February can be chilly but the harbingers of Spring are there! The final weekend in February was gloriously alive with the vigor of Spring and two powerhouse composers – Brahms and Chopin! And best of all, it started with a Classic Conversation. Whenever you get the opportunity, arrive a bit early and your experience is that much richer!

Sunday, February 23, Gregory D. McDaniels (Colton Conducting Fellow) was our speaker and he discussed the concert in reverse order, concluding interview with Allison Loggins-Hull, the Resident Artistic Partner for NJS. She discussed the history of her work “Can You See” that began as a commission by NJS for a chamber group and blossomed into the East Coast Premiere of a full orchestra piece.

“Can You See” is a dialogue about the National Anthem where Loggins-Hull quotes from several musical languages in the US. She plays flute so she gave the flutes a bit of a feature. She extends some of the themes, making them introspective and questioning. Flute and violin double one another. She asks musically whether there IS focus. She experiments with the line where organic and inorganic (electronic-sounding) sounds meet.

Dis-chord-ant dissonance creates a sense of imbalance and unrest, while the violins create an almost electronic bending of tone that reflects the dizzying maelstrom of conflicting influences that surround us. These conflicting influences are even greater than when the chamber piece was composed in 2021.

This piece highlights the exemplary skill of the NJS as it plays this work that seems to bend time and space in a collide-a-scope that becomes gradually more sonorous until we return to We the People once more.

The Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 is a masterful work that begins with the Allegro Maestoso. This movement opens with all the passion a 19 year old could muster, is actually the second concerto he composed for piano. Living up to its name, the majesty and power of emotion alternate with more delicate swirls of contemplation, in keeping with the E Minor vibe. Tony Siqi Yun plays with a delicacy that speaks of Chopin's depth of feeling in phrasing and dynamic variation even within a phrase. Chopin’s love language is lush in a way that the piano seems to speak. Yun’s hands fly with strength and grace. The strings swell behind him and gracefully take the lead. There are glistening blistering glissandi and Yun vanquishes every one.
The next movement is Romanze: Larghetto where the orchestra begins very gently, then Yun enters with a deftly genteel walking phrase, ornamented as sunlight dapples a courtyard. This then builds, only to return to deeply gentle contemplation of the beloved. Birdsong punctuates more flowing glissandi.
The Rondo: Vivace (krakowiak) the final Rondo is a gleeful uptempo dance in a popular rhythm where it’s easy to imagine young Chopin with his arms full of Constantia Gladkowska, a young soprano he fancied then. Dancing was the acceptable public display of affection and this is most fantastic. Conductor Christoph König creates a true partnership between soloist and orchestra in a pas de deux of sound. These days, we text and send emojis, Chopin needed more show for the go to get the grrl. König & Yun rounded things out with a two-handed encore.

Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 was literally years in the making. While Brahms greatly admired Beethoven, it took a while to emerge from the shadow of the supreme architect of music (Ludwig) and this work nods occasionally to the Master. Starting with the Un poco sostenuto - Allegro as dramatic an opening as one might expect from Beethoven, there is an underlying Romantic warmth that puts this in a more modern place. Soaring like skyscrapers not yet invented, asking questions that may not require answers. König exhorts the orchestra, drawing the music forth and painting in dynamics and phrases as if they were gouache, opaque yet with depth. Andante sostenuto begins with a gravitas that speaks of emotion and depth. The beauty of the phrases is purely Romantic. Lighter than the first movement, it speaks of the Devil in the details.
Un poco allegretto e grazioso is lighter on its feet, joyous gamboling among the sections is punctuated by the adventurous moments here and there, modal phrases and the sweep of the swirling of joy and wonder. Finally, the Adagio- Piu andante- Allegro non troppo, ma con brio, the oh-so-grand finale begins quietly with a tiptoe of strings that builds in intensity with a stirring call from the horn section, a low key stirring for the rally to the flag to begin. Mustering the sections, they build then subside. Each reports in, starting with the strings, a nod to Ode to Joy then full on happy, then pensive, then lively, then sweeping drama. This movement ties everything together that’s gone before and I feel Beethoven’s hand on Brahms’ shoulder.

The entire season is magic! Get your tickets today at www.njsymphony.org.