Concert Review: Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich

Igor Stravinsky's "Scherzo Fantastique," is notable for its striking variation in tone. The work is almost Baroque in its divisions: the first section is intense, almost hurried; the second is slower, luxurious, while the third returns to the first theme, but with considerable variation in tone and rhythm. However, the composer's use of repetition is far more subtle than in a Baroque or even a Romantic work: the dominance of the horns in the first section is replaced by the dominance of the woodwinds in the last section, and stringed instruments and a flute introduce notable differentiation of sound and tonal quality. Also, the complexity of the rhythms is quite modern. Stravinsky's "Scherzo" was supposed to be inspired by the activity of honeybees, buzzing in their hives, with only the middle, momentary pause for the worker bees attending to the queen. This sense of hive-like activity clearly came through in the performance.

Rachmaninoff's "The Isle of the Dead" (Symphonic Poem, Opus 29), a poem explicitly about the underworld, is notable in the way it is less apt to make use of dynamic rhythmic structures but still conveys the 'storylike' quality of Stravinsky's more segmented work. Rachmaninoff's symphonic poem sounds somber and fatalistic: gradually, the themes of the dirge-like opening trudge onward, creating an almost unbearable buildup of tension. Stringed instruments set the ears of the listeners on edge as they hum on, like a warning -- making the climax of the buildup all the more starling.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Opus 93 takes the form of four distinct movements. Each movement -- the first slow and lyrical, the second swifter and more playful, the third almost bracing in its quickness, and the fourth brooding and darker -- can seem complete in and of itself, but listened to as a whole unit, Symphony No.10 conveys the full range of human emotions, from hopeful and carefree to utter despair. The performance courageously shows all of these shades of emotion, without trying to soften Shostakovich's sense of darkness and ambiguity regarding the themes he raises, even though the work comes at the end of what is an ambitious and difficult program.