The main works at the Sinfonia da Camera concert on October 26 reflected the German seriousness of Johannes Brahms, in contrast to the sweet and luxurious French tones of Maurice Ravel. However, the concert opened with a short work called “Overture” by contemporary African American composer Jessie Montgomery. This work was written while Mongomery served as composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which gives its first performance in 2022. The “Overture” opened with harmonious strings announcing a simple, direct, intense theme. The full orchestra then joined the strings in a brief development, before the work opened with a magnificent chorale-like ending. This study achieved satisfactory results as a result of intense efforts.

The most important work in this concert was Brahms’ monumental Piano Concerto No. 2. One of the longest piano concertos in the repertoire, this work covers a wide range of styles and musical effects in its four movements. The soloist in this work was Timothy Ehlen, longtime professor of piano at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music. Ehlen has given concerts and performed with symphony orchestras in many parts of the world. With pianist/conductor Ian Hobson on the podium, it was a case of pianist supporting pianist; Both Ehlen and Hobson were aware of the difficulties of this monumental work.

This Brahms work requires a wide range of keyboard skills, including both the power to produce powerful phrases on the piano and the tactility to fluently convey softer passages reminiscent of the Intermezzi of Brahms’ later years.

These skills of Ehlen were displayed in high relief. Ehlen took command of the piano solo part of this powerful score from the heroic passages at the beginning of the first movement, but was able to retreat to softly lyrical playing when necessary. Ehlen continued his grand style in the second movement, meeting Brahms’ call to play “appassionato”. In the third, slower movement, Ehlen displayed Brahms’s heartfelt emotions, and debut cellist Jun Lee opened and closed this wonderful movement with pleasant tone and elegant phrasing.

In the finale, Ehlen displayed a fascinating lightness of touch as Brahms offered the listener some relief from the stress of this work’s earlier stress. Throughout, Hobson and the Sinfonia players offered strong support for Ehlen’s soloing, especially from the horns led by Bernhard Scully. The exciting conclusion of this Brahms concerto was followed by very loud applause; Meanwhile, most of the audience rose to their feet to give an enthusiastic response to the beautiful playing of the soloist, orchestra players and conductor.

The remainder of the program was devoted to Ravel’s music, and the contrast between Ravel’s transparent orchestration and Brahms’ yearning for emotional depth could not be starker. The first work was Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite”, which included five short stories from the famous French fairy tale collections of the late 17th century. This music was the first in a four-hand piano version designed to be performed by young people. The orchestral version took us into an extraordinarily subtle interweaving of Ravel’s orchestral wizardry. Particularly pleasing were the contrasts in “The Conversation of Beauty and the Beast,” where the Beast is evoked by the growls of the bassoon and counterbassoon.

The final work of the program was “Alborada del gracioso” (“The Clown’s Morning Song”). Ravel was born in France, near the southern border of Spain, and his mother was Spanish. Ravel loved to reflect the special qualities of Spanish music, and this “Alborada” was a piano piece from the “Mirrors” collection and was later orchestrated by the composer. For me, this work has the power of a bomb that will explode soon. The work moves along with a guitar-like accompaniment, and its genial surfaces are interrupted by the fortissimos of the entire orchestra. This fun, carefree exercise provided the ideal relaxation at the end of a wonderful night of music. In response to joyous applause, many members of the orchestra were summoned by conductor Hobson for a solo bow, followed by salutes from the entire Sinfonia for its delightful collective effort.

John Frayne hosts ‘Phonograph Classics’ on Saturdays on WILL-FM and, in retirement, teaches regularly at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Champaign. The email address is [email protected].