Lukas, Lucas, and Wolfgang

Despite the presence of one of the most brilliant and classic symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the bill for last weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts, all audience eyes and ears seemed to be focused on a work by KSO Music Director and Conductor Lucas Richman. Richman’s Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra (subtitled The Clearing ) was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2004 to thank him for his service as a staff conductor and to showcase the considerable talents of its principal oboist, Cynthia DeAlmeida.

This was the first Knoxville performance of Richman’s concerto by the KSO and featured Ms. DeAlmeida as guest soloist. The work is structured programmatically around the Hebrew text of Psalm 23, with the lilting cadences becoming the basis for the oboe’s solo voice. There was no doubt that Richman’s time with the PSO gave him the knowledge of DeAlmeida’s strengths – strengths that include an articulated, yet luminous and gorgeous tone – to use as that solo voice of the concerto.

However beautiful the voice, the test of programmatic music comes in how extensively the audience must be “pre-informed” in order to completely believe the composer’s intention. I must admit to feeling rather disconnected during the orchestra-only sections, somewhat like experiencing a film blindfolded. While it was certainly possible to enjoy the orchestral sections in the absolute sense, it was the beautiful oboe voice, the centerpiece, that prevented the concerto from drifting slightly toward the esoteric.

Maestro Richman opened the concert with the Salomon Rossi Suite by contemporary German-born American composer Lukas Foss. Foss used themes by Salomon Rossi, a 17th century Mantuan particularly known for his Hebrew liturgical works. This piece, in six short movements, is a contemporary orchestral impression of Rossi’s Renaissance sound. While short in length, the suite gave many different KSO orchestral players some visibility – antiphonal passages for the brass; an impression of the Renaissance lute and drum using the modern harp and pedaled tympani; a beautiful Lento for strings; and a cheerful and driving Renaissance-like fugue for the finale.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (“Jupiter”) concluded the evening. The symphony’s nickname, “Jupiter,” while not Mozart’s inscription but probably from a music publisher, does imply a grand, god-like connection. Admittedly, it is grander and more open than his previous symphonies. But the symphony’s reputation rests on its brilliant construction that builds to an amazing contrapuntal finale.

One problem surrounding its stature is that because this symphony has been so extensively performed and recorded over the years it is almost impossible not to have stubborn ideas of how it should sound in terms of tempo and phrasing. However, performance styles are not absolute. They have evolved in several phases: as orchestras became larger, as 19th century romanticism took hold, and eventually, as sound recording impacted the concert hall. My own impression was that this performance lacked crispness in phrasing that could have been solved with a brisker tempo.

Keeping that in mind, the KSO will offer a repeat performance of the “Jupiter” at this Sunday’s Chamber Music Series Concert at the Bijou. In this case, the string sections will decrease in size and the orchestra as a whole will appear more like an 18th century orchestra. If size unconsciously impacts tempo, it will be interesting to judge the differences.

Also on that same Chamber Series program will be Mozart’s Quartet in G Minor for Piano and Strings, K. 478. Maestro Richman will himself be at the piano. Completing the quartet is violinist and KSO concertmaster Mark Zelmanovich; Kathryn Gawne, violist; and Andy Bryenton, cellist. This quartet is one of contrasts that can test the emotional flexibility of its players. The key of G minor places the quartet in a dark and somber place, but one that, hopefully, has warmth and a lyrical quality. In contrast to the dark opening Allegro, the concluding Rondo movement is delightfully playful and optimistic.