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Denver Phil, Ragone, and Thayer terrific
Contributed by: Robin McNeil on 3/31/2008

On Friday night, March 28, the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra gave its seventh performance of the season which, by the way, is the 60th year for this orchestra. This was without a doubt, one of the finest performances that the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra has given. Not only was the programming excellent, but the soloists involved, Aldo Ragone, piano, and Kathy Thayer, violin, were truly superb. Maestro Horst Buchholz chose to program Aaron Copland's Outdoor Overture,the Fifth Piano Concerto by Camille Saint-Saens, and Rimsky-Korsakoff's Scheherazade.

It should be noted that the hall at the King Center was full. It was very gratifying to see because many people in the audience exclaimed during the intermission that this orchestra was one of the best kept secrets in Denver. And they are correct. When will they become well known? They're playing was very exciting and very energetic and reflected a great deal of enthusiasm for the pieces that they were performing. In short, it seemed that they were really enjoying themselves, and that attitude was very contagious. For that reason alone, Dr. Buchholz should be congratulated for choosing such a fine program.

The Copland was written for the High School of Music and Art in New York City and it was finished in 1938. It is a very exciting piece of music written in Copland's purely American style and uses his signature harmonies which scholars have termed white key diatonicism. That is to say, harmony that is tonally oriented (as in a specific key), but is not the result of direct chord function. It is modal in its permutation of major and minor, and can result in strong dissonances.

However, as much as the audience liked the Copland, it was the Saint-Saens and the Rimsky-Korsakov pieces that really excited them. Aldo Ragone, who performed this concerto, is an absolutely amazing pianist. He now teaches at Regis University here in Denver. Aldo Ragone received his doctoral degree in piano performance at the University of Maryland where he also taught. He also has an artist diploma from the University of Denver where he studied with Theodor Lichtmann. Mr. Ragone has also studied with the famed teacher, Aldo Ciccolini. His performance of the Saint-Saens Concerto was truly magnificent. This concerto is nicknamed the "Egyptian" because Saint-Saens wrote it while he was staying in Egypt and it often uses a pentatonic pattern in its harmonies which gives it a certain mid Eastern sound. Saint-Saens, himself, was a truly masterful pianist, and had already impressed all of Europe not only with his compositional fecundity, but also with his technical skill.

In short, not everyone has the ability to play a Saint-Saens Concerto. Ragone does. His playing is always full of the amazing detail that it takes to play this kind of peace. This concerto requires the pianist to have an absolutely huge sound, but at the same time, one has to be light and airy. This is not really a contradiction because the mood changes often in this piece. In fact this piece can sometimes be quite carefree in its attitude, and often has a very delicate orchestral accompaniment. Keep in mind that Saint-Saens was a romantic composer but not in the sense that his German colleagues were. His pieces, including his concertos, never seem to be bound by convention, even though he used and always stuck to, traditional forms. Ragone, without a doubt, has the profound musicianship, coupled with the technical facility to play anything put before him, let alone the difficult concertos of Saint-Saens.

For this performance, Aldo Ragone received a much deserved and very enthusiastic standing ovation and rewarded the audience with an exquisite encore. Regis University is very fortunate to have him on the faculty. He has the musicianship, teaching ability, and skill, to be where ever he would like to be.

The last piece on the program was Rimsky-Korsakoff's Scheherazade. Rimsky-Korsakov described this famous piece as a symphonic suite based on the tales of the Arabian Nights. Oddly, in the program notes, Nights is spelled with a "K" which makes it seem as though it is story about knights on horseback rather than nights as a part of the 24 hour time frame. The four movements detail the stories that Scheherazade tells the Sultan in order to save her life by keeping the Sultan curious as to the stories' outcome.

This piece is extremely difficult for the orchestra and for the concertmaster, in this case, Kathy Thayer. In truth, the piece is almost a concerto for violin and orchestra, so difficult is the playing required of the concertmaster. It is an incredibly lyrical piece that covers the entire range of the violin. But it was quite clear Friday night that Thayer was up to the task. Her playing was wonderfully lyrical and mellifluous, and her tone was superb. All four movements of this work have some incredibly complicated rhythms that make it difficult for the entire orchestra, the violinist, the cellist, and the woodwinds. The success of this performance was not only led by Dr. Buchholz, but it was also led by the skilled Kathy Thayer. She and Dr. Buchholz have an excellent rapport and artistic cohesiveness. It was truly a beautiful performance, and one of the best the DPO has given.

Not only did Kathy Thayer do a fine job with Scheherazade, but she has vastly improved the violin section of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. They now play as a single unit and are together on their attacks and releases. They also have clearly been working very hard on playing in tune. This kind of discipline is what a good concertmaster instills in the orchestra. Ms. Thayer is very good at her job.

So here is a marvelous performance that was missed by many music lovers in Denver even though the King Center was full. The skill of the conductor and the soloists should have invited standing room only, and I hope that this happens very soon. Sunday, May 10, 2008, Jesse Mills, a young Julliard trained violin virtuoso will be playing the Mozart Violin Concerto in A Major, K. 210. He will also be giving a master class. This will be another fine performance by the DPO that should not be missed. Please call the orchestra telephone - 303-836-7445, or go to the orchestra website www.DenverPhilharmonic.org for information on ticket prices and time a performance.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Robin McNeil

Littleton , CO

Robin McNeil has posted 698 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Robin McNeil 's average story rating is 5.
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