Concert Review: Conductor Wilkins exhibits charm, style
Connects to music, audience
Friday night's Memphis Symphony Orchestra concert was a brisk and refreshing mash-up of style and substance.
The chamber music performance at Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center was the first public appearance of conductor Thomas Wilkins, one of three candidates for the job of retiring maestro David Loebel.
Thomas Wilkins
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While all ears were tuned to the orchestra, all eyes were on Wilkins, an assured, elegant presence on and off the podium whose program was varied and fascinating.
With a program titled "In Other Words," Wilkins impressed on his debut, connecting traditional Beethoven and Haydn with works by Hindemith, Stravinsky and Antheil that made a point of drawing from other influences.
The opening tune, Beethoven's Overture to "The Creatures of Prometheus" was an unassailable choice for an introduction, reliable and reassuring. Wilkins gave it a particularly sprightly interpretation, foreshadowing the energy of the rest of the evening.
Between selections, Wilkins spent a fair bit of time regaling the audience with background of the pieces. His effortless charm came across well in the intimate setting at Buckman and, for an organization seeking to connect more deeply with the community, such meaningful contributions add value to the overall performance.
The commentary was especially useful in discussing the early 20th-century works and placing them in context of the times.
The Hindemith Spielmusik was a gorgeous piece, small and pristine with some beautiful solo work by violist Jennifer Puckett and oboist Joey Salvalaggio.
The Stravinsky works -- Ragtime for 11 Instruments and Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra -- were thoroughly entertaining and clearly designed, as Wilkins has said, to make a gentle overture of trust and understanding to concert-goers wary of music created after the 19th century.
George Antheil's Jazz Symphony delights Wilkins, not that it is a great composition but one that is a bit quirky, shows interesting choices of influence and is a great deal of fun. The MSO had a splendid time performing it and the audience was delighted.
Wilkins ended the program with Haydn's "Military" Symphony No. 100, an example, the conductor noted, of a vigorous, popular work composed with considerable musicality and humanity.
After the concert, Wilkins took questions informally from the audience, giving him a chance to enhance his rapport and talk of his wide ranging interests in music. He is utterly devoted to the inarguable greats, such as Beethoven, Mahler and Haydn, but he says his iPod also has Miles Davis, Willie Nelson and James Taylor -- lots of style, lots of substance.
The next opportunity to see Wilkins here is Feb. 6, 2010, at the Cannon Center.
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