BWW Reviews: Midcoast Symphony Presents American Program

Maine's Midcoast Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rohan Smith presented a program of American composers, which included the rarely heard Symphony in E Minor by Amy Beach and music from George Chadwick's Symphonic Sketches, together with Ferde Grofé's well-known Grand Canyon Suite at Topsham's Orion Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, January 25, 2014. And while the audience most likely delighted in the last of these compositions, it was the Chadwick and Beach which gave the afternoon its primary merit.

Both composers of the so- called 19th century "Boston School" embraced the classical forms of European composition at the same time that their music was infused with Romantic spirit and with a desire to sing in a uniquely American idiom. Chadwick, who studied in Germany, evidenced an interest in Native American and African-American tunes, and his "Jubilee" is a lively fanfare which assimilates these influences and expounds on them in a manner that is not authentic folklore, but rather a hybrid of European, American, and ethnic inspirations. The orchestra, which was amplified in this piece by musicians from their student outreach program, played with verve.

Amy Beach's work, which happily is enjoying something of a much-deserved renascence, was here represented by her "Gaelic" Symphony. The composition in four movements shares with Chadwick the desire to reflect her own American heritage and roots - in this case using Irish folk tunes. From its skittering opening to the melodious and heartfelt romanticism of the third movement, the symphony is an artfully structured and poetic piece. The Midcoast orchestra, especially the excellent string section and oboes - fine solos by concert master Carol Preston, principal oboe Kristen Fox, and principal cello Patsy Dickinson - invested the composition with feeling and contour. If one might have wished for a little more lightness in the Irish melodies and a more expansive Romantic line throughout, Maestro Smith, nonetheless, shaped the composition coherently and paced it intelligently.

So, too, with the Grofé, where the conductor seemed focused on showcasing the various "exotic" solos, notable, among them Joyce Moulton on the celeste, and the fine work of the strings and woodwinds.

Overall, Maestro Smith has built a cohesive ensemble which plays with obvious delight and commitment. He brought to the program a keen sense of tempi and musical structure, and he was able to draw from the orchestra, especially when playing as tutti, a modulated, textured sound that did its best to sound elegant in the unkind acoustic of the Orion Center. (The sound lacks any cushion and often has a hard-edge.)

A caveat: the enjoyment of the program was interrupted by misplaced applause after individual movements. Might we suggest a discreet reminder in the printed program or in the introductory remarks?

The Midcoast Symphony, which celebrates twenty-five years this season, is to be congratulated for its enduring dedication to the classical repertoire and for its willingness to program neglected works, such as those on this program.

Photo Courtesy Midcoast Symphony

For more information on the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, call John Teller, Executive Director at 207-371-2028 or visit www.midcoastsymphony.org.