Zander Conducts Balancing Act

The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), led by Benjamin Zander, stirred the Sanders Theatre crowd Wednesday night with an inconsistent but lively and competent performance of works by Bartók, Saint-Saëns, and Dvorak, demonstrating the classical music world’s continuing effort to resist the genre’s arguable decline.

The concert—which was the BPO’s first of the season—was part of the “Discovery Series,” a group of concerts designed to broaden classical music’s audience. The premise of the series, Zander said in an opening speech, is that “everyone loves classical music—some just haven’t found out about it yet.”

Zander was charming and eager to show the audience (including over 400 students, mostly from other colleges) how to receive the music. “We are about to embark on an amazing journey,” he said, smiling. “The way we know you get it—if your eyes are shining at the end.”

In a style reminiscent of the music lectures given by Leonard Bernstein ’39, Zander explained the background and content of the first piece on the program, Béla Bartók’s little known “Dance Suite.” Mentioning that Bartók collected Hungarian folk songs and wrote compositions that reflected these tunes with “fantastic sophistication,” he pointed out the piece’s important melodies and structures, and even led the orchestra in playing short excerpts to prepare the audience for the upcoming performance.

The interactive approach was a refreshing alternative to the common and distracting mid-performance study of program notes, and, moreover, it effectively acquainted the audience and the performers. When Zander came out a second time, the orchestra didn’t have the detachment from the audience that usually marks a classical performance. The audience and musicians were already familiar with one another, so there was little uncomfortable tension before the start of the piece.

The performance of the Bartók was lukewarm. In the first two sections (of six), the strings played deftly, but the winds’ sound didn’t blend well and the orchestra sounded thick and almost noisy. In the third section, an energetic dance influenced by Romanian folk tunes, the strings came alive, unified hearty. While the ensemble was well-balanced, its dynamics were often too strong; when the strings attempted to construct a delicate atmosphere, their sound lacked transparency. Zander gestured flamboyantly, seeming to believe he could pull more sound out with his movements.

The next piece, Camille Saint-Saens’s “Piano Concerto No. 2,” featured a 13-year-old soloist, George Li, who has already toured around the world. Li’s playing was spectacular. Sitting at the bench, his feet barely reaching the pedals, he commanded the keyboard like a professional, with dazzling technical ability and power.

The virtuosic writing did not hinder Li’s musicality, as he expressed dark, haunting melodies in the first movement. The second movement highlighted the depth of Li’s ability, alternating mercurial running scales with a jovial, romping tune. The stormy third movement was the most technically demanding, but Li combined a bell-like power with flawlessly executed flourishes that spanned the entire keyboard. The orchestra supported him with appropriate and timely effects, and did not intrude on the solo. As he finished, the BPO members were smiling with baffled delight, and the Sanders audience rose immediately to give him a cheering ovation.

After an intermission, the group finished with an orchestral staple, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” Zander gave a thorough overview of the piece, again paired with excerpts from the orchestra, and showed a contagious enthusiasm for the music. “I ask you to bring your whole self to the experience. Roll up your emotional sleeves, and I’ll see you at the end,” he said.

From the start of the piece, the orchestra played with more passion and clarity than they had shown during the first half. Zander took great liberties with the tempo, stretching the lyrical themes. The orchestra always had direction and variance; turbulent peaks of speed and activity collapsed to lush, calm melodic sections. The English horn was especially strong, playing a famous second movement theme with purity and nuance. Occasional cracks in the winds and brass did not take away from the overall sense of fun and energy throughout.

While Zander’s remarks were sometimes long and hyperbolic—throughout the three hour concert it was unclear if he enjoyed hearing the music or himself talk more—his mission is an admirable one. While the BPO lacks the sublimity of the Boston Symphony or other fully professional orchestras, they are successful in delivering the music with a feeling of fresh discovery.