Hundreds of Tucson Symphony Orchestra concertgoers in all manner of dress — from high schoolers in their Sunday best to casually attired adults who could be their grandparents — milled about the Tucson Music Hall courtyard Thursday night.
They waited their turns in tidy lines at several large telescopes. As the wind picked up and chilled the night air, one by one they peered into the scopes for a glimpse of Mars, Saturn and the Orion Nebula.
Inside the Music Hall, the TSO was presenting a musical glimpse of those two planets and five others, composed between 1914 and 1916 by Gustav Holst. Saturn seen through the telescope outside was a speck with bright rings; in Holst's imagination, it represented "the Bringer of Old Age," the arbiter of our mortality.
Conductor George Hanson emphasized all the angst, frustration and sentimentality you might imagine feeling in the face of growing older. Twin harps plucked out a repetitive beat that sounded like a clock ticking. Or was it a heart beating?
There's a gnawing sense from the intro of deep-voiced brass and the lower tones of the cellos and basses that growing old is not always peaceful and pleasant. The feeling of frustration — best exhibited by the blast of horns, high-pitched like the gnashing of teeth, and the repetitive whine of the strings — carries through the movement.
Each planet represents a movement in the 51-minute piece. Throughout each, Hanson sought to paint a vivid picture of the emotions Holst assigned them, starting with the tremors of battle in "Mars, the Bringer of War."
Hanson accentuated the shattering timpani and panicked horn exclamations and carried that tempo through in the strings, leaving the audience with a sense of imminent battle.
The twin harps in "Venus, the Bringer of Peace," restore calm. The orchestra performed "Venus" with a warm tone, creating an ambient soundscape that seemed to float overhead.
"Mercury, the Winged Messenger" is the playful interlude, introduced with a clarinet and flute zigging and zagging with childlike exuberance.
That mood carried through in "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity," perhaps the most musically pleasing of all the planets. It opens with a wonderful trumpet declaration that's seconded by the timpani and the horn. There's this sense of triumph — horns blasting, the metallic echo of the tambourine, percussive booms — that segue into this glorious hymn. To be honest, it was hard not to break with decorum and give the orchestra a standing ovation right there.
"The Planets" ends with "Neptune, the Mystic,"which quietly takes you to the center of the universe. It is celestial and otherworldly, almost New Age-y in its ambient tone.
About midway into "Neptune," the house lights in the balcony came on and the sweet, sublime sound of female voices grew from a silent gasp to a magnificent force. From the orchestra seats, you couldn't see the women, members of the TSO Chorus; they were tucked somewhere in the balcony.
The orchestra stopped playing and the women continued singing, filling the hall with a celestial sound. In their voices you were made to wonder if Neptune holds the key to heaven's gate.
This is the first time the TSO has performed "The Planets" since 1994.
The concert also included a wonderfully romantic yet muscular performance of Elgar's "Variations on an Original Theme," a 29-minute piece that builds on a theme in 14 variations, all meant to represent people in Elgar's life. It grows from angelic in the intro — a nod to Elgar's wife — to outright gigantic and imposing.
That grandiose finale was Elgar's way of defining his own personality, emphasized with larger-than-life string gestures and percussive blasts that were playful and captivating.
Review
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Thursday night at Tucson Music Hall.
The concert repeats at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Call 882-8585 for tickets.
Et cetera: The TSO musicians continue to perform without a ratified contract.
