Last year, it was Mozart's turn to bask in the historical retrospective spotlight.
This year, it's Dmitri Shostakovich's turn.
Orchestras the world wide, starting last fall, began tipping their hats to the Russian composer, who often is hailed as one of the 20th century's greatest symphonists.
The anniversary of Shostakovich's birth (Sept. 25, 1906) proved good reason enough for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra to host its Russian Festival, which kicked off Thursday with Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor.
There are four events in all, including a casual Russian Salon featuring the TSO's acting principal flutist, the Russia-born Alexander "Sasha" Lipay. He will share music and memories on Tuesday and again Feb. 20 with TSO conductor George Hanson, Lithuanian pianist Povilas Stravinsky and TSO resident composer Dan Coleman. The festival concludes with Van Cliburn Competition finalist Fabio Bidini performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 2 for three days beginning March 8 — a day after fellow Van Cliburn winner Olga Kern plays the same piece with the National Philharmonic of Russia at Centennial Hall.
The TSO's Russian Festival picks up where its Mozart fest left off. It provides the audience a chance to see a style of music in all its colors, while allowing the musicians to delve into it more deeply than they would in a concert cycle, Hanson explained.
Hanson is a big fan of Russian music; in 2003 he snagged the prestigious Echo Klassik Recording of the Year prize for his album of works by Russian Anton Rubinstein. He recorded the album with his former German orchestra, the Wuppertal Symphony.
If you ask him to describe Russian style, Hanson starts talking in visual terms: "Reds that are deep and bright, blues that are almost neon," he explained.
"The Russians are wearing their hearts on their sleeves. There is none of the aristocratic air that surrounds a Brahms symphony," he said, noting that Western composers tend to hold back some of those emotions.
On the technical side, Hanson will tell you that Russian string players tend to press harder on the strings. The woodwinds and the brass tend to have a broader and more open tone, rather than tight and focused. And there's a certain freedom in a rhythmic sense.
"It's almost an intangible quality. . . . To explain it is almost impossible," Hanson confessed. "When you hear a Russian playing Russian music, there is no mistaking it."
Hanson said he is excited about all the programs planned in the series, but he's almost giddy about this weekend's kickoff concerts with Gringolts. The orchestra in early rehearsals was making magic of the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony.
"I think it's going to be very exciting," Hanson said.
PReview
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Russian Festival
• What is it: A four-event series celebrating Russian music in all its majesty.
• When: Kicks off this weekend and culminates with the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto concert March 8-9 and 11.
• Where: Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., Downtown, unless noted.
• Cost: Tickets for individual concerts vary. 882-8585 or Ticketmaster, 321-1000.
• "Gems of Russian Music," featuring Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts. 8 tonight, 2 p.m. Sunday. Program: Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain (arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov); Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor. Tickets: $24-$53. (See review in Saturday's Accent.)
• "Russian Salon," featuring Russia-born flutist Alexander Lipay, Lithuanian pianist Povilas Stravinsky and TSO resident composer Dan Coleman. 7 p.m. Tuesday and Feb. 20, Tucson Symphony Center, 2175 N. Sixth Ave. Program: Yuri Obyedov's Andantino; Michael Bourstine's Pastoral; selections from Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons"; Rodion Shchedrin's alla Albeniz; and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Tickets: $18.
• "Enchanting Russia," MasterWorks Series. 8 p.m. Feb. 24 and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive. Program: Rubinstein's "Russian Serenade"; Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise"; Liadov's "The Enchanted Lake"; Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sinfonietta on Russian Themes"; and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 in D major, "Classical." Sold out.
• "From Russia With Love," featuring pianist Fabio Bidini, a Van Cliburn Competition finalist. 8 p.m. March 8-9, 2 p.m. March 11. Program: Rubinstein's Music from "The Demon"; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor. Tickets: $18-$47.
• Can't get enough Russian music? UApresents is hosting the National Philharmonic of Russia, featuring pianist Olga Kern, on March 7 at Centennial Hall on the UA campus. Program: Shostakovich Festival Overture; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, Op. 29 "Pathétique." $21-$63 through UAPresents, 621-3341.
