The Ra’anana Symphonette (RSO) concert last week was an evening of fine combinations. On the program were two pieces from two very different epochs: Joseph Haydn’s classical Symphony No. 104 in D major and Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, composed by 20th-century composer Sergei Prokofiev.
Although separated by more than a century, the common composition factor was how both used abrupt dynamic changes as well as tempo, rhythmic, and mood changes as a foundation for their compositions. When paired with an outstanding soloist, pianist Daniel Ciobanu, an accomplished conductor, Yaron Gottfried, and the RSO, the result was a truly stirring concert.
The concert opened with Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, which was composed in 1795 on Haydn’s second visit to London. He already had a successful musical career in Europe under the patronage of the Esterhazy family, so accepting an offer to come to London to write music for new and larger audiences was an enormous shift for him as a composer.
This symphony is the last of 12 symphonies he composed there and is filled with boldness and optimism.
Under the baton of Gottfried, it sparkled with technical precision, precise entrances, and expressive moments. It is a symphony of contrasts. Bold, strong themes are followed by lively and even playful motives, which are set in an overall mood of celebration. Haydn’s music is transparent in character, yet Gottfried drew out the deep and resonant sounds of lower strings and woodwinds, which gave a most satisfying underpinning to the performance.
Next was Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. As the nine-foot grand piano was wheeled to the front of the stage and opened, there were whisperings in the audience of hopes that the music would be “quiet.” However, Prokofiev wrote this concerto during World War I, and it is full of the sounds of turbulent events and tempestuous emotions of the time.
The piece is replete with moments of explosive dynamics and crescendos, yet when one thought it could not get any louder, the music would suddenly give way to contrasting, soft passages of hope and calm.
'Outstanding performance' of pianist Daniel Ciobanu
Award-winning pianist Daniel Ciobanu brought the piece to life in an outstanding performance. The first movement begins Allegro ma non troppo (fast, but not too fast). However, Prokofiev filled each beat with so many notes that Ciobanu’s fingers flew over the keyboard, and the direction of the concerto was always forward.
At times, one thought the concerto would “explode” between the dense sounds and fff (very, very loud) dynamics Prokofiev wrote, and then it settled into relatively soft, simple melody passages, only to begin building into crescendos again.
The second movement is more relaxed in nature, and Ciobanu, who has astonishing technical skills, translated his tremendous energy into chordal filigree perfection. At all times, his playing was meshed with Gottfried and the RSO.
The third movement again showed off his phenomenal technique, his emphasis on displaying the movement’s feelings of surprise, and his ability to bring it to a brilliant ending.
The audience was very appreciative and called him back for two encores. The first, he explained to The Jerusalem Post, was a medley he composed from different jazz pieces and some improvisation, and the second was Hiromi Uehara’s “Tom and Jerry Show.” Both showcased Ciobanu’s variegated talent as a musician.
Maestro Gottfried is a well-dressed, polished musician whose conducting skills are clear and expressive while maintaining close communication between the soloist and orchestra. All parts came together as he, Ciobanu, and the RSO enabled an uplifting and memorable performance.