A man from the audience came up to Conductor Keitaro Harada after Friday night's Tucson Symphony Orchestra concert and extended a hand.
Best performance of "Carmen" he and his wife had ever witnessed, he told the guest conductor who led the orchestra's MasterWorks concert at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Oro Valley โ the first of three performances this weekend.
The fan was speaking for many of us in the audience. The "Carmen" finale โ a dozen short songs from Georges Bizet's famous opera โ ย was one of the most energetic romps we've seen in a long time from the orchestra.ย
For the final four or five minutes of the 35-minute performance, the whole orchestra seemed on the verge of leaping out of their seats and breaking into one giant dance party.ย
Harada was at the podium, bouncing on the balls of his toes, flailing his arms in time to Bizet's racing score. The Cincinnati Symphony associate conductor, leading without a score, pointed to his left and the violins came to life. In the back of the stage,ย Fred Morganย pounded on the timpani and Kathyrn Miller, in her first big appearance for the orchestra since being named acting principal trumpet, added a high-pitched brassy wail to the mix. In the middle of it all, principal flutist Alexander Lipay's singular voice pierced the chaos.ย
Off to the far north side of the stage, poor principal harpist Patricia Harris could only smile as Homero Cerรณn and another percussionist banged cymbals and a snare drum right behind her. She all but laughed when the thundering crash quieted to a metal-on-metal tap on the triangle.ย
It was dizzying and exhilarating and totally fun. Dozens among the couple hundred people in the hall politely tapped their toes and swayed along, as if they were doing something of a chair dance.ย
And that was only 30 minutes of ย the 90-minute concert. Here's what else rocked that performance:
โข Violin soloist William Hagen was tapped at the last minute โ last week โย to fill in for a pair of guest violinists who called in sick. The move resulted in the TSO changing its program from the Mozart Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major to Saint-Saรซnsโ Violin Concerto No. 3.
And here's the thing: It's a piece the orchestra hasn't played since 1962. Which means the majority of the musicians โ almost all of them to be more precise โ have never played that piece with this orchestra. But you sure couldn't tell from their performance Friday night. Harada coaxed a wonderful balance of sheer elegance and raw emotion.
And Hagen was terrific. He has that confidence without a hint of cockiness that gives him license to take chances. And he has the technical chops to uncover every nuance no matter its subtlety of Saint-Saรซns score and bring all the drama and beauty โ especially evident in the lush second movement โ to bear in a sound that is muscular, yet vulnerable. His performance was spectacular.ย
โข First time for everything: Harada opened Friday's concert with Faurรฉ'sย "Masques et bergamasques," the orchestra's first time ever performing it. Harada brought out the quiet elegance of the French piece with delicate flourishes from the strings and winds.
In his hands, the Faurรฉ turned out to be a delightfully fun frolic, with melodies that were accessible and fun for the audience, especially the handful of kids participating in the orchestra's months-old Marshall Foundation-funded TEAMtix initiative. Launched in September, the program provides free tickets for teens and a parent or guardian.
