As a critic, I never know what to expect. Past seasons have yielded gems in unexpected places. Young, comparatively unknown artists who were magnificent musicians left my ears and soul deeply moved.
The surprise gem of the season was the Russian Patriarchate Choir of Moscow, which came to the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center Nov. 9. It was an all-male a capella Russian Orthodox choir, specializing in Medieval Russian Orthodox liturgical music.
The conductor, Anatoly Grindenko, and the choristers wore monastic robes, and they appeared uncomfortable with applause. But their sound was incredible! It was an amazing mass of sound, primal and inexorable, made by only a dozen singers. The basses seemed to come from deep in the Earth; the tenors were exquisitely sweet and bright. Who would have expected such power?
The Bergen Philharmonic from Norway performed at the Kravis Center Nov. 14. Andrew Litton conducted, and Andre Watts was the piano soloist in the Grieg concerto. This was a concert for which I had high expectations.
The Bergen ensemble was founded in 1765; it's one of the world's greatest orchestras, with a purely beautiful sound: velvety strings, meltingly sweet and intense woodwinds, noble brass and percussion with an astonishing range and control.
Andre Watts has been on the concert scene almost half a century. His Grieg was an Apollonian masterpiece. It was beautifully paced, with a powerful sound that seemed to come from a Norwegian mountain. The rest of the concert was Russian, with excerpts from Prokofieff's Romeo and Juliet, and Shostakovich's terrifying Fifth Symphony.
That work was an odd match for this orchestra. It's music with an edge, needing menace and threat; sheer beauty of orchestral sound is not enough. But the work ultimately stands or falls on the last movement; this is where Litton, the conductor, finally realized its full horror and power. It was overwhelming.
Ken Keaton earned a doctorate degree in classical guitar performance at the University of Miami. He is associate dean for academic programs and a professor of music at The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University.
