrotechnics.
In perfect step with Kahane — not to mention the calibrated expansion and contraction of the orchestra — Kern effortlessly glided through the melodic lines of the first movement and the richly romantic sentiments of the second. Referencing one of Rachmaninoff’s favorite musical themes — the “Dies irae” — the Largo movement was portrayed as a gentle dance leading into Kern’s brilliant, flashy performance of the exhibitionistic passages that bring the concerto to its close.
Generously indulging her local fans, Kern proceeded with encores, including a mesmeric take on Rachmaninoff’s familiar Prelude in C-sharp Minor.
After intermission, Kahane and his terrific band delved into an energetic reading of Rachmaninoff’s exacting “Symphonic Dances” — the composer’s last completed work and the only one he wrote in this country.
The expressive, rhythmically vibrant Non allegro opening showcased principal players Peter Cooper on oboe and Chad Cognata on bassoon. Both delivered extraordinarily polished performances.
Kahane led the orchestra through the expansive, waltz- like middle movement with just the right momentum to lead into the initially unhurried finale.
Upon another suggestion of the “Dies irae” theme, the CSO then picked up its tempo, closing the program majestically.
The two-weekend Rachmaninoff extravaganza concludes tonight featuring Kern’s artistry in Rachmaninoff’s popular Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program are soprano Rhoslyn Jones, tenor John Danieki, bass Anton Belov and the CSO Chorus in the Alleluia movement from Rachmaninoff’s Byzantine-textured “Vespers” and his choral symphony, “The Bells.”
