Review: NJSO PERFORMS STRAUSS, VIVALDI AND ESMAIL AT NJPAC at NJPAC

The performance opened with a recent work by composer Reena Esmail, titled “RE|Member.”  Esmai grew up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City navigating multiple cultural identities. Esmail is currently in residence with several major organizations including the Los Angeles Master Chorale and was the Seattle Symphony’s composer-in-residence in the 2020–21 season. She’s also co-artistic director of Shastra, an organization that promotes cross-cultural music collaboration between the music tradition of India and the West.

This piece has gotten a myriad of performances by major orchestras recently.  Composed during the pandemic, the piece and was supposedly created to draw attention to the critical part that live performance plays in our cultural (and social) existence.   It was this reviewer’s first hearing of the piece so it would be disingenuous to comment on the quality of the performance, but the piece was certainly brisk and exhilarating.  It featured soloist NYSO principal oboist Robert Ingliss standing in the audience in a box stage right as he performed.   The piece began with an oboe solo with gave way to a broad majestic major theme introduced by the brass.   The piece seemed to be over before it even began (lasting just under ten minutes) ending with a very interesting, call and response duet between the oboe in the audience and the oboe on stage – creating a very interesting effect.

The Strauss Concerto for oboe and small orchestra can into being because of a random encounter at the end of WW II between Strause and a young American soldier John de Lancie.  DeLancie happened to play the oboe and he asked the legendary composer if he’d ever considered writing a concerto for oboe – to which Straus said absolutely not.   But fate stepped in and Strauss wound up writing one of the quintessential pieces for the instrument.  Despite being the inspiration for the composition, de Lancie, was not the performer in the premier of the pieces, because he was not the principal oboe in the Philadelphia Orchestra!  

Oboist Robert Ingliss returned to the stage for the piece.  The solo part of the concerto is extraordinarily difficult, requiring supreme technique along with great stamina and breath control.   As Ingliss performed the solo, one could only wonder if he had lungs of steel – for he never seemed to take a breath! 

It is a fairly long piece and the soloist is playing virtually the entire time.   The orchestration is extremely nuanced and Ingliss was regularly joined by contrapuntal melodies from within the wind section.   The lush melodies and modernist harmonies are reflective of the period in which Strauss composed it – the era of his “Last Four Songs”.    The three movements of the concerto were played without pause and conductor/music director Zhang led her forces deftly, and she displayed quite clearly that she has an exceptional almost telepathic connection with her soloist.

Mr. Ingliss’ playing was magnificent; combining dazzling technique with remarkable breath control while displaying extraordinary dynamics --  and beyond that, his performance had the greatest intangible of all:  it was brimming with joy!

The second half of the performance was dedicated to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.   The piece has become so ubiquitous (being used in no fewer than 4 current national commercials) it’s too easy to view it as somewhat over played and almost a musical cliché.   In the last few years, several reviewers have referred to the pieces as “cheesy”, and “uncool."

Don’t be fooled. 

There is a reason why certain pieces become classics and why others fade away.   And NJSO Concertmaster, violinist Eric Wyrick gave a strong case for the piece’s stature as possibly the most popular and well-known piece of orchestral music in the repertoire.  

As soloist and conductor of the piece Eric Wyrick, claimed center stage and led his string section through the four individual concerti that make up “The Four Seasons.”   Wyrick’s interplay with his fellow players was hand in glove and displayed both extraordinary technique and a sense of humor.   His fiery blasts were answered with equally adept passion from the member of the string section.  Cellist Jonathan Spitz gets particular kudos for his playing in the 3rd movement of “Spring” and in the 1st movement of the “Autumn” concerti.   There is little new that can be said about such a war horse except to say that Wyrick and company gave a bright, brisk, passionate, playful and (again) thoroughly joyful reading of the piece. 

Special note:  NJSO often has really wonderful talk-backs prior to their performances and Eric Wyrick’s talk-back was nothing short of magical – for all audiences from children to seniors in attendance.   It’s this reviewer’s considered opinion that a lot more attention could be given to these talkbacks are they are typically sparsely attended, and they are something that sets NJSO apart from so many other organizations.

Peter Danish

Photos by Grace Liu

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