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‘Rite of Spring’
By Ruth O. Bingham
still excites
Special to the Star-BulletinMAESTRO Samuel Wong was only half joking when he said, "If I do my job right, you'll wake up with nightmares night after night," before guiding the Honolulu Symphony through Stravinsky's Rite of Spring yesterday. After all, it's the music of a ballet that elicited a riot at its 1913 premiere.
Of course, the original audience objected at least as much to the choreography and stage design as to the music, but Rite of Spring remains possibly the most exciting and influential work of the 20th century. Almost a century after its premiere, it still sounds revolutionary.
Stravinsky's Rite demands an audience willing to relinquish the comfortably familiar: "It is," Wong explained, "a very provocative, disturbing spring" portrayed in "primal, almost prehistoric sound."
It's a sound that invariably sparks an adrenaline rush and no one was immune, not even the orchestra. Musicians played fervently, intently, and at times Wong seemed to dance the sacrificial rites himself. The piece may at first seem like cacophony, but it is a controlled, exhilarating cacophony that you either love or hate.
Sarah Chang with the Honolulu Symphony
7:30 p.m. tomorrow, Blaisdell Concert Hall; tickets $15-$50. Call. 792-2000
Wong invested great care in this work, shaping Stravinsky's exceptionally complex score into a highly personal, compelling interpretation, and the orchestra, fortified with extra winds and percussion, outdid itself. Bassoonist Paul Barrett's enigmatic opening quite literally set the tone for a performance that should have been recorded.
Historically, Stravinsky's Rite seemed to sweep away all that had come before, and its effect Sunday was similar. Following a decorous version of Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, the first half of the concert featured violinist Sarah Chang in Brahms's Concerto in D Major, Opus 77. Chang was electrifying, but by the end of the concert, her performance seemed to have happened long, long ago.
Chang, a seasoned artist at the ripe old age of 19, last performed in Honolulu two years ago. Now even more dramatic and self-assured, she delivered a masterful rendition, only her flying ponytail reminiscent of her age.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of her performance was her range of expression, from a technical firestorm in the famous gypsy music of the third movement, to poetic song in the long-lined second movement. That movement, ushered in with an extended, beautiful solo by oboist Scott Janusch, joined by flutist Laurie Lake, displayed Chang's growth as an artist even more than the considerable demands of the long first movement.
Chang and Wong interacted well, and Wong's restraint with the orchestra set off Chang's increasingly distinctive musical personality. Together, they led an enthusiastic audience to its collective feet.
Wong and Chang both "did their jobs right," and yesterday's concert likely will echo through the audience's nights, but Wong's Stravinsky-nightmares will be well countered by Chang's Brahms-dreams.
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