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Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires at Wooddale Church (07 Mar 2025)
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While the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra calls the Ordway home, they also perform in a number of the larger churches around the Twin Cities. This weekend’s performances of Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. This performance was at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie.
The concert began with Valerie Coleman’s Tracing Visions, composed in 2022. Coleman is a flutist and composer, as well as the founder of Imani Winds, a Grammy award winning quintet. This first movement is subtitled Till (as in Emmett Till), begins with a mournful cello solo, before the rest of the string instruments join (there are no other instruments in this piece). The build up from the violins was particularly pleasing, and the fact the Chamber Orchestra were all standing added an imposing visual to go with the music. This is great modern classical music, while still being very accessible. The second movement is called, Amandla!, the Zulu word for power. Here, the interplay between violins and violas is the stand out. The percussive double bass provided a solid foundation that let the rest of the Chamber Orchestra build off of, and a late set of overlapping violin parts that ultimately merged was quite beautifully done.
The next section was the featured work from Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla was an Argentinian tango composer and bandoneon player. (Side note: I had no idea what a bandoneon was, and looking it up found it is a concertina instrument, like an accordion, that is common in tango ensembles.) This set of compositions, completed in 1970, starts with otoño (autumn), in contrast to Vivaldi’s which begins with spring. Also in contrast to the original compositions, which included electric guitar, this is a version adapted by Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov in the 1990’s for classical instruments and featuring violin.
Featured violinist Eunice Kim appeared on stage in a red dress, a stark visual contrast from the all black of the rest of the Chber Orchestra. Otoño Porteño certainly featured that violin work, but also gave an extended cello solo. This movement has a bit of a sleep quality to it before Kim’s violin went on a tear. Kim’s skill was on display, both her wonderful dynamic control, as well as the difficulty of the music. She was a great center of attention and the rest of the Chamber Orchestra was excellent in support. Invierno Porteño was certainly a darker, more brooding sound, with great work from the violas. Primavera Porteña really showed off that tango background and had a dance feel throughout. This could easily be the score to a film, and Kim continued to shine with an enthralled audience. The transition to Verano Porteño gave us a tiny snippet of Vivaldi, getting loud laughs of appreciation from the crowd. Verano had similar themes to the spring movement, but had a fuller orchestral sound. A high powered ending to the movement led to a well deserved standing ovation.
After intermission, the Chamber orchestra (seated this time, and with some other instruments) returned to finish the concert with Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Chamber Symphony No. 1. It’s a gentle opening and the Chamber Orchestra did well to slowly build up, giving an effective dynamic range. Woodwinds and brass were excellent complements to the strings, and the timpani provided that needed sense of grandeur in the first movement. The contrast of the andante (moderately slow) let strings take over with a later oboe solo and that gentle pace was well played. The third movement picked things up again, and there’s almost a marching quality to this section. The Chamber Orchestra had a vibrant feel as they headed through the finale with a bright and airy close.
With another performance tomorrow evening, this one at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will be sure to wow another audience.
Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires at Wooddale Church (07 Mar 2025)
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