A rare show
By Ruth O. Bingham
of ‘strings’
Special to the Star-BulletinALTHOUGH the guitar is much older than the orchestra, the two join forces only rarely, and although guitarists are a dime a dozen, fine classical guitarists are exceedingly few. Consequently, the guitar concerto remains an unusual event.
Thus it was a pleasure to hear renowned classical guitarist Christopher Parkening and the Honolulu Symphony present the world premiere of Elmer Bernstein's Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra last night.
The Blaisdell performance was recorded for National Public Radio for national broadcast. In December, Parkening and the London Symphony Orchestra will record the concerto with EMI for release it sometime next summer.
Parkening performed with precision and feeling, disclosing few of the concerto's technical difficulties, even in the somewhat awkward first movement.
The slow second movement, vaguely reminiscent of Joaquin Rodrigo's guitar concerto, featured broad, beautiful melodies and a highly idiomatic solocadenza. A closing rondo, continually looping back to the same themes, closed the concerto. Last night's audience received the concerto enthusiastically, many standing inappreciation.
Bernstein's music revealed his background in film: his movie scores include"Hawaii," "Magnificent Seven," "The Ten Commandments," "Great Escape," "The Man with the Golden Gun" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."
The concerto displayed an eclectic style reflecting the late 20th century. Melodies, harmonies and rhythms from the past hundred years and from several continents mingled in an intriguing, unusual, mix.
Maestro Samuel Wong opened the first half with a clean, focused reading of Dvorak's Carnival Overture, opus 92, a work he described as "a quick ride in a fast machine." It's a ride that has difficulty coming to an end, providing numerous final cadences, one right after the other. Doubled tambourines were a bit overwhelming, but the symphony played well.
Debussy's Ibria, a kaleidoscopic, intensely French interpretation of Spain,opened the second half, its shimmering texture and exposed solos displaying the symphony to advantage. Excellent solos abounded, the transformation between movements two and three was lustrous, and Wong clearly conveyed Debussy's coherence.
Wong closed the afternoon with Ravel's 1920 la Valse (The Waltz), a work born of World War I and one I find difficult to listen to.
La Valse builds its opening brutish, "Jaws"-like theme into a light and lovely waltz-facade of culture, only to degenerate into a garish, cabaret-style mockery of refinement.
Well-performed by the Honolulu Symphony, Ravel's La Valse is a piece of ugly sentiments, born of an ugly war.
Ruth O. Bingham has a Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell
University, and teaches at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
Christopher Parkening
Performs 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $50, available by calling the symphony ticket office, 792-2000
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