Opening Night at the Schermerhorn.
Another year has passed and the Nashville Symphony has returned for the 2025-2026 season. This season will see a rotating crew of guest conductors as the Symphony still looks to replace longtime conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The Symphony opened up their season with guest conductor David Robertson, with whom they performed Debussy’s “Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune” (Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun), Robertson’s own “Light forming: a piano concerto” and Dvořák’s 9th Symphony “From the New World.” A fantastic selection of pieces that I had spent a long time looking forward to hearing.
Before any of the program began, the crowd was graced with a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner, fitting for the opening of a new season. Afterwards, they quickly moved on to Claude Debussy who was an innovator at the turn end of the 19th century and often considered one of the first modern composers. One of the great innovations of Debussy’s compositions was the unique adaptation of poetry and art in his music. His “Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun” is often related to French Impressionist paintings, specifically Monet’s “Haystacks.” Debussy did not like this comparison and preferred to relate this piece to Symbolist poetry, specifically that of Stéphane Mallarmé. Debussy adapted one of Mallarmé’s poems for this piece. The poem and music alike have shifting sections between the real world and a dream as they follow a faun meandering through a forest on a hot afternoon. The music heavily prioritizes the woodwinds and a repeated descending and ascending motif to show the transition between these realms. It seemed the symphony had microphones up for the winds and I thought it really helped them out especially in this piece. With the important roles the winds and harps carry it can be easy to drown them out with the strings. The Symphony was very effective in setting the atmosphere of the piece, something which is not always easily done. The two harps were both excellent and played with grace and subtlety adding to this atmosphere. I was very pleased with the performance of this piece and it was a fantastic way to open up a new season.
Following Debussy, the Symphony was joined by guest pianist Orli Shaham. Juilliard trained, and the winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award in 1995, Shaham has appeared with major orchestras acourse the U.S. and abroad, including Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago. She is also violinist Gil Shaham’s sister and wife of Maestro Robertson—perhaps the perfect person to interpret his concerto! Robertson’s “Light forming” was very different from the late romantic work of Debussy. Written in 2022 and revised in 2023, the concerto definitely embraces postmodern and modern composition. It begins with a short and erratic piano motif that at first, I thought would develop into a complete twelve-tone row. It did not but it did become an essential and consistently present element of the first movement of the piece. As the piece advanced it embraced another part of polytonal music when the motif was replaced by a succession of increasingly dissonant chords. The transition between the single motif and the chords is where the intricate interplay between the piano and the orchestra became apparent. To me it sounded almost contrapuntal at times and at others it shifted into a more romantic style of music. The third and final movement transitioned into a dance-like form that moved away from a lot of the postmodern sounds from earlier in the piece. Orli Shaham was excellent in this piece, the mastery of the material was evident. Her sound blended well when it needed to and stuck out from the orchestra when called for. Following the concerto we were treated to an encore of Robert Schumann’s “Romance, Op. 28 No. 2,” a very beautiful piece to send the concert off into intermission.
The final selection for the performance was Dvořák’s “New World” symphony. Arguably Dvořák’s most famous composition, it is a reflection of when Dvořák first came to America and the cultures and music he encountered while staying in America. The first movement starts soft and grows with a recurring horn theme. The horns sounded fantastic, however I thought the other brass and especially the trombones were a little too strong. They seemed eager to jump to the fourth movement but were too loud with their enthusiasm. The second movement features a very famous English horn solo that became the basis for a spiritual inspired song later. The soloist was fantastic and really captured the essence of the style. The low brass was a little more tame during this softer movement which was much appreciated and helped reinforce the style of the slower second movement. The third movement, like most other symphonies, is a dance and specifically a fast scherzo. The winds once again shone during short interludes where they carried the melody. The final, and most recognizable, movement features a large brass fanfare in the beginning and the theme persists throughout the movement. The brass finally got their chance to shine and they were loud and present for it. It wasn’t overbearing this time and had a perfect amount of power and fortitude behind the sound. I thought the strings were very impressive in this movement too, remaining strong despite fighting with the low brass at times. Overall I was very impressed and pleased with the performance of this symphony, I found myself with a wide grin for almost the entire performance.
This kickoff to the 2025-2026 season of the Nashville Symphony was one to remember. A year with plenty of uncertainty without a main conductor began with success, hopefully a sign of how the rest of the season will go. The selection of pieces was fun and varied greatly in style, making for a fun and interesting evening. David Robertson’s mastery of the material was evident as well. His energy and vigor were captivating and I often found it hard to take my eyes off him while he was conducting. Friday evening was a treat to be a part of and I am very excited for what the rest of this season holds for the Nashville Symphony with a variety of fun events coming up.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
My name is Brennan Wagner, I am currently a Music Industry student at Middle Tennessee State University and planning on pursuing Musicology in graduate school. I am from Nashville and have been playing saxophone for almost 10 years and love attending local concerts of all genres.
