It's hard to fathom that it took the Tucson Symphony Orchestra 90 years to muster the courage to perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major.
They finally got around to it this weekend in two concerts at Tucson Music Hall.
On Sunday, before an audience of 1,800-plus, the orchestra under the baton of Music Director JosΓ© Luis Gomez left us breathless in its hour-plus long performance.
Yes, it was a big ask of the audience to sit still for 64 minutes, but honestly, it didn't feel that long. Any time you felt your mind wander, Gomez brought you back with a little more tempo from the violins, thunderous rumble from the percussion and a chorus of brass.
The Bruckner, in the concert's second half, followed a breathtaking performance by Irish pianist Barry Douglas of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor. It had been about a dozen years since Douglas played with the orchestra and after watching him at the keyboards with the Tchaikovsky β the piece he played to win gold at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition β we really hope he doesn't make us wait another dozen years for his encore.
Douglas plays with alternate delicacy and muscle. He let his fingers dance down the length of the keyboard, almost like he was playing the scales, then crossed left over right in an impressive acrobatic stroke. His solo runs were expressive without being flashy, and when the music grew more dramatic and urgent, he tempered the energy to bring out Tchaikovsky intentions.
Throughout the piece, Douglas traded roles with the strings, which would play a lovely melody that Douglas would answer quietly, playing every note with delicate precision. When the strings grew more urgent, he matched it with muscular determination, only to be quieted by the solitary voice of Alexander Lipay's flute.
At the end of the first movement, the audience applauded, which some would say is breaking classical music protocols. But they are to be forgiven; Douglas and the orchestra was deserving of the interruption.
Many of us thought coming into Music Hall Sunday afternoon that Douglas's performance would be the only highlight; we were happily mistaken.
That Bruckner really was incredible. Gomez brought so much passion to the piece, building from a quiet opening that had the strings gently sweeping as the horns and clarinet echoed in the backdrop. He allowed the strings to swell to nearly frenzied pace before bringing them back to create this lovely melody that floated softly over the hall.
But the quiet was quickly interrupted by the rumbling percussion and excited exclamation of the brass. And then the strings chimed in with the energy of track stars, bows going up and down at a fever's pace that was paused with brief interludes of pizzicato play. The woodwinds let their voices be heard only to be interrupted by the deep-voiced brass and the occasional beat on a drum.Β
That was the first movement, which left at least one violist breathless. The woman, seated on the far left side of the stage, placed her instrument in her lap and stretched her arms behind her during the quick pause.Β
The Bruckner is a true testament of how well Gomez and the orchestra have gelled. The musicians needed little coaxing β a small hand gesture, a shoulder tilted in the direction of the violin section, a subtle nod to the brass section in the far back β to build the drama of the second movement from quiet serenity to this groundswell of frenetic, breathless playing. The timpani thundered, the string section quivered, woodwinds tried to muscle their voices into the conversation until the cymbals crashed and the triangle lent a solitary high-pitched ringing.
And with the rumble still hanging in the air, Gomez brought the strings to a quiet just long enough for everyone to collect their breath.Β
When the orchestra drew its final note of the Bruckner, the violist who needed a seventh-inning stretch midway into the symphony exhaled like she had just crossed the finish line after running a marathon. And we were there to congratulate her with a rousing ovation.
