"... there are references to Chopin's harmony, the gestures of Brahms,
Liszt, and Tchaikovsky, and later on Ravel's structural ploy." So says
Kevin Volans of his "Atlantic Crossing," a work receiving its world
premiere tonight by the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael
Tilson Thomas.
I wonder who can actually spot those references in the work; I certainly
couldn't. "Atlantic Crossing" - so named by the South African composer
who lives in Dublin, in honor of the Irish exodus to America - impresses
on first hearing as 24 manic minutes of disturbed and disturbing music.
It's all a relentless ostinato, not of repeated notes, but rather of
insistent runs - the piano way way, the orchestra another, more at
cross-purposes than in counterpoint. As for the piano part, improbably
and heroically performed by Marc-Andre Hamelin, Volans said in a recent
interview that he wishes to spare Hamelin "physical injury," although
the piece "pushes the limits of playability." That it does. Program
notes speak of "page after page of relentless and sometimes terrifying
difficulty." Too true. How on earth will repeat this Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday - heaven knows.
But the athleticism of the performance (and of the page-turner, the first
to get a handshake from Hamelin at the end) cannot mask the fact that
except for a few *seconds* of quiet passages, the forceful, vibrating
runs only challenge and assault, not satisfy.
"Atlantic Crossing" was bracketed by a subdued Balakirev symphonic poem,
"Russia," and a superb performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony,
with violins playing as one instrument (concertmaster Alexander Barantschik
with gorgeous solos), all sections performing at the highest level. What
a pity Shostakovich didn't end the work with the Largo; it cast a spell
over Davies Hall that should not have been broken. A minute of silence
before the ovation would have been the perfect scenario after the third
movement. (Just move the Allegro in front of the Largo.)
Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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