Kansas City Symphony Concert, March 26, 2017. I came for the Sibelius. Despite the fact that Michael Stern had assembled a wonderful program of music for this week's concert, there was one and only one piece I really wanted to hear....the Sibelius Second Symphony. 1. Carl Nielsen's Overture to Maskarade (1904-06) was a treat. I had not heard it before. 2. Einojuhani Rautavaara's Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra (2015) performed by guest soloist Anne Akiko Meyers....FABULOUS! This piece has an enormous musical arch...so emotional. It's still echoing in my head long after it ended. 3. Ravel's Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra (1924), also performed by Ms. Meyers, who once again played flawlessly and passionately. As she finished the piece, there was a sizable amount of bow hair dangling about, a casualty of the ferocity of the piece and her playing. She was just wonderful.
In 1980, I joined the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra. (in case you don't know, I play the violin.) On the program for our Winter concert was the 4th movement of the Symphony no. 2 of Jean Sibelius. At the time, I had not heard this work, and my only real listening experience of Sibelius was his famous work, Finlandia. After our first rehearsal, I was hooked. This was a piece that stood out from just about anything else I had heard. And not coincidentally, it was my Dad's favorite piece by Sibelius. In fact, it was one of his all-time favorite pieces. The night we performed it will be one that I never forget. My Mom and Dad were both in the audience. I was so happy that they were going to be able to share this great moment with me. We played so well and I experienced an out-of-body experience that I will always remember.
There are many false summits in much of Sibelius' works. His phrasing and voicing are unlike any other. You think you know where you are going, and when you have arrived, but then he shifts gears and takes you to another level...there is still a higher summit. He pulls you in and won't let you go until he is ready. The Second Symphony is masterful at this. At the crescendo of the Finale, the timpani are pounding out a D and G over and over. The violins then lead the charge into the final stretch with their D major, ascending tremolo passage....and then the trumpets enter and soar with their D-E-F#-G phrase. This is magic. We have arrived.
I steal a glance at my son Ethan sitting next to me. He's not a classical music nut like me, at least not yet anyway. And this is his first symphony concert in Helzberg Hall. I look at Maestro Stern...we are sitting in the choir loft and I have a perfect view of him...and he is singing....singing....The tempo is perfect. Every section is on fire, playing with passion and inspiration. The balance is perfect. Such an amazing orchestra. This is so intense.
I feel this huge smile come across my face....it feels silly, but I can't help it. Then I feel my throat tighten and a lump forms. And then of course the tears well up. I am, at that moment, a 15 year old boy once again playing this miraculous piece for my parents, looking at my own son who is about to go away to college, and missing my dad who passed away 11 years ago this month...there's a lot of shit going on here right? It's all too much.
I am 52 years old, and I am in experiencing pure joy. Sibelius.
"My second symphony is a confession of the soul."
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