The Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano in Sibelius 5th Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto

Maestro Robert Spano with Panayoti Karousos

A very impressive concert was given by the MSO tonight at Place des Arts de Montreal.

Maestro Robert Spano conducted a program included the symphonic work Borealis by John Estacio, the famous Piano Concerto No 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov, and the illustrated Fifth Symphony by Jean Sibelius.

I never liked modern abstract symphonic works but the Borealis of Estacio has something that reminds romantic classical works without using complete melodic lines.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto was so many times performed by the most distinguish pianists, that is difficult to add something more, but fine Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski added emotion and mach more high lyricism. In March 1897, Rachmaninoff suffered the most traumatic blow of his career with the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony. “I thought all was lost,” he said. “A paralyzing apathy possessed me.” For three years, he taught, gave concerts as a pianist and conductor, but composed nothing of consequence—indeed, considered giving up composing altogether, as his depression and self-doubt intensified. Early in 1900, daily hypnosis and talk therapy finally restored his spirits, and that summer “new musical ideas began to stir within me.” His first project was the Second Piano Concerto, which he dedicated gratefully to his doctor.

From all Sibelius symphonic works I prefer the 5^th Symphony for the mysterious sounds, and fine orchestration. I never get bored listen to that symphony. The well balanced brass motive with the other parts of the orchestra made this symphony one of the masterpieces works of classical music. By the time began his Fifth Symphony, Sibelius had come to realize, after much soul-searching, that he could not keep pace with the revolutionary experiments of composers like Schoenberg and Stravinsky, could not reject traditional melody and harmony and form. The Fifth, overtly Romantic and accessible, was his reply to the “progressive” music of his day, and he must have sensed that it was a watershed, for he worked long and hard at it. The result was a highly idiosyncratic rethinking of symphonic form, owing little to Classical or Romantic formulas, yet still possessing the generous proportions, structural solidity, and seriousness associated with a symphony. Sibelius admitted that his distinctive style and “Nordic” orchestrations were deeply influenced by his mystical experiences in the Finnish woods, and that many of his ideas in the Fifth were directly inspired by natural phenomena.

Maestro Robert Spano is recognized as one of the brightest and most imaginative conductors of his generation. Now in his tenth season as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he has enriched and expanded its repertoire through his characteristically innovative programming, and elevated the ensemble to new levels of international prominence and acclaim.

Pianist Simon Trpceski with Panayoti Karousos

Mr. Spano made his fifth Carnegie Hall appearance with the ASO in October 2010, leading Janá?ek’s masterwork Glagolitic Mass, as well as Ligeti’s Atmosphères and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite. Spano returns to Carnegie Hall in February 2011 with ASO Choral Director Norman MacKenzie to lead the institution’s 20th Anniversary of the world-renowned Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop, titled "Robert Spano and the Berlioz Requiem : Choral Workshop and Festival. " Maestro Spano guest conducts the United States Marine Band, the orchestras of Seattle, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis and leadsLa Bohème at Santa Fe Opera. Spring 2011 sees the second of Spano's three-year residency at Emory University, where he spends three weeks each year leading intensive seminars, lecturing and presenting programs on science, math, philosophy, literature and musicology throughout the University's campus. In its 165-year history, Emory University has honored only seven other individuals including the Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter and author Salman Rushdie, with such expansive residencies.