I was a member of SYSO in the 2009/2010 season, and ever since I would 'almost' make it to most of their concerts, but for some reason most of the time I'd never actually go. I finally subscribed this year, so I'll be going to all of them. The first one was yesterday afternoon at Benaroya Hall. They perform on the same stage the Seattle Symphony does.
The program consisted of scenes from Romeo and Juliet by Berlioz, 'Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody' by Bloch, and the second half was Brahms' Symphony No. 2. Hana Cohon was the concerto competition winner who performed solo cello for the Schelomo, and Stephen Radcliffe was the conductor for the afternoon. He was the music director of SYSO back in 2009 as well, and I really liked working under him. I joined the orchestra solely because of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony being on the first concert, but I also enjoyed the other two concerts which included Schubert's 9th Symphony and Mahler's 2nd.
Before the concert began I met the father of the principal oboist, who was sitting with his wife right behind me in Box B. They seemed like a really nice couple, and the guy chatted with me for a bit, curious about whether I had a kid in the orchestra, because I didn't quite look old enough. I explained that I used to be in the orchestra, and that they're the second best orchestra in town and I like going to good concerts.
After some guy whose position I'm not sure of came on stage to introduce the concert and talk about a few things, Radcliffe took to the podium to conduct the Berlioz. It begins with a quiet melody played just by the violins, and they didn't all move completely in unison. It was interesting that they'd start a program with such a difficult and exposed passage. They sounded good, it was just one of those things that even a professional orchestra doesn't always nail perfectly. As the piece progressed however, the orchestra really showed their mettle, and they certainly face no competition for the title of second best orchestra in the city. There were even parts where it would have been hard to tell them apart from the Seattle Symphony.
The most striking thing about SYSO, in comparison to the SSO, is the level of energy exhibited by every single player. Nobody in this orchestra comes on stage for a concert in a "just another day at work" attitude. Of course they don't, they've been rehearsing for this concert for months, and this is one of just three concerts they get to give in a whole year. In addition, I'm sure a handful of the players had never performed on the Benaroya Hall stage before. There's a great dilemma that faces the professional orchestras, in terms of how to keep up the energy, intensity and passion when they're performing all the time and when it's their job. This dilemma is brought to light when one observes an orchestra like SYSO. The players are genuinely excited. Many of them play as though they're playing for their lives. Of course, tragically, the younger the player, the more excitement was evident in their face and their movements. Even within the narrow age range of this orchestra, it was clear that as we get older, that spark of life in all of us begins to fade as all the nonsense of life buries us in stress, drama, thoughts about college, etc. Those people who refuse to give up their childlike passion for life as they age are called anything from eccentric to immature to downright crazy.
After the Berlioz was over, the first violins were moved back and the platform for the cello soloist was brought out. I'm sort of an acquaintance of Hana because she played chamber music with my brother back in 2008 or 2009, but I had never heard her play solo before.
I really wish I had been more familiar with the work. Even though it was tonal there was something really dense about it that made it difficult to follow. Hana played quite well, that much was evident. And the orchestra was stellar, particularly in the orchestral tutti sections, where they would burst out in Bloch's passionate melodies with the highest level of energy.
When the Bloch was over intermission began, and I immediately went to the lobby to try to find some friends that I had spotted in the audience before the concert began. I found them and visited with them for most of intermission. Then I returned to my seat for the Brahms symphony.
I don't have too much to say about the Brahms because it is also an extremely dense work which I unfortunately didn't get around to knowing very well before going to this concert. The SSO is playing it in June, so I'll definitely be much more familiar with it by then. The orchestra played very well as usual, and while I could certainly pass a blind test trying to discern SYSO from SSO, the difference is not nearly as great as you'd expect. These young musicians are quite talented, and they clearly practice a lot. I'm looking forward to the other two concerts this year.
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