A Bittersweet Tchaikovsky Spectacular Concert Draws Capacity Crowd
/By Truman C. Wang
8/13/2022
Photo credit: L.A. Phil
The annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular with fireworks again drew a capacity crowd to the Bowl as they did before the Covid-19 pandemic. The apparent return to normalcy was also reflected in the all-Tchaikovsky program but with two new additions this year. The Ukrainian national anthem preceded the Star-Spangled Banner, ostensibly to counterbalance the effect of the 1812 Overture celebrating Russian military victory, a work dropped by many Western orchestras in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A second new addition to the program was Urban Runway, by the late and much beloved maestro Bramwell Tovey, whose warm presence and British humour were as memorable as the fireworks at these annual concerts for as long as I could remember. It’s a jovial, jazzy, jaunty little piece about luxury shoppers on New York’s Fifth Avenue that is as irreverent and down-to-earth as the man who composed it. Ludovic Morlot conducted with great gusto; the flugel horn and marimba gave an air of exuberant hubbub to this delightful work. Bravo maestro Tovey!
The Tchaikovsky ballet selections from the Nutcracker reminded me of last month’s first-ever visit of the Paris Opera Ballet to the Bowl which, by most colloquial accounts I have heard, was disappointing. With maestro Morlot conducting the Nutcracker, things fared much better. The “Waltz of the Flowers” had the requisite finesse and lightness particularly from the seductive clarinet; the Grand Pas de Deux started sweepingly with two arpeggiated harps and a flute on a velvet cushion of lush strings, ending in a glorious tragic climax reminiscent of the Sixth Symphony.
The ever-popular American violinist Joshua Bell gave a fresh and obviously rethought reading of the D-Major Violin Concerto, scrubbed clean of his affectations and mannerism that had bothered me in the past, here playing with flawless intonation, a sparkling sense of fantasy in virtuoso cadenzas and an inner intensity in the intimate “Canzonetta”. Poor Morlot, whose orchestra tutti’s were frequently interrupted by applause from the Joshua Bell fan club, managed to turn in a commendable performance with many beautiful solo contributions.
As for the giant pyrotechnic 1812 Overture finale with the USC Trojan Marching Band, they were amazing and perfectly sync’d to the music as always (albeit missing last year’s ‘waterfall’ effect at the very end), sending everyone off into the night with a big smile and smelling like gunpowder.
Truman C. Wang is Editor-in-Chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, other Southern California publications, as well as the Hawaiian Chinese Daily. He studied Integrative Biology and Music at U.C. Berkeley.