Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Stravinsky play well together

Just as he sat down at the bench Thursday night, pianist Povilas Stravinsky thumbed the score of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

Every time he finished a passage, he would flip a few pages. He briefly glanced down at the score, sitting on top of the piano. It was almost as if he wanted to make sure he was on the right page, that he didn’t get lost.

That wasn’t likely, given his extraordinary technical prowess that seemed a textbook example of how the 19th century German composer envisioned his concerto to be played.

Mendelssohn wrote the piece for a beautiful young pianist he met in 1831. It is evident from the construction — the immediate introduction of the piano — that he was aiming to turn Classical convention on its rear. Because of that, history regards the concerto as one of the Romantic age’s early introductions.

The Lithuanian-born Stravinsky, a distant relative of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, admitted in a recent interview that he does not play the Mendelssohn in regular repertoire, which could explain his reliance on the score. But what he didn’t say in that interview was how well he could play it.

He struck a fine balance with Mendelssohn’s opening bravado — zig-zagging scales on a collision course with rushing chromatic chords that teetered on the brink of collapse — and the delicate restraint of the second movement. A couple of times, it appeared the towering pianist, bent over the keyboard as if he was trying to tame it, was playing too gently; the orchestra came within a decibel of overpowering him.

Stravinsky’s performance Thursday night — the first time the orchestra had ever played the Mendelssohn concerto — was an encore to his intimate salon performance with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra two years ago. But in many ways for the audience of 850, it was an introduction. We learned in the 21-minute performance that Stravinsky is not one given to flashy showmanship. He is guided by the music with an almost workman-like devotion fitting Mendelssohn’s compact, emotionally-to-the-point work.

Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto came in the concert’s second half, right before Stravinsky’s “Firebird,” composed by the pianist’s famous distant relative.

The concert’s first half was a contrast of emotions — enlightened happiness with American-born composer Aaron Jay Kernis’ meditative gem “Musica celestis” and brooding anxiety in Richard Strauss’ haunting tone poem “Death and Transfiguration.”

Kernis, who hails from Philadelphia, wrote the piece for the Lark String Quartet in 1990 with the intention that it encapsulate every possible musical emotion. The piece is punctuated by soaring melodic strings, led by guest concertmaster Nathan Olson from Cleveland, and bursts of striking dissonance and palpable tension.

TSO Conductor George Hanson led the orchestra in a dynamic performance of the piece highlighted by skittish romps at Kernis’ imposingly high register. The orchestra colored the work with the perfect measure of heavenly beauty, led by outstanding performances from principal cellist Nelzimar Neves, assistant principal violist Ilona Vukovic-Gay, associate concertmaster Carla Ecker and the 21-year-old guest concertmaster Olson, who enjoyed several spotlight moments throughout the evening.

Hanson’s approach to Strauss’ “Death and Transfiguration” was to emphasize the nuances in the score with precise timing. The orchestra succeeded in drawing crisp, yet warm musical lines that punctuated the arching sense of anxiety expressed when trombones interrupt the peaceful strings singing out a graceful tune. A lovely harmonic dance between the solo flute and harps is similarly interrupted.