In classical music, the audience is drawn to a concert more by the repertoire on the program than who is playing it.
That was in evidence at the Tucson Symphony Orchestra concert Thursday when a little-known pianist stepped in to sub for guest soloist Fabio Bidini, who was felled by the flu and had to bow out earlier this week.
There were 1,350 in the audience to see the New York native Terrence Wilson make his hastily-arranged TSO debut playing Rachmaninoffβs Third Piano Concerto. Those folks packing the orchestra and spilling into the balcony were not there necessarily to see Wilson or the man he replaced; they wanted to hear the Rach 3, as it is fondly called.
The fortune for us was that Wilson is a superb pianist who plays the Rach 3 with a technical proficiency, warmth, energy and pizazz that cries out βcalling card.β It was apparent after Thursdayβs performance β which earned him a full-house, on-your-feet-before-the-final-note-dissipated prolonged standing ovation β that Wilson has a deep affection for the piece, which he played with the Eugene (Ore.) Symphony in September and in mid-December in Europe. It would not be surprising if the 33-year-old became the go-to man for Rachmaninoff.
The Rach 3 is reputed as the most demanding concerto of the standard piano repertoire. Gently thick passages lead to ferocious climaxes that give way to dramatic cadenzas throughout, testing the pianistβs technical prowess and agility. Pianists both revere and fear the piece; Polish-American pianist JΓ³zef Hofmann, to whom Sergei Rachmaninoff dedicated the work in 1909, never played the piece publicly, reportedly because of its difficulty.
Wilson does not appear to fall into that category of pianists who fear the Rach 3, judging by his assured performance Thursday. He played with elegance, exuberant energy and understated ballet-like hand gestures that rarely veered into flashy show-stealers.
Watching him was like peeking through the window of Wilsonβs living room. There was an intimacy to his demeanor that was endearing as his hands glided along the keyboard. During the fierce cadenza in the first movement, he crossed his left hand over the right, back and forth, at sometimes unfathomable speeds. The faster the tempo, the faster his fingers flew, and as he danced down the keyboard, he scootched down the bench, bouncing from end to end throughout the performance.
We quickly learned that this is how Wilson performs the Rach, with assured hands hopscotching the keyboard with confidence, producing pristine, lush tones that brought to life the Rach 3βs energy and romantic melodies.
The only noticeable flaws came in the third movement when it appeared a couple times that Wilson and the orchestra were briefly out of sync. Conductor George Hanson quickly regained the momentum and no harm was done.
Wilson barely yanked his hands from the keyboard when the audience bolted to its feet with shouts of bravo. The thunderous applause continued even after the house lights came on for the intermission, prompting Wilson to return to the stage for his fourth bow.
The concert also included a brilliant reading of Tchaikovskyβs Symphony No. 5, which Hanson conducted without a score. The second movement horn solo by principal Johanna Lundy was breathtaking.
Review
Tucson Symphony Orchestra at Tucson Music Hall Thursday, featuring guest pianist Terrence Wilson. Concert repeats at 8 p.m. tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday.
