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Posted on Sun, Oct. 25, 2009 10:39 PM
Concert review | The Kansas City Symphony
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It was something of a family affair at Friday’s concert by the Kansas City Symphony at the Lyric Theatre.
Violinist Kanako Ito, in her 10th season as the orchestra’s concertmistress, took center stage as soloist in an exciting performance of Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor.”
Ito employed a sumptuous tone in the work’s famous opening theme. As the movement progressed, she also displayed impressive musicality and driving energy.
Music Director Michael Stern conducted a well-balanced performance, keeping the orchestra’s dynamic levels soft enough to let the solo lines dominate. In addition, he stretched the phrases beautifully in the movement’s slower central section.
In the second movement, Ito utilized a marvelous blend of lyrical line and rich tonal color. The exciting finale brought the audience to its feet.
Even the opening work, Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3,” conveyed a familial air: Stern conducted an intimate group of 10 strings and harpsichord.
Although the opening movement suffered from a handful of intonation slips in the violins, the performance was nicely shaped and musically satisfying.
The Kansas City Symphony Chorus, directed by Charles Bruffy, joined the orchestra and four vocal soloists for Franz Joseph Haydn’s thrilling and dramatic “Lord Nelson Mass.”
From the outset, the chorus sounded strong and impressive, and balance with the orchestra was quite good, with the exception of the organ, which stuck out like a sore thumb.
The vocal quartet was better on the inner parts — mezzo-soprano and tenor — than the soprano and baritone. From the opening “Kyrie,” soprano Mary Wilson sounded harsh, especially at the top of her range. Baritone Nathaniel Webster sang with beauty and resonance in his upper and middle range, but didn’t have the chops for the ungodly lowest notes in the “Qui Tollis.”
Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cook was magnificent in the “Agnus Dei,” and tenor Thomas Cooley sang with lyrical beauty throughout the work.
While the performance was quite good overall, the violins never seemed to be together on the ornamental phrases at the beginning of the Agnus Dei. The chorus suffered a few cases of a single tenor entering early and a few fuzzy-toned soprano entrances.
Posted on Sun, Oct. 25, 2009 10:39 PM
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