It’s always a good sign when concert presenters run out of printed programs. That was the case at the Arlene Concert Hall for the Portland Youth Philharmonic’s season opener November 9. A larger-than-expected audience came to hear the PYP celebrate the beginning of its 101st season in a demanding program of works by Silvestre Revueltas, William Grant Still, and Tchaikovsky under Musical Director David Hattner. But it was guest artist Hamani Froom who took everyone’s breath away with an awesome performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.
Froom, a PYP alumna, has won numerous competitions, including the Soloist and Orchestra Concerto Competition at the Talent Summer Courses and Festival in Brescia, Italy. She is in her second year at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, where her teachers are Robert McDuffie, David Kim, and Amy Schwartz Moretti, who was the concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony.
It’s kind of mind-boggling to fathom that Froom, who is only 18 years old, has the technical chops and artistry to play such a demanding work, but she not only did that, she excelled at it. With her fingers flying lickety-split in accelerandos and slowing down during ritardandos, Froom commanded each passage in the Tchaikovsky in stunning fashion, executing marvelous dynamic contrasts that wonderfully conveyed the emotional depth and beauty of the music. She articulated the myriad of notes with passion, including the accented ones that added a bit of spice, and superbly expressed with the poignant lyricism of the second movement.
The audience showered Froom with tremendous applause and cheers, and she received several bouquets, which was made a lovely tableau. Froom graciously followed with an encore, a soothing excerpt for violin an orchestra from Camille Saint-Saëns’ oratorio Le Déluge (The Flood).
The concert offered two pieces that were written in 1937. The first was Sensemayá, by one of Mexico’s greatest composers, Silvestre Revueltas, based on Cuban writer Nicolás Guillén’s poem that describes the ritual killing of a snake. The orchestra used the obsessive rhythm (mostly in 7/8) to evoke the slithering victim, and added a kind of primitive wildness with horns and the brass section wailing. The bassoons prowled around, increasing the tension, and the sound of the timpani made the piece almost palpable. Clear stickwork and exacting cues from Hattner kept his forces on course, and the result was an mesmerizing performance.
The other piece written in 1937 was the Symphony No. 2 in G minor (“Song of a New Race”) by William Grant Still, who is considered the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.” The orchestra, which filled almost the entire stage area, firmly expressed the rich melodic tapestry, punctuated by call-and-response sequences that harkened to Still’s African-American musical heritage. Lovely, silky passages from the strings and bold statements from the brass anchored each of the four movements. PYP’s large cello section (19 cellos) created a very warm sound whenever it had the theme. The slightly jazzy style gave the piece a relaxed feeling. A couple of solos could have been louder, because they were buried a bit; but overall, the orchestra under Hattner gave an outstanding performance of Still’s masterpiece. Its ending – with a grand forte followed by an extended phrase that was played by a few violins – did pose a question for the piece, which was mostly optimistic, as if to wonder whether America’s song would continue.
Now entering its second century, the Portland Youth Philharmonic left no doubt that it will continue to make great music with its young musicians. That tradition, which began in 1924, has provided excellent training and outstanding performances – a model for all of the youth orchestras across the nation – and an outstanding legacy for Portland and all of Oregon.
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