Review: EPO's first Classics Concert a thrilling performance

The sound of the tremendous applause at the conclusion of the first Classics Concert of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra might still be ringing in the Victory Theatre, so enthusiastically was the entire program received and so thrilling was the orchestra’s performance.

The final work on the program, Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” featuring a palette of musical portraits of works of art, culminates in the grandiose “Great Gate of Kiev,” where all instrumental forces — including tolling chimes and a brass section on steroids — evoke the majesty of an architectural feature in a city now infamous for its abuse.

Saturday’s wonderful performance featured several fine trumpet solos, and the unusual use of the saxophone (in Maurice Ravel’s orchestration) gave a haunting voice to “The Old Castle.”

While musical pictures filled the interior of the Victory Theatre, actual artworks from local elementary school students bedecked lobby walls.  That “Symphony of Color” worked as a fine counterpoint to the music within the hall.

The concert opened with a youthful work by American composer Samuel Barber, the Overture to “The School for Scandal.” Dramatic, at times piquantly dissonant, but full of lovely lyrical moments, the Overture has become a staple in the concert repertoire.

The highlight of the concert, however, was the Evansville premiere of the Double Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra, composed by Sheridan Seyfried for the two soloists, who are brothers.  An engaging composition, the Double Concerto opens with a lovely musical figure that is traded between the soloists.

That the young violinists were seasoned performers became immediately evident. They played with easy proficiency and great musicianship. The third movement of the concerto drops the lyricism of the first and morphs into a rollicking hoedown, which the brothers — with their Curtis Institute and Juilliard pedigrees — had no problem mastering.

So great was the audience ovation at the final foot-stomping note that the brothers generously offered three encores. The first, a Csárdás by Vittorio Monti arranged for two violins, continued the breathtaking demonstration of the brothers’ dexterity and virtuosity. Then followed works in genres not usually found in a classics concert. First was a sensitive (and nostalgic, for many in the audience) setting of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Another ovation.  Finally came a string version of “Despacito” that even Luis Fonsi would have approved — certainly the audience did.

An interesting and significant note: Someone behind me on the main floor uttered the word “Amen” after several movements of the Mussorgsky composition.  I thought that a fitting commentary on both the music and its performance.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Review: EPO's first Classics Concert a thrilling performance