South Florida Classical Review

Lidiya Yankovskaya conducted the New World Symphony Saturday night in Miami Beach. Photo: Todd Rosenberg

An ambitious multi-media Veterans Day concert by the New World Symphony featured the debut of a highly gifted conductor and an admirably chosen program Saturday night at the New World Center but was let down by a less-than- stellar soloist. 

British historian, author and broadcaster James Holland was the host for “A World War II Journey.” Holland’s lucid commentary placed the major events of the war in context with the musical selections. Video and still images from the collection of the National World War II Museum (in New Orleans) were projected on the auditorium’s walls above and on sides of the stage. Well planned and coordinated with the music, the photo exhibition was striking and enlightening.

Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya was on the podium and proved a commanding presence, inspiring tight ensemble and high precision from the expanded contingent of New World fellows. For Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, the concert’s opener, she had the brass stand when playing. Their accuracy and unity achieved the proper sense of solemn eloquence.

Perhaps the program’s most interesting discovery was the second movement (Allegro vivace e resoluto energico) from the Sinfonie for Large Orchestra by Pavel Haas (1899-1944). A Moravian composer and student of Leos Janáĉek, Haas was arrested by the Nazis who occupied Czechoslovakia and interned at Terezin, the suburban Prague camp for Jewish artists that the Nazis used as smokescreen for their murderous agenda. He even appeared in the propaganda film that the German government made at the compound to fool the world about their program of extermination. Haas was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 along with composer Viktor Ullmann (whose opera The Kaiser of Atlantis was presented by NWS earlier this season) and both died in the concentration camp’s gas chambers. Haas was only 45 years old. His Sinfonie was left incomplete, but the two extant movements were reconstructed and orchestrated by Czech composer Zdenek Zouhar in 1994.

The work’s second movement opens with a jagged dance rhythm, reflecting the influence of Leos Janáĉek. Hints of jazz precede a jaunty march tune for two flutes. The aura of mock sarcasm suggests Shostakovich and early Prokofiev. Near the end, a ballroom waltz takes wing in the strings and two trombones mimic the sound of a dance band. Haas was clearly a composer with a personal artistic signature who had a strong musical statement to make, which makes his murder all the more tragi. Yankovskaya drew rhythmic snap and brisk execution across all sections, astutely making the case for Haas’ engaging score.

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C Major (“Leningrad”) is very much a work of its time and place. Composed mostly during the siege of Leningrad (during which the composer served as a fire marshall), it is not one of Shostakovich’s best scores. Still, a good performance can make it sound considerably stronger. 

Yankovskaya’s reading of the Allegro ma non troppo finale was a stunner. Aftere the slow introduction with two harps over ominous bass  motifs, unison strings crisply projected the main theme. Screeching winds sounded a piercing alarm. Was this music a note of triumph or sarcasm? As almost always with Shostakovich, it is difficult to tell what the real meaning or intentions his music portends. In Yankovskaya’s whirlwind reading, the slow episodes were rendered with depth of feeling, probing something deeper beneath the surface celebratory mood. The final crescendo was developed in gradual layers, the climax conveyed with maximum effectiveness.

Holland’s commentary about the crucial role of the Tuskegee Airmen in the European war front was astutely followed by In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy by African-American composer William Grant Still, himself a veteran of World War I. The eight-minute vignette, written in 1943, is a moving testament to the war dead. Three trumpets announce a fanfare that introduces a spiritual-like chorale that is repeated at different dynamics by the orchestra’s various sections and, finally, the full group. The cello section especially produced a deep spectrum of sound, shaped spaciously by Yankovskaya.

The Normandy invasion took center stage with “Hymn to the Fallen” from the score for the film Saving Private Ryan by John Williams. Played over the movie’s closing credits, this threnody is quintessential Williams. While not as effective without the choral part on the soundtrack, it was played beautifully.

Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs were written in the last year of his life, following his return to the area around Munich after the war’s conclusion. The cycle is among his greatest works and requires a soprano with a rich, voluminous voice and subtle expressivity. 

Emily Magee has had a substantial career, singing in many of the world’s leading opera houses for almost two decades. Her voice now sounded too small in scale and lacked the Straussian bloom that artists like Kiri Te Kanawa and Jessye Norman have lavished on this cycle. 

While Magee’s lower range was not always audible, her top notes could still gleam. She was best in the third song “Beim Schlafengehen” (“Going to Sleep”) where her heroic phrasing, buttressed by a sweet-toned solo violin, and affinity for the grand and delicate nuances were evident. 

The valedictory “Im Abendrot” (At Sunset) lacked that extra sense of resignation that makes the music’s quiet finality a unique experience. Yankovskaya fired up the players to full bodied sonic luxuriance, reflecting her vast experience conducting for voices in opera.

The New World Symphony repeats the program 2 p.m. Sunday at the New World Center in Miami Beach. nws.edu

Posted in Performances

One Response to “Yankovskaya makes impressive New World debut in WWII program”

1. Posted Nov 11, 2024 at 12:00 am by JB

   I heard Kiri Te Kanawa sing the Four Last Songs in person five separate times over a number of years. She was always able to make them sound glorious.I have heard other sopranos sing the cycle and always returned to Dame Kiri. She often sang the lieder in recitals and concerts. On two occasions I heard her sing Morgen with the pianist Warren Jones. Both times when the last note sounded the audience sat in silence for over two minutes until Kiri stepped forward. It was a magical evening both times. I thought once was special, but twice?

Leave a Comment