Vivid musical portraits were definitely on the docket at the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera’s concert Thursday evening at the Tivoli Theatre as painted by guest conductor Markand Thakar.
Although temperatures outside were frosty, Maestro Thakar might have experienced it as a minor heat wave, coming from a post at the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. In addition to Thakar’s impressive resume as a conductor, he also boasts countless awards, radio broadcasts, recordings, books, reviews and teaching positions.
The program began with Beethoven’s “Overture to Coriolan,” intended to accompany a play and paint a musical picture of a heroic Roman general. However, many commentators view the music as more biographical of the composer’s heroic struggles. The maestro effectively directed the ensemble with large and commanding gestures.
Speaking of film music, Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront” is precisely that. Composed for the now classic film starring a young Marlon Brando (“I coulda been a contender”), Bernstein’s experience of having his musical ideas chopped to pieces cured him of ever doing another film. So he arranged them into a suite to be heard as he imagined. The work opened with a stunning solo by principal horn Gordon James after which the maestro led his enlarged forces through a demanding score, eliciting tender moments and raw savagery. It’s still a powerful work that rises above its original role as a soundtrack.
If there was a Symphonic Top 10, Dvorak’s “New World Symphony, No. 9” would definitely qualify. From its opening fanfare through the famous “Goin’ Home” movement featuring the haunting English horn solo, performed by Carey Shinbaum, the orchestra struggled to gel despite the maestro’s best efforts. But there were enough moments of magic to cause audience members to applaud between movements and provide a standing ovation.
The concert will be repeated today at 8 p.m.