The Mississippi Wind Symphony at Ridgeland High School, June 22, 2010
Shostakovich's Festive Overture opened the program; while some of
this composer's music can be dark and abrasive (remember, he lived
in Bolshevik Russia, a dark and abrasive place), this was cheerful
and rousing, and, some say, secretly celebrated Stalin's death. The
trumpets were brilliant, as they were in subsequent pieces. Next was
James Sclater's Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble, with pianist
Angela Willoughby (Sclater's partner in the Clarinet-Piano Duo
Lyricas). The first movement, titled "Joyful, vibrant", was just that,
with several themes appearing in various permutations. The second
movement was titled "Simple, intense" and was both lyrical and
tender, with large chords in the tenor-alto range providing harmonic
interest. The last movement, "Finale-scherzo" used repeated melodic
themes in what the program notes called "elements of rondo form". The
three movements provided appropriate contrast, and the piano and
orchestra were treated equally, with many passages for piano alone
or with minimal accompaniment (a wind symphony can easily drown
out even a large concert grand, but that was not a problem here).
Willoughby played the challenging score flawlessly and with
enthusiasm. This was an exciting performance of an exciting and
polished work, and I would like to hear it again.
After the intermission the orchestra played William Walton's Crown
Imperial March, commissioned by the BBC for the coronation of
England's King George VI in 1937. A familiar piece, it was stately
and, as one would expect, British in its style. Eric Whitacre's
October followed, at times gentle, at other times dissonant, and,
toward the end, big. The program closed with Vaclav Nelhybel's
Trittico, in three movements. The middle movement, Adagio, did not
contrast much with the first and third, which in turn were quite
similar to each other. The music was energetic and at times
compelling; many sections featured unaccompanied melodic episodes
(that is, episodes without harmony or counterpoint).
This was my first time to hear the Mississippi Wind Symphony, and
it was an exciting experience. In addition to brass and woodwinds,
there was a substantial percussion section, and no stringed
instruments except for one lone bass. The room, the Ridgeland
High School Auditorium, though not designed specifically for
concerts, was nevertheless an effective space for this group,
which had a bold but cohesive sound. Congratulations to Founder
and Conductor Craig Young on the 10th anniversary of this group!
- Glenn A. Gentry