South Florida Classical Review

Shelly Berg performed Gershwin’s Concerto in F with Gerard Schwarz and the Frost Symphony Orchestra Saturday night. Photo: Kevin Joseph

George Gershwin’s (Piano) Concerto in F is imbued with the spirit of the Jazz Age and 1920’s Broadway. It was the first work Gershwin orchestrated himself and remains one of his most well constructed and satisfying scores. 

On Saturday night at UM Gusman Concert Hall, as the culmination of a concert by the Frost Symphony Orchestra, the concerto was given an exciting performance by Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg with Gerard Schwarz on the podium. Berg has long been a versatile jazz pianist. His instinctive feel for the work’s idiom was palpable but he was also fully equal to its bravura demands.

Following Schwarz’s spirited iteration of the orchestral introduction, Berg took a relaxed approach to the main theme of the Allegro (first movement), bringing emphatic character to the blues-tinged figurations. Berg’s playing was exacting and his precise articulation of the clipped motif in the Adagio-Andante con moto had swing in its step. His driving impetus in the Allegro agitato finale, commenced without pause, went with edge-of-the-seat vigor. Berg left his best for last with an improvised cadenza that weaved the thematic strands in an imaginative manner. He executed it with relish and sparkle and hit the coda with all out speed and verve.

Schwarz provided luxuriant orchestral support, fully capturing Gershwin’s singular jazz-classical synthesis. The well-integrated orchestral forces were distinguished by rich string sonority, bright and vibrant winds and crack percussion. The second movement trumpet solo resounded with just the right jazz inflection. Concertmaster Naeun Ju’s solo was elegantly stated.

A full house that included many of the Frost School’s top patrons gave Berg a rousing ovation. He responded with a solo rendition of “Love is Here to Stay” (Gershwin’s final song) that balanced lyricism and syncopation. This was followed by his own jazzy variants on “I Got Rhythm,”joined by one of the student ensemble’s percussionists.

Gerard Schwarz conducted the Frost Symphony Orchestra Saturday night. Photo: Kevin Joseph

The concerto was preceded by the premiere of Miami Variations by Paul Moravec. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Moravec is one of the finest contemporary composers. His piece is definitely the best of the score’s commissioned for the university’s centennial. 

A four-note theme, played by harp over timpani, forms the basis of a set of variations. From its quiet opening, the ten-minute work becomes gradually more intense, culminating in martial brassy climactic flourishes. Lustrous string writing, angular wind episodes and brass fanfares and contrapuntal sequences enliven the music’s journey. 

Schwarz brought total transparency to the sonic layers, drawing the best from the ensemble. Has any conductor led (and recorded) as much American music, past and present, as Schwarz? He consistently manages to draw out the strengths of the various strands and stylistic gestures of musical Americana. His reading of Moravec’s fine score was no less authoritative.

The program’s first half was French-oriented with Spanish influence. Schwarz’s own suite from Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande provided a luminous orchestral soundscape. The opera is a fusion of Gallic impressionism and Wagnerian music drama. Schwarz’s selection of excerpts highlighted some of the most beautiful episodes. From the layered calm of the opening to restless agitation, Schwarz captured the aura of Debussy’s shifting moods. String textures had weight and massed brass registered impact. A soft trumpet solo offered a poignant epilogue.

Schwarz always manages to draw the highest standards from his student musicians without compromising musical values. In Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole, he evoked the mystery in the initial pages of the “Prélude à la nuit.” The sound of the celesta had just the right sense of distance and distinctiveness. Three bassoons and trumpet radiated color in the “Malagueña.” Ju and Angela Ramirez’s violins embellished the heated languor of the “Habanera.” With two harps adding a cushion, Schwartz vividly projected the  breezy excitement of the jota rhythm in the “Feria,” whipping up a frenzy at the conclusion.

Gerard Schwarz conducts the Frost Symphony Orchestra in the premiere of a work by Carlos Rivera, Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto (soloist TBA) and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite  7:30 p.m. April 26 at UM Gusman Concert Hall in Coral Gables. music.um.edu

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