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Bartók’s Suite from the Miraculous Mandarin was a welcome change last Friday night from the staid romantic overtures that often open symphonic programs. The near-capacity audience in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts was treated to an striking and well-played program. In the Bartók, the violins brought a buzzing energy to the opening, while the clarinet section was featured to great effect throughout the work, with notable solos, duos, and sectionals. Oboe and bassoon solos were also well played, while changes in mood and texture maintained a crisp energy. The rollicking dance section brought the piece to an end with bright woodwinds, powerful percussion, and bold brass.

Though he was born in Uzbekistan, pianist Behzod Abduraimov brought an element of hometown pride for the Kansas City audience, having spent the last several years studying his craft with Van Cliburn-winner Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University. The featured soloist opened Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with his signature bright, crisp tone. There were some tempo discrepancies early on, with Abduraimov setting the pace and conductor Michael Stern forced to keep up, but the piece soon settled into a comfortable gait. Abduraimov wowed with brilliant, rich chromatic scales and gestures throughout prompting a young woman near me to whisper to her date, “He’s twenty.” However, age had little effect on the young pianist’s refined, confident playing. The piece’s famous eighteenth variation was sufficiently romanticized without becoming schmaltzy. My favorite, though, was the subsequent nineteenth variation. The finale was scintillating and Abduraimov offered yet more Russian music with an encore overflowing with extravagant scales and glissandos for a thoroughly appreciative audience.

Prokofiev’s Suite from Love for Three Oranges was another well-played offering from the Symphony, with only a portion of the sixth movement losing some of the work’s initial energy. The second movement featured a great showing from the low brass and an exotic array of percussion. The famous soviet march of the third movement, which ironically became the theme song for the 40s CBS crime drama, The FBI in Peace and War, maintained the vitality and balance. The rarity of an orchestral viola solo was impressive in the work’s fifth movement.

Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber rounded out this exciting program. Rich horn calls accompanied impassioned melodies from the first violins in the first movement, while atmospheric chimes and more esoteric percussion accompanied a sensitively played flute solo in the second. The ensemble offered a strong build up throughout the second movement while the chimes and timpani offered dexterous solo passages in the latter half. Impressive flute and horn passages brought the fourth movement to a strong finish.

As I listened to this high energy performance laden with twentieth-century gems, I wondered if I was witnessing Kansas City Symphony turn the page in their relationship with twentieth-century literature. In the past, the ensemble had sometimes served up lackluster readings of works similar to the Bartók and the Prokofiev, but not this evening. Friday, the ensemble brought a vibrancy and adroit sophistication to such literature, while still offering a lovely romantic concerto. Behzod Abduraimov was a hit, playing fiercely and passionately in his first appearance with the Kansas City Symphony. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City Symphony
Miraculous Mandarin plus Rachmaninoff 
November 18–20, 2011 (Reviewed Friday, November 18)
Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit http://www.kcsymphony.org

Top Photo: Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony 

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.