{"id":5010,"date":"2018-01-30T13:40:35","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T11:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/maaratlemata-en\/jarvi-estonian-orchestra-make-an-impressive-stand-at-kravis-center\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T07:19:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T05:19:26","slug":"jarvi-estonian-orchestra-make-an-impressive-stand-at-kravis-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/2018\/01\/jarvi-estonian-orchestra-make-an-impressive-stand-at-kravis-center\/","title":{"rendered":"J\u00e4rvi, Estonian orchestra make an impressive stand at Kravis Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra proved a real musical sleeper when it played a\u00a0superb concert<\/a>\u00a0at the Kravis Center in 2013. That performance impressively displayed an orchestra of world-class stature from the Baltic nation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday night the Estonian ensemble returned to West Palm Beach. This time the orchestra\u2019s venerable artistic director and principal conductor Neeme J\u00e4rvi was on the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surprisingly the program opened with\u00a0Homeland Tune<\/em>\u00a0by Estonian composer Heino Eller, the work that the orchestra offered as an encore at its previous South Florida appearance. Scored only for strings, this brief sentimental and nationalistic vignette immediately demonstrated the group\u2019s unique sound. With the violins divided on either side of the conductor\u2014six basses on the far left and violas and cellos across the middle\u2013these players produce greater depth of tone than most American or European orchestras. Their corporate sonority is dark and rich.<\/span><\/p>\n

Garrick Ohlsson is a familiar visitor to South Florida concert stages and Brahms\u2019 Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor is hardly a rarity on orchestral programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet Ohlsson and J\u00e4rvi brought some fresh insights and interpretive quirks to a performance that was far from conventional. J\u00e4rvi\u2019s tempo in the orchestral introduction was unusually slow but he drew out the lyricism and undercurrent of tension in the brooding second theme. There was more than a small dose of Chopinesque elegance and romanticism in Ohlsson\u2019s approach to the first movement but he also had the steel-fingered aplomb for Brahms\u2019 keyboard outbursts. There were a few slips in the horns but the reedy and tangy winds were a real treat to hear, especially when melded delicately with the piano by J\u00e4rvi.<\/span><\/p>\n

The orchestra\u2019s strings soared through the noble melody of the Adagio which J\u00e4rvi shaped poetically.\u00a0Ohlsson\u2019s sensitive playing captured the yearning and ardor of Brahms\u2019 interlude between the stormy outer movements. Setting a rapid pace for the final Rondo, Ohlsson\u2019s digital dexterity swept through the principal subject while bringing a more measured aura of grandeur to the secondary theme. Instrumental balance between choirs was near-ideal and the fugal sections were given unusual precision. J\u00e4rvi made every instrumental line clear and audible.<\/span><\/p>\n

A standing ovation brought Ohlsson back for an encore of Chopin\u2019s Waltz in C sharp minor. The 1970 Chopin Competition winner played with a lightness and rhythmic brio that did not neglect the waltz\u2019s underlying melancholy.<\/span><\/p>\n

J\u00e4rvi has long been a distinguished Sibelius conductor. Kudos to him for closing the program with the Finnish master\u2019s Symphony No. 3 in C Major rather than one of the more frequently played symphonies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Third Symphony is too rarely heard outside of Finland, it represents Sibelius at the peak of his creative powers. The 80-year-old J\u00e4rvi is still a lively figure on the podium with a clear beat and purposeful gestures. The vigorous opening figure of the symphony was given high gloss treatment as it was passed from the strings to winds and then brass. Climaxes had granite-like solidity and J\u00e4rvi maintained rhythmic urgency and forward motion right up to the conclusion of the first movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The waltz like melody of the Andantino con moto is one of Sibelius\u2019 most beguiling creations, and J\u00e4rvi\u2019s no-nonsense direction gave it due lilt and grace. Wind sonority was hefty and the strings\u2019 pizzicatos emerged clean and crisp. The cascading melody in the winds that opens the\u00a0final movement had plenty of zest without becoming breathless. As the typically Sibelius melody that concludes the symphony vibrantly emerged in the strings, J\u00e4rvi built the big crescendo in gradual layers with the climax taking on cumulative force.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cheers rang out immediately after the last notes sounded and Sibelius\u2019s\u00a0Andante festivo,<\/em>\u00a0J\u00e4rvi\u2019s appropriate encore, found the ensemble\u2019s strings in full bloom with the timpani climax perfectly calibrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Regional Arts Concert Series at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach continues with two concerts by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. On February 14 at 8 p.m. Riccardo Muti conducts Stravinsky\u2019s\u00a0Scherzo fantastique,<\/em>\u00a0Brahms\u2019s Symphony No. 2 and Jennifer Higdon\u2019s Concerto for Low Brass.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 2 p.m. February 15 Muti conducts Verdi\u2019s Overture to\u00a0I Vespri Siciliani,<\/em>\u00a0Britten\u2019s Four Sea Interludes from\u00a0Peter Grimes,<\/em>\u00a0Mozart\u2019s Clarinet Concerto with soloist Steve Williamson and Chausson\u2019s\u00a0Po\u00e8me de l\u2019amour et de la mer<\/em>\u00a0with mezzo-soprano Cl\u00e9mentine Margaine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra proved a real musical sleeper when it played a superb concert at the Kravis Center in 2013. That performance impressively displayed an orchestra of world-class stature from the Baltic nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-reviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5392,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5010\/revisions\/5392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erso.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}