Listening to the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra Discovery Series 'Nono, Sciarrino, Italiano!!' Italian Orchestral Collection by Shimono at the Aster Plaza Great Hall.
Friday, June 4, 2021
Conductor: Tatsuya Shimono
Concertmaster & Violin Solo: Soichi Sakuma
Orchestra: Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto 'The Contest Between Harmony and Invention' No. 1 in E Major, 'Spring'
Respighi: 'Ancient Airs and Dances' Suite No. 1
Rossini: Overture to the opera 'La Cenerentola' (Cinderella)
Luigi Nono: 'Incontri' for 24 instruments
Verdi: Overture to the opera 'Giovanna d'Arco' (Joan of Arc)
Encore
Boccherini: Minuet
I went to listen to the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra Discovery Series 'Nono, Sciarrino, Italiano!!' Italian Orchestral Collection, a concert that will surely have many in the audience going out to eat Italian food within the next week.
Since I had been purchasing tickets with assigned seats as a member for the past season, returning to the same seat I have had since Shimono took office after a long time made me realize how good the sound was even in the back of the second floor, making me reconsider my seat selection for next season's subscription concerts. As Mr. Otaka mentioned at the previous subscription concert, this was a confirmation from a different position that the orchestra's growth is directly reflected in the music.
While I haven't known them for a long time, what I felt strongly at today's concert was the clarity of expression in each piece, and it seemed that Mr. Shimono's ability and the orchestra members' communication were well-aligned. This is not something special just for this time; as I have felt it before—recalling Schubert, Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Webern—the approach to the performances since the beginning of this year has been spreading its arms with a positive cheerfulness, and the confidence in the music, including those works, seems to be manifesting throughout. And today's program even included the sounds of early music that I had never heard before.
Vivaldi's 'Spring' had a beautiful, cool ensemble sound rather than that of a small orchestra, and the sound, which was more like a thin, taut thread than thick, was a timbre I had never heard from the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra before. While it is a famous piece, the technique was played in a fine and orderly manner within the brilliance, and the unique structure and expression provided a fresh discovery; in particular, Mr. Sakuma's solo shone as if to show a different side of his ability.
Respighi's music had an ancient, Mediterranean-feeling sound, and while it possessed a somewhat British poetic quality, it also brought to mind France, and in the fourth movement, one could even hear the development of Russian-style orchestration. Based on the experience of fully savoring the Roman Trilogy at the 410th subscription concert, the second and third movements seemed to have the composer's personality despite being vague and elusive, and although it felt like a somewhat left-behind variety without novelty, the impression of cinematic musical expression was seen in each part this time as well.
Rossini's Cinderella was so restless in its development that it felt somewhat eccentric, but it was incredibly skillful and mocking; it had a character that toyed with people more like a comedy than a lyrical story, yet it had the strength to draw the audience into the colorful cover of the operatic world.
The pieces that are rarely heard, which are always included in the Discovery Series, are surely one of the real thrills. Luigi Nono's 'Incontri' for 24 instruments seems to be a Japanese premiere, and when Mr. Shimono explained the structure of this piece using a palindrome as an example, I was led to think about self-consciousness in relation to a world of mirrors. However, the piece I actually heard became an occurrence of abstract sounds, and rather than chords or connections, it was like a painting by Miró or Kandinsky and the movement of a clock that seemed accidental, making it content that raises questions about an unfathomable time rather than providing comfort. It was music that made me satisfy myself that this is exactly why the Discovery Series exists, because of this kind of musical expression and physical experience.
And then it explodes with Verdi's Joan of Arc, which uses a simple yet intense display of brute force to pin you down. The sound had clarity and strength step by step, and the way it rose persistently and developed organically was undoubtedly a demonstration of Mr. Shimono's skill. It gave the impression that he could handle even large-scale works with ease, yet without stepping outside of strange boundaries, each voice part remained connected with roundness while maintaining its impression without protruding. The content, which fully provided the atmosphere of a concert, had me swaying without even thinking about the meaning of pastoral, especially during the trio of flute, oboe, and clarinet.
Although it was a little disappointing that the encore was not an arrangement, the series where one can taste the color of Italy with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra began more intensely than it looked. Just as German and Italian cuisine use the same ingredients but are prepared differently and sometimes resemble each other, the music of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra under Mr. Shimono and Mr. Sakuma should allow us to enjoy classical music with a different taste.