In reverent performances, the Jacksonville Symphony admired the careers of some of classical music’s greats Friday and Saturday nights. The characterful and dynamic program saw the Symphony and conductor Courtney Lewis welcome special guest pianist Barry Douglas for a sturdy rendition of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”) following a sensitive account of Samuel Barber’s Overture to “The School for Scandal” and drama-filled display of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.
Barber’s too-scarcely performed but thrilling “Overture to the School for Scandal” opened the stage to a broad cast of characters. Intrigue entered with the strings’ nervous energy, answered by boastful stomps in the brass. Chattering winds commented on the scene. Oboist Danny Rios’s graceful English horn solo reminded us of proper manners with a confident delivery of Barber’s balanced theme.
The program continued from Barber’s most youthful work to one of Sibelius’s most mature. The ensemble’s attention to the building energy throughout the first movement, with the pace carefully controlled by Lewis, drove to a convincing close. The storytelling, warm color and ensemble interplay of the second movement inspired me the most, despite receiving little mention in the spoken program notes.
The final movement’s swan theme predictably stuck as the most memorable ear worm of the night, but the flight of wind phrases and dancing pizzicati in the middle movement brought us along for a soaring adventure. Notably, near the end of the movement, the strings’ unified phrase punctuation displayed their control.
The final movement recalled the buzzing energy of the Barber, opening now to a broad and bold rendition of the swan theme. The maturity of sound and ensemble’s unity only increased to the end, where ensemble and conductor collaborated toward the evening’s grand high point. The audience felt the excitement of what they just experienced — Sibelius’s notoriously abrupt ending received quite a bit of early applause before we took flight for intermission.
The second half of the program opened with Barry Douglas’ understated entrance to the stage. However, the following display of pianistic virtuosity, with the orchestra’s heralding chords, revealed the character of this classical music giant. The first movement’s themes moved with a sense of purpose and attention to the bigger picture. Douglas’ polite, reverent sound brought us a long way from the ill-mannered characters of the concert’s first work.
The expansiveness of the second movement, with the piano emerging subtly from the string sound, caused us to ponder. The bombast and dance of the final movement’s theme brought us to a raucous dance, before Douglas’ mesmerizing encore waved a gentle goodbye. The program’s personality — including nods to the early and late careers of composers and performers, coupled with Irish connections between performers and the opening work — gave a strong sense of admiration for classical music’s traditions. To sense where those traditions might take us in the future, we’ll have to await another program.
Matt Bickett is a musician and scholar living in Jacksonville. He serves as Director of Music Ministries at Riverside Presbyterian Church and Artistic Director of the Friends of Music at Riverside.
