When they say that Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is one of the most technically challenging in the concerti repertoire, they need to add an asterisk:
*Also the most physically challenging.
Watching Russian-American pianist Olga Kern perform the No. 3 with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on Friday night was like watching a long-distance athlete compete in the Ironman.
Where on earth did she find the physical strength and stamina to play with unwavering enthusiasm and technical prowess nearly non-stop for 40-plus minutes?
Her fingers were a blur for much of the performance, which is largely driven by the piano; the handful of piano pauses throughout couldn’t have totaled more than two or three minutes.
And yet, here she was, barely breaking a sweat as she showed off impressive dexterity, hopscotching left hand over right before scaling the keyboard at breakneck speed to coax the subtleties of the Russian composer’s muscular passages.
Russian-American pianist Olga Kern joined the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Friday for the first time in two decades to open the orchestra’s 2025-26 season.
In the few times when the pace slowed, Kern caressed the keys, summoning expressive passages filled with emotional depth that was accentuated by TSO Music Director José Luis Gomez and the orchestra.
One of the biggest thrills of her performance came during her powerful turn at the first movement cadenza, a raw and emotional performance that left us holding our breath and her needing to take a breath.
This is the first time Kern has played with the TSO since 2003, when she came here as part of her 2001 Gold Medal win at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; she is the only woman to ever win the competition.
Gomez and the orchestra, with new Concertmaster Jesús Linárez and Associate Concertmaster Ludek Wojtkowski making their official debuts, opened the concert with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez’s “Toccata.” Oboist Max Adler was terrific in the pastoral solo opening that led to woodwinds and brass joining before the whole orchestra got involved and the piece became a spirited fanfare.
Gomez anchored the concert with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, which the TSO last performed in 2019 with a guest conductor at the podium. This was our first time seeing Gomez’s vision for what some contend is one of the Finnish composer’s greatest works.
For 43 heart-pounding minutes, Gomez mined every ounce of pulsating excitement from the Sibelius, from the syncopated brass and woodwinds to the percussive voices of the cellos and bass played pizzicato.
He balanced lush string passages against the extended quiet thump thump of the timpani before unleashing a torrent of dramatic energy from every corner of the orchestra. And just when we were convinced the piece had reached its climax, Gomez pulled it back, teasing out Sibelius’s melodies and harkening to those early phrases with hints of nationalistic pride.
Gomez’s approach to the finale lived up to the hype: rolling timpani, brilliant brass notes and shimmering strings punctuated by the audience’s extended applause.
Kern and the orchestra will perform the concert again at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets start at $18 through tucsonsymphony.org.
