DSO & Brasil Guitar Duo Wow Audiences with US Premiere

By Christine Facciolo
The Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) both secured a place in music history and established itself as a strong contender for a 2017 Grammy nod with this weekend’s performance and recording of three double guitar concerti, including the US Premiere of El Libro de Los Signos (The Book of Signs) by Cuban composer and cultural icon, Leo Brouwer.

Lending their virtuosic playing to the project was the Brasil Guitar Duo, the stunning collaboration of the supremely musical Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora. Endowed with extraordinary professionalism and technical mastery, these two young talents — who met as teen-aged guitar students in Sao Paolo — have earned critical acclaim for the sensitivity, refinement and mutual respect they bring to every performance.

The near sell-out crowd was especially hushed during their performance. One might attribute that to the fact that they knew recording was in progress. But it’s more likely they were simply in awe of this breathtaking display of artistry.

Luiz and Lora introduced themselves to the audience with a masterful performance of the unaccompanied Sete Aneis (7 Rings) by Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947). This one-movement composition in Rondo form is based on the “choro,” one of the first forms of Brazilian urban music, which made its way to Rio de Janeiro from Africa in the mid-19th Century. The work is a study in contrasts and the duo accommodated. A wistful opening morphed into a blazing pizzicato passage before wrapping up with a lyrical and tender finish.

Next came the much-anticipated US Premiere of El Libro de los Signos (The Book of Signs) by Brouwer (b. 1939), widely considered to be the most significant living composer of art music for the guitar. This work — scored for two guitars and string orchestra — features music from Brouwer’s Afro-Cuban roots mixed with traditional form. The work was composed in 2003 at the behest of Greek guitarist Costas Cotsiolis and John Williams, and premiered in January 2004 at the Megaron Theatre in Athens. According to the composer, its language uses sounds to explore its rest-motion ambivalence.

The first movement features a series of variations on a theme by Beethoven. The second gives the same treatment to a more lyrical theme. The third — and most virtuosic — exhibits more of the Cuban influence. Brouwer achieves a seamless web of sound by the interplay of passages that at times have the guitars sounding like the orchestra and at other times having the orchestra play in the style of a guitar.

The duo rounded out their portion of the concert with a performance of the Concerto Caboclo for two guitars and orchestra composed especially for them by fellow Brazilian Paulo Bellinati (b. 1950). The duo honored their idol — who was in attendance — with a masterful performance.

Bellinati draws on Brazil’s rich musical heritage, infusing it with contemporary harmonies and techniques. The opening movement is most unusual for a concerto. In place of a fast-paced Allegro, the soloists enter with a cadenza in which they share musical materials much like a conversation. The orchestra entered only to be interrupted by another cadenza. Even as the movement increased in intensity, the music never lost the relaxed and lyrical feel of the coutryside.

The second movement (Adagio) was inspired by the Brazilian songs known as modas de viola. In keeping with the question-and-answer structure of these songs, one could frequently hear rhythmic ostinatos used in one guitar as accompaniment for the other. More ostinatos are heard in the final movement, which featured catchy rhythms and flashy fingerwork. Maestro David Amado’s meticulous direction of the orchestra’s dynamic levels ensured that the soloists were never overpowered.

The second half of the program was devoted to a performance of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, an opium-filled tale of love, obsession, betrayal and murder. In his pre-concert remarks, commented on how Berlioz, who made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his “Treatise on Instrumentation,” took an abstract form — the symphony — and used it to tell a story. And while symphonies that followed a program had existed before, most notably Beethoven’s Pastoral, Berlioz took the process to its logical conclusion with every note geared to the specifics of his p lot. That accomplishment as well as his use of the “idée fixe” would go on to inspire composers like Wagner and Liszt.

This truly iconic work poses a challenge to any conductor: Do you play the music and let the story take care of itself, or do you help it along? Amado’s reading is absolutely on the right side of sentimentality. His interpretation bristled with desire and intention. The first movement was playful and flirtatious. The ball waltzed itself into sheer delirium. As the music turned dark, Amado followed suit: the rhythms were unyielding; the mocking of Berlioz’s hero filled with spite. He kept the momentum going beyond the March to the Scaffold. The Witches’ Sabbath with its growly brass and tense strings sustained the nightmare to the very end. And let’s not forget the punctuation of the requiem Dies Irae by The Bells of Remembrance, which are featured in each concert of the DSO’s Classics Series this season.

See www.delawaresymphony.org.

Isn't it grand? Isn't it great? "Chicago" at The Playhouse certainly is!

Full disclosure: This is one of my favorite musicals*, largely for its incredible music and choreography.

*After initially learning about legendary choreographer Bob Fosse via Paula Abdul’s 1989 music video homage, I had to seek out all things Fosse-related. Later, I found Chicago and was completely taken by it. 

The cast of Chicago. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

The longest-running American musical in Broadway history, the production features music and lyrics from iconic partners Kander & Ebb, book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, and a storyline that delivers all the salaciousness we adore (maybe "nowadays" more than ever): scandal, sex, murder, media frenzy, a perverse craving for celebrity.

To me, this show is quintessential Broadway – the way I envision shows might have been during the “old days” – no monstrous sets, flashy light shows or rock star-penned scores, but rather about the raw energy generated from dynamic music and choreography, and compelling characters. It delivers in every aspect.

The production set is stark, the costumes black and scanty yet sleek, the cast steamy and sexy. Hoots and cheers come from the crowd throughout the evening, but especially for the sizzling signature opening, All That Jazz, that sets the tone for the entire show. 

Tonight, the capacity crowd is noticeably heavy with women – I’m imagining groups of GNOs giggling madly at the “justified” murderesses of the Cell Block Tango in a warped female-empowerment moment.

Terra C. MacLeod plays a slick Velma Kelly – the former Vaudeville star serving time for the double-murder of her hubby and sister – with a perfect balance of sass and snark. You can almost feel yourself agreeing with her and Mama as they lament, “Whatever happened to class?”

Dylis Croman as Roxie Hart.
Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Dylis Croman expertly plays up the unrefined Roxie's conniving and relentless nature, a woman who’ll not be stopped in her quest for fame – by a jilting lover, dull (if still-loving) husband or jealous inmate. The only thing that could stop her is the worst fate of all – waning public interest.

Jailhouse matron “Mama” Morton, played with command and style by Roz Ryan, lights up the crowd with her rendition of When You’re Good to Mama. (Incidentally, Morton now holds the record for most performances in a musical by a leading actress.) 

Other standout characters, of course, are the orchestra, who kept the audience animated, even dancing out the doors at the end; the compassionate Mary Sunshine (with a hilarious surprise), played by D. Ratell; and Billy Flynn, played by Tom Hewitt, who held an impressively looooooooong note in his number, All I Care About, to renewed cheers and hoots.

From the first notes of All That Jazz to the final sparkly curtain, Velma, Roxie and company kept us revved, rapt and ready to “paint the town” with them in their twisted pursuit of fortune and fame. This beloved musical is a night on the town you simply can't miss. 

Chicago runs at The Playhouse on Rodney Square through February 28.

See http://duponttheatre.com.

Hannah Sturgis to Represent Delaware in National Poetry Out Loud Competition

Content of this post was taken from a Delaware Division of the Arts press release...

Delaware's Poetry Out Loud Champion, Hannah Sturgis.
Photo by Kathleen Buckalew.

Hannah Sturgis, a junior from Polytech High School, earned the title of 2016 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion at the state finals held in Smyrna, Delaware, on February 23. The first runner-up was Brandon Dawson from Middletown High School, and the second runner-up was Jordan McMillan from Sanford School. More than 18 students competed in the Delaware finals.

Hannah Sturgis’s final recitation, Infelix by Adah Isaacs Menken, earned her high marks with the judges. The full poem can be found on the Poetry Foundation’s website.

For her winning presentation, Hannah Sturgis will receive $200 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, with a chaperone to compete at the national championship May 2-4, 2016. Polytech High School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Brandon Dawson, the first runner-up will receive $100, and Middletown High School will receive $200 toward the purchase of poetry books.

The Poetry Out Loud state competition, sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition.

See. www.artsdel.org.