The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera presented a highly engaging and well-balanced program of early 20th century music for chamber orchestra this evening at the Tivoli Theater. The featured work was Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo’s entertaining second guitar concerto, Fantasia para un gentilhombre (‘Fantasy for a Gentleman’). The eloquent and sensitive soloist was the award-winning Spanish guitarist, Pablo Villegas.
Nicely framing the concerto were two works by the more “cosmopolitan” composer, Igor Stravinsky. His Concerto in Eb (also known as “Dumbarton Oaks”) opened the concert, and, after a brief intermission, the concert concluded with an outstanding performance of Stravinsky’s elegant and energetic Pulcinella Suite, all under the steady leadership of Conductor Kayoko Dan.
A somewhat challenging work for both orchestra and audience, Dumbarton Oaks (completed in 1938) proved to be an interesting choice as a program opener; a kind of auditory palate-cleanser before the main course to follow (the crowd-pleasing Rodrigo work). One of the last works in Stravinsky’s so-called “Neo-Classic,” middle-period style, it was inspired by the music of 18th century composer, J.S. Bach. The musicians were especially effective in expressing the austere beauty of the slower, more lyrical second half of the second movement.
Stravinsky’s effective use in this piece of astringent harmonies, irregular meter, and “rhythmic dissonance,” cleverly transform the musical style of Bach into the distinct musical voice that is uniquely Stravinsky’s own. This is music as much for the mind as it is for the heart, and it was a joy to hear the CSO perform it.
However, it was the guitar concerto, and especially the soloist, Pablo Villegas, that most in the audience came to hear. And, both soloist and orchestra delivered–big time! Composed at the request of virtuoso guitarist Andrés Segovia in 1954, Joaquin Rodrigo based the work on six short dances for solo guitar by the 17th century Spanish composer, Gaspar Sanz. Thoroughly engaging, even for first-time listeners, the work is full of charming tunes and captivating rhythms.