Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra 
Dr. Allan Dennis, conductor
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Evanston
February 19, 2017

by Michael Cameron

  Sunday at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston, the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra once again delivered the goods with a compelling program of fiercely challenging repertoire, while giving a richly deserved platform to pair of exciting young virtuosos.

With Dr. Allan Dennis on the podium, the orchestra’s captivating performance of Stravinsky’s ballet-burlesque Petrouchka defied expectations of what is possible with a student ensemble. The orchestra had earlier tackled the other two revolutionary Stravinsky ballets (Firebird and The Rite of Spring), so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that they could deliver a confident performance of music of such difficulty, sophistication, and concentration.

Stravinsky had already begun preliminary work on the The Rite of Spring when discussions with ballet impresario Diaghilev sent him in another direction, to a story of a straw and sawdust-stuffed puppet suddenly come to life. The character of Petroushka was described by the composer as “the immortal and unhappy hero of every fair in all countries”, and his depiction of the adventures of the title character remains a favorite among dance troupes the world over.

For their previous concert, Dr. Dennis delivered on a richly hued, detailed performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, a sprawling work that is famously taxing of string sections. The challenges in Petrouchka come from other sources, including complex tempo changes, odd metric structures, and an abundance of virtuosic passages for woodwinds, brass, and percussion. This work tests the adage that a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link, and time and again the players rose to the occasion with characterful solo turns and tightly rehearsed section playing. Dr. Dennis deftly guided the students through Stravinsky’s maze of odd meters and quicksilver tempo changes. Balances were carefully gauged, and the characters and situations of the timeless story came to life in a vivid procession of tableaus.   

Throughout the ballet, the woodwinds were uniformly superb in both solo and ensemble passages, beginning with flutist Jonathan Wu’s agile fanfares in the festive opening sequence, with principal violist Peter Dudek leading his section in swirling accompanying figures. First stand players Hannah Nussbaum (trumpet) Ruchira Ray (clarinet), Timothy Zhang (oboe), and Sara Mouscher (piccolo) provided just a few of the many highlights in the ballet’s first part. 

Percussion sections are often the unsung heroes in 20th century repertoire, but Stravinsky’s brilliant orchestration (snare drum scene connections, abrupt timpani interruptions, etc.) often puts these back row workhorses through their paces. Brass section playing excelled throughout, propelled by the strong leadership of Nussbaum, Christopher Martin (horn), and Eleanor Lerrick (tuba). Concertmaster Anna Stenzel's ostinato passages in the Russian Dance were taut and lively, while the grumblings of the bassoon and contrabassoon lines at the appearance of the Charlatan were played with relish by Sarah Gibes and Nick Nocita.

The program also included vital performances by two winners of the 2016 Walgreens Competition. The overall winner in piano in the MYAC Senior Division was George Dalianis, a 10th grader from Maine South High School in Park Ridge. Dalianis choose an evergreen warhorse for his appearance, the first movement of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Countless recorded and live performances of this beloved work linger the memory, but his youthful vigor and formidable technical command left a strong impression. The pianist exhibited a firm hand in the rapid octave passages, and he coaxed a spontaneous lyricism in shaping the concert’s famous tunes.
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The Brahms Violin Concerto is not a common choice for entrants in youth competitions, owing perhaps to the length and intensity of the opening movement and the belief among many that any reasonably probing account could only flow from the hands of an artist with at least a few years of professional experience. But Karisa Chiu is no ordinary young violinist, and her reading of the monumental concerto was persuasive from start to finish. The senior from Palatine was the String Category Winner in the Open Senior division in the competition, and it was clear from the opening bravura passages that she had paid enough dues to earn her appearance with the MYAC Orchestra. Her attention to every musical and technical detail was uncanny, yet she never wavered in her commitment to conveying the overarching structure.  

Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra 
Dr. Allan Dennis, conductor
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Evanston
October 16, 2016

by Michael Cameron
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Considering the disastrous reception that greeted his first symphony in 1897 under the baton of Alexander Glasunov in St. Petersberg., it’s a wonder that Serge Rachmaninoff was able to summon the courage to try his hand in the genre a second time. The first experience sent him reeling into a three year tailspin of chronic depression, a condition ameliorated only after months of therapy, hypnosis, and eventually a temporary relocation to Dresden.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 is nothing if not sprawling, even long-winded. The success of the premier and the composer’s subsequent readings of it were undercut by doubts among other conductors about it’s near hour length. For decades after it’s premier in 1908, performances were often cut, sometimes mercilessly so. These attempts at editing flourished in part because the composer himself seemed not especially committed to publicly defending its honor.

In recent years the original score has gained traction among Rachmaninoff’s more fervid champions, and it was this unabridged version that Allan Dennis and his Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra brought to Pick-Staiger Concert Hall Sunday night. There are other flashier, more overtly virtuosic orchestral works in the canon, many of them tackled by the MYA orchestra on previous occasion. But few of them test stamina and tax string sections more than Rachmaninoff's formidable 2nd.

Dennis began his reading with an ominous incantation from the lower strings, a “motto” theme that appears as a fragment of the main idea, setting up the fuller treatment by the violins later in the introduction. The upper strings reached a resplendent climax before English horn player Annika McDermott-Hinman intoned a mournful phrase, leading directly to the allegro proper.

As the longest movement of the symphony, the first poses a particular challenge for interpreters. Dennis and his forces paid particular attention to structural signposts, many of which are fortunately marked by the introduction and re-statements of some the composer’s most memorable melodies. String tone and technique was uniformly superb throughout, and concertmaster Anna Stenzel contributed a beautifully molded solo passage, providing an echo of the movement’s introduction. Rarely, if ever, have I heard the MYA strings play with such polish and commitment. 

While this is undoubtedly a string centric symphony, the brass and percussion added heft to the first movement climax just before the return to the opening tunes. Credit principal trombonist Reid Harman and trumpeter Hannah for leading the charge. Principal clarinetist Alex Abreu also excelled on numerous solo flights.

Rachmaninoff is not as esteemed as some of his Russian counterparts as an innovative orchestrator, but the bubbling scherzo show flashes of brilliant orchestral colors. The opening flickers of light from the violins (with brittle open e strings) and horns served as a launch pad for a taut reading of the scherzo. In an unusual feature for this form, the composer inserts a lush and lyrical interlude, and once again the upper strings rose to the occasion. Sonorous trumpet, horn, and lower brass choruses announced the final bars, a nimble fadeout that softened to a whisper. 

In a broad-boned symphony such as this, it isn’t surprising that new ideas are employed to announce extended introductions and transitions. Yet the sublime Adagio seems to emerge from nowhere, and Dennis played up this feature with hushed opening notes that quickly surged into a full-throated statement of one of classical music’s most enduing melodies. It’s a tune that can easily morph into overwrought Hollywood schmaltz, but Dennis let the impossibly long-winded tunes emerge organically. The clarinet solo is one of the most prized possessions in the instrument’s repertoire, and Abreu was easily up to the task, spinning the captivating tune with great attention lavished on it’s natural shape, a feat made possible with remarkable breath control. 

The fourth movement opens with a march-like episode in the home key of E (but this time in a triumphant major mode) with MYA’s fine trumpets, horns, and percussion providing much of the heavy lifting. The return of the principal melody of the slow movement by the violins came wistfully bathed in a mist of nostalgia, decorated with beautiful roulades by principal flutist Jonathan Wo.

The final bar hits the listener with a rhythmic figure common to many of Rachmaninoff’s bigger orchestral works, and not only was this gesture delivered with a satisfying snap, audience adrenalin was boosted by a jubilant shout from the podium. It was hard to believe that nearly an hour had passed since the opening bars, so enthralling was the performance and so keen was the attention given its forward sweep. A memorable performance indeed, and in sheer vigor and commitment comparable to that of many a professional orchestra. 

​MYA April 24, 2016
Pick-Stainer Concert Hall
 
The final spring concerts for Midwest Young Artists are always emotional affairs, with artistic director Dr. Allan Dennis bidding farewell to his senior class, many of whom have been a part of MYA for five years or more. At the Symphony Orchestra concert Sunday at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University, the event was even more personal than usual, thanks to a solo appearance by Carrie Dennis, violist and daughter of the conductor.
 
To say that papa Dennis has reason for pride is an understatement. A 1995 alum of MYA herself, the violist was appointed Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra after graduating from the prestigious Curtis Institute, and soon after became Solo Violist of the Berlin Philharmonic, arguably the most illustrious ensemble of it’s kind on the planet. She returned stateside in 2008 to take the principal chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the behest of maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen.
 
Bartok’s Viola Concerto, commissioned by legendary violist William Primrose, is seen by some as the weaker sibling to his other concertos. This assessment is made in part because he left the work unfinished at his death, though it was eventually completed by his close friend and former pupil Tibor Serly in 1949.  This version was then significantly revised by son Peter Bartok and violist Paul Neubauer in 1995, the edition used in this concert.
 
From the opening pages it was clear that this was a performance to be reckoned with, both father and daughter bringing a determined common purpose to the thorny score. The opening unaccompanied lyrical line was lovingly traced before a quick transition to agitated figures traded back and forth with the alert orchestra. Ms. Dennis threw herself in the performance with utter commitment, digging into the angular lines with riveting intensity, but never letting her interpretation turn ragged or overindulgent. One minute she was negotiating leaps and double stops with pinpoint accuracy, and the next pulling her multi-hued sound back to a whisper.
 
If the finale betrays the influence of Serly as much as Bartok himself, in Ms. Dennis’ hands there was no hint of diminished inspiration. This movement brims with folk song (the last time Bartok would mine this particular source), and orchestra and soloist gave a scintillating reading, from the illusion of the droning bagpipes to the last scalar flourishes. It was a bravura performance all around, and exhibit A of the essential role Midwest Young Artists plays in the Chicago area cultural and educational landscape.
 
The concert opened with a memorable account of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, a work originally intended to open the opera Fidelio. But even during it’s construction it was understood by the composer to work better as a stand alone concert work. The slow introduction was a marvel of restraint, marked by simple lovely octave passages in woodwinds and upper strings, with delicate arpeggios intoned with ease by principal flutist Lucy Wu. Dr. Dennis chose a zippy tempo for the main allegro, and his forces played with fire and conviction. Trumpet player Hanna Nussbaum provided a gleaming solo from backstage, meant in the opera Fidelio to signal the arrival of a minister from the capital to inspect the prison which is unjustly holding Florestan. The superb upper strings dug into the rapid fire scales that begin the coda, and the orchestra brought the heroic work to a rousing completion.
 
Dr. Dennis is fond of picking orchestra standards that will push his young musicians to explore their limits, a strategy that paid handsome dividends in this concert thanks to a vivid reading of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. Hushed rumbles in lower strings and low brass set the stage in the forbidding opening introduction, and bassoonist Sarah Gibes and clarinetist Torin Bakke lead their sections in setting the mood. Horn player Lindsay Aaronson contributed many fine solo turns, while the oboe solos were expertly rendered by Lucy Chavez.
 
Chavez and Gibes shone once again in the Lullaby, and the final pages were brought home with brilliant intensity by the crack percussion section, bass drum featured most prominently. The parents in the audience gave the ensemble a richly deserved stranding ovation, and another fine class of talented seniors bid farewell to MYA and entered a new phase of promise and independence.   

MYA - Walgreens Competition
February 28, 2016
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
 
The Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra gives several splendid concerts each year, showcasing the cream of the crop of Chicago area young instrumentalists. For many, including this listener, the most highly anticipated of these performances is the winter concert that features the annual winners of the Walgreens Concerto Competition. In addition to thrilling concerto performances by two brilliant young artists, Dr. Allan Dennis presented compelling performances of two orchestra standards at opposite ends of the tempo spectrums.
 
The overall winner of the Open Division of the competition was 16-year-old violinist Zachary Brandon, using as his vehicle arguably the most challenging movement in concerto literature, the finale of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, amusingly dubbed “a polonaise for polar bears” by Sir Donald Tovey. From the restless, edgy opening in the instrument’s lower register, to the angular dotted rhythms that send the instrument soaring into the highest realms, Brandon kept the audience on the edge of their seats with a performance of unflagging energy and youthful dynamism. Of Brandon’s numerous musical attributes, most impressive was his steely sound that projected easily over the orchestra to the farthest seats in the hall.
 
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is an equally stern test, even for seasoned professionals. In the concert’s sprawling first movement, 15-year-old Kimie Han, winner of the MYA Division, seemed unfazed by any of these difficulties, either digitally or musically.  She dug into the swift scaler passages with ease, and held nothing back during the composer’s wryly dissonant outbursts and blistering scalar passages. Her feisty reading combined equal measures of vigor and polish, and she tended to the movements’ odd lyrical moments with a delicate touch.
 
Richard Strauss once wrote that he could only compose when confronted with some kind of dramatic or literary inspiration, and he harnessed this ability to depict character and incident through music to bring the musical form “tone poem” to life. Franz Liszt’s tone poems may have had vague extramusical associations, but Strauss’ creations captured the visual world with much greater specificity. (He once boasted that he could depict a glass of beer in musical form!). He is generally not considered a radical composer from today’s viewpoint, but when the 21-year-old decided to pay a musical tribute to a certain famous lady’s man after seeing Nikolaus Lenau’s Don Juans Ende in 1885, his imagination was fired to white hot intensity. His tone poem Don Juan debuted in 1888 to a rapturous reception, paving the way for several more tone poems and 17 operas. The orchestration places unprecedented demands on musicians, and to this day is the source for many of the most feared passages in orchestra auditions.
 
Such challenges might be assumed to put the piece out of range for teenage musicians, but the orchestra pulled off a performance that was as riveting as many a professional ensemble. The opening cascades of 16th notes are meant to convey a “tempest of excitement” (in the composer’s words), and Dennis and company threw themselves into the bustle with infectious brio. Once the hyper-activity subsided, the spotlight shifted to a series of nicely turned solos and section work. Concertmaster Robert Sanders’ solo passages were spun beautifully, while oboist Lucy Chavez brought a lovely touch to Strauss’ extended cantilena, a representation of the protagonist’s second conquest. Special kudos to the horn section, whose massively powered call perfectly captured Don Juan’s impatience as he rushes off on another amorous adventure.
 
If Strauss left little doubt as to the inspiration behind his tone poems, Barber’s Adagio for string orchestra is a shape-shifting marvel. It has been appropriated by an endless parade of film directors and pop artists, from “Platoon” and “Elephant Man” to studio producer William Orbit and rapper Sean Combs. Some conductors try to wring every drop of pathos from the score with lethargic tempos, but Dr. Dennis’ more reasonable pace kept the structure in tight focus. The students responded with a warm, moving performance that left their proud families clearly moved.