South Florida Classical Review

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Stephane Deneve and the New World Symphony Saturday night. Photo: Lars Gundersen

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider has been a major violin soloist on the world’s concert stages for more than two decades. He has concentrated as much on conducting in recent years.

Yet on Saturday night, his performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major with Stéphane Denève and the New World Symphony demonstrated that his musicianship and command of the instrument remain in the top league. From the first bars he played on the New World Center stage, Znaider offered artistry of the most rarified variety.

The opening Allegro moderato was distinguished by Znaider’s tonal warmth and aristocratic shaping of Tchaikovsky’s melodic riches. He tackled the cadenza with fiery abandon and virtuosity to burn. Denève’s perfectly judged accompaniment drew a large sound from the ensemble in the orchestral tuttis which Znaider sometimes joined in playing. 

In the Canzonetta, Znaider’s muted violin spun a haunting aura of musical nostalgia. With fine wind solos supporting the solo line, Znaider made one newly aware how marvelous this warhorse can sound when played with pristine technical mastery and heart. He took the finale at a fierce clip while bringing a welcome touch of gypsy seasoning to the secondary subject. Denève had the orchestra playing on the same fired-up level as their soloist.

A long ovation with cheers and whoops brought the violinist and conductor back for an encore of Manuel Ponce’s “Estrellita” in the transcription by Jascha Heifetz. Played with schmaltzy aplomb, it served as an appropriate tribute to a violin legend of the past by a present day master. Denève and the orchestra’s string section offered discreet support.

The concert concluded with the Symphony No. 3 in E minor by Florence Price (1887-1953). In 1933, Price was the first black female composer to have a work played by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony under Fredrick Stock premiered her First Symphony. 

Written five years later, Price’s Third Symphony was introduced by the Detroit Civic Orchestra, a project of the WPA (Works Progress Administration). As part of recovery from the Great Depression, the government believed it was important to support the arts and creative artists.

Price’s Third is a highly uneven work. After a promising slow introduction, the opening movement loses shape and momentum. Despite some good tunes, the music veers into incoherence. 

The score’s best segments are the middle movements. An Andante ma non troppo recalls the slow movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony. Lustrous string and wind articulation gave full vent to Price’s melodic flights while brass climaxes registered impact. The Juba dance (third movement) has often been programmed as a stand-alone piece. Its lively, ragtime-tinged motifs and catchy rhythms were rendered with vigor and flair. The finale is the symphony’s weakest component. The main subject is repeated endlessly in brassy overkill. 

Denève’s enthusiasm for the score was palpable. His brisk approach presented Price’s symphony in its best possible light, making some of the weak passages sound better than they were. Superb and dedicated playing across all sections was highlighted by an expanded, seven-member percussion contingent performing at full throttle. It would be appropriate for New World to revive Price’s First Symphony which was a landmark in America’s musical history.

The program opened with Maslenitsa, a 2010 opus by French composer Guillaume Connesson. Depicting the feast that precedes Lent in the Russian orthodox tradition, the score conjures up Tchaikovsky at his wildest, refracted through the lens of Berlioz. Rapid fragments in succession picture raucous festivities. Chimes introduce a solemn orthodox chorale in the winds, which grows to a full orchestral climax. The return to the opening music is even wilder and more unhinged. 

A master of orchestral color, Connesson has conceived a vibrant, glowing curtain-raiser. Conducting fellow Ziwei Ma led a propulsive, brilliantly executed reading of this appealing, yet complex miniature. 

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

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