Reviewer: Connor S. Rousseau
Venue: The Temple Theatre
The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra continued its 90th season with all the excitement and splendor Saginaw’s musical community would expect to find at the Temple Theatre. The work of Samuel Barber, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Antonín Dvořák filled the concert hall for another evening of elegance.
The concert commenced with Barber’s Adagio for Strings, a piece without percussion, highlighting the unique talent and harmony of the stringed instruments. Such a piece provides a challenge for violin, viola, cello, and bass because even the slightest variation in bowing, dynamics, tempo, or tuning can cause unwanted dissonance easy for a vigilant audience to catch. The orchestra, however, has a fantastic ability to unite their individual instruments into a single bold sound.
Then it was time for Rachmaninoff, a Russian who composed four concertos throughout his musical career, the second being his most renowned and the one we got to enjoy. Guest artist Natasha Paremski joined the orchestra for the concerto and showcased her piano prowess. Saginaw is fortunate to attract the talent of musicians like Paremski. There was a language spoken through her hands on the keys, a method to each measure that you’d miss if you blinked. She played what seemed like hundreds of notes in mere seconds and didn’t miss a beat. She performed with the vigor and vitality Rachmaninoff’s work requires, and the audience appeared so mesmerized by her music that they forgot to hold their applause between movements. I cannot overstate Paremski’s preeminent performance; she played such that a deaf man could find beauty in Rachmaninoff’s music simply watching her play a Steinway & Sons piano. Although the focus of the concert was the New World Symphony, I believe Paremski stole the show.
Speaking of the New World Symphony, Dvořák’s timeless musical composition was the culmination of the orchestra’s hard work and dedication. They performed this iconic and renowned piece of music with the caliber of skill it necessitates. Conductor Fouad Fakhouri shared his thoughts on the symphony before leading the orchestra. Fakhouri is a reflective conductor who finds meaning in each movement. He is a musical scholar who appreciates the sound of music but also the underlying themes and imagery one should experience and envision throughout the work. Fakhouri provides his audience with the canvas, paint, and paintbrush with which they can produce an image of what the composer hoped to achieve with his work. Fakhouri proved once again that being a conductor is more than waving a baton and taking a bow. He is the messenger between the composer’s immortalized work and the eager ears of the audience.
Once again, the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra delivered a stellar concert. Their 90th season is living up to the high expectations of the community. The Temple Theatre continues to maintain its standard as one of the finest theatres in the Great Lakes Bay
Region. It maintains such a standard because of the devoted, talented musicians and the audience that always returns for more. With the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, there is always something fresh, always something Fakhouri and his orchestra revitalize to truly bring the great composers of the past to life once more.