By Christine Facciolo
The Music School of Delaware opened its 2016-17 season Wednesday,
September 28, 2016 by gifting its supporters with gorgeous renderings of two of
the best loved works for string orchestra: Grieg’s Holberg Suite and
Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major.
Maestro Simeone Tartaglione conducted a string orchestra
composed of music school faculty and three invited guests violists Sheila
Browne and Marka Stepper and bassist Arthur Marks.
The program opened with Grieg’s Holberg Suite for String
Orchestra. Composed to honor the memory of 18th Century Norwegian
writer Ludvig Holberg, Grieg cast the work in the musical language of the 18th Century. Tartaglione applied a light touch, playing up the individual character
of each of the work’s dance-like movements.
Following the brisk opening Praeludium was a stately Sarabande
featuring a lovely dialogue between cellists Lawrence Stomberg and Eric Coyne.
The Gavotte recalled the formality of the court while the Musette contrasted with a folksong quality. The deeper strings imparted
a profound solemnity to the Air, one
of Grieg’s most beautiful creations. The concluding Rigaudon
paid tribute to Norwegian folk violinists as it featured some virtuosic bowing
by concertmaster Stefan Xhori.
Tartaglione conducted with authority and passion as he led
the orchestra through Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major, an
intensely personal work that the composer intended as homage to Mozart whom he
viewed as the “Christ of music.” The Serenade is in a vastly different league
than the Holberg: Rich in harmonic and melodic invention, it is also more abstract
in character and hence more enduring.
The Serenade is Tchaikovsky at his brilliant best and
Tartaglione and the musicians did it proud with flair, charm and beauty of
tone. The orchestra was nimble and agile in its execution of the second
movement — the Valse — with its numerous
and sudden harmonic shifts. The third movement — the Elegie with its fugal elements — was ensemble playing at its
best. The Finale was played with great virtuosity, bringing the concert to a
close with rousing applause.