Those who braved a winter storm to attend the concert last Saturday night were officially crowned as “the hearty souls of the RSO” by Executive Director Sarah Miller. Music Director Gerald Steichen graciously encouraged everyone to move up closer and take advantage of many seats left empty by the faint of heart who stayed home.
In his first performance at the Ridgefield Playhouse, Steichen focused on elements of theatrical music with three special pieces. He insisted the RSO was not trying to save money as they began with only 15 members of the orchestra playing “Concerto in E flat Major (Dumbarton Oaks),” as originally scored by Igor Stravinsky (1882 — 1971).
Almost immediately you could readily recognize the rhythmic drive of a J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto, but soon enough Stravinsky manipulated the music into his neo-classical style. What a treat to have Stravinsky remind us of Bach.
The small ensemble went motoring along, light as a feather, turning on a dime, hugging the curves in the score far better than many cars were faring on the slippery roads outside. They had crisp articulation and subtle harmonics, especially the winds and the pair of horns.
Nearly doubling in size, the RSO continued with “Symphony No. 45 in F sharp minor (Farewell)” by Joseph Haydn (1732 — 1809). The augmented string sections filled the playhouse with their rich and vibrant sounds, as the allegro assai movement seemed to emulate wind driven snow.
Perhaps some were somberly reflecting on the ride home during the adagio. With a comic variation on the Esterhazy legend, one by one, the musicians made their exits in the final movement, hamming it up and creating a bit of a ruckus with their chairs. Some undoubtedly headed straight to the parking lot.
Most of the RSO who chose to remain after intermission enjoyed themselves in the audience. Only seven musicians were onstage for an exquisite dramatization of Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), complete with narrator and dancers. The septet was scored like a Creole jazz band, displaying some of Stravinsky’s Russian klezmer influences for the Faustian tale.
A devilishly difficult piece to conduct, Steichen had to contend with many shifts in time signatures, bouncy off-balanced music, while keeping in step with the choreography. Narrator Jeremy Webb was a master of multiple identities and succeeded in conveying all roles without missing a beat. Webb’s voice deftly juggled accents, giving clear and clever renderings of the soldier’s dealings with the devil.
James Robey and Melissa Gerth filled the stage with their animated dancing, fleshing out Stravinsky wonderfully. Robey had a childish quality that made me think of the good soldier Svejk, only more simpleminded. Graceful and athletic, Robey and Gerth joined in some unusual routines blending shades of Argentine tango, Viennese waltz, and ragtime.
Sardonic sarcasm was spilling into the playhouse when the devil dealt from the bottom of the deck to the mournful soldier. I couldn’t help but feel sorry as he ultimately had to pay dearly for his mistakes.
In his first season with the RSO, Steichen is doing well, bringing polish and excitement into their performances. If he could only do something about the weather.
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