Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO) presents Winkler, Bottesini, and Mendelssohn in Review
Long Island Concert Orchestra
Enrico Fagone, conductor; Frank Huang, violin; Tim Cobb, double bass
DiMenna Music Center, New York, NY
April 30, 2024
The Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO) has filled a unique role in the New York City and Long Island areas for eight years, including some of the roughest (pandemic) years for the performing arts. It is thus a pleasure to report, based on a concert at the DiMenna Center this week, that they appear to be thriving. Established in 2016 by composer David Winkler, who continues as Executive Director and Composer-in-Residence, the orchestra fills a niche among local orchestras, including finding seldom-played but exciting repertoire – in this case, the Giovanni Bottesini Gran [or Grand] Duo Concertante for violin and double bass – and presenting mainstream favorites, such as Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”), which we enjoyed as well. The orchestra also naturally performs Mr. Winkler’s own compositions, and fortunately for everyone, he is an outstanding composer. In this concert, we heard his Adriatica – Overture (2024), commissioned by this evening’s excellent conductor (and Artistic Director of LICO), Enrico Fagone. Incidentally, though there was no overtly stated Italian title to this program, there could have been, as each work bore a strong connection to Italy, starting with Mr. Winkler’s Adriatica, inspired of course by the Adriatic Sea.
Mr. Winkler spoke a few words to introduce the program, including mentioning that the Adriatica is part of a set of works he composed based on bodies of water – including also Atlantica and Pacifica. A listener not knowing the title would have probably guessed that Adriatica was connected to water based solely on the music. Shortly after the declamatory opening chords, shifting between major and minor, the lower strings roiled with restless repeated motives beneath high sustained lines, building from undercurrents to outright waves and at one point settling into a calmly undulating expanse. Mr. Winkler seems to compose with very clear conceptions. This work evokes the immensity of the sea. Maestro Fagone conducted it persuasively, and the players immersed themselves in it with intensity. Assuming that the companion works possess similar virtues, this listener eagerly awaits hearing Atlantica and Pacifica.
Mr. Winkler’s announcement of the Bottesini Gran Duo Concertante for violin and double bass included a speculation that probably no one in the audience had heard it before; not to be a stickler (though that comes with reviewing territory), but it may be best not to make such statements in New York City! (Possibly the words “live” or “unarranged” went unheard, in which case the supposition was fairer.) In any case, the piece is certainly not commonplace – and that is understandable, as it is devilishly hard to pull off and requires a compatible – and stellar – duo of violin and double bass. Fortunately, LICO was able to engage two superb New York Philharmonic musicians – Concertmaster Frank Huang and Principal Bassist Tim Cobb.
The story of Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889), known as “the Paganini of the Double Bass,” is an amazing one, and one which relates closely to the creation of this unusual Gran Duo. Primarily a violinist himself until he learned that the local conservatory had scholarships left only for bassoon or bass, Bottesini managed to learn the double bass in just weeks. It is no wonder then that he approached the hulking instrument with an ideal of litheness hitherto unexplored, and that he would try to satisfy his era’s hunger for showpieces by pairing his native instrument and his adopted one in this tour de force.
The Gran Duo runs the gamut from stratospheric harmonics in both instruments to speed-of-light thirds, sixths, octaves, scales, arpeggios, bouncing bows, and a large array of pyrotechnics. All must be traded back and forth and dovetailed delicately with singing melodies – while sounding “effortless” and spontaneous. Both Frank Huang and Tim Cobb were dazzling throughout. They were also quite sensitive in synchronizing with each other – and the orchestra – as if there were no challenges at all. Perhaps such ease has come to be expected in solo violin music – and to be sure, the range of double bass virtuosity has also expanded hugely since Bottesini and others – but what was remarkable here was seeing feats that would normally be focal points, tamed by the players into collaborative parts. Both players were amazing in this regard, but to witness a bassist’s left hand flying up and down the fingerboard at lightning speed, while remaining subsidiary to violin lines, was jaw-dropping – even comical! With a lesser musician, the challenge could have resembled dressing a T. Rex in a tutu, but In Tim Cobb’s hands, this wizardry was simply part of the music.
On the subject of wizardry in supporting roles, one couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Cobb joined the bass section for the Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 after intermission, contributing generously to the lower string lines (especially the countermelodies in the second movement). It is absolutely not expected for a soloist to do such a thing, but it is always wonderful to see. It’s a safe bet that Mr. Huang would have stayed as well if he could have, as both players radiated the spirit of camaraderie. Anyway, there may be no better way to “come down” from the heights of collaboration with an orchestra than to join a section for such a work as Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony – because it is basically coming “down” to Cloud Nine. Composed at a point of great joy in Mendelssohn’s life, he wrote to his sister “It will be the most joyous piece I have ever done.” This joy has reached almost two centuries of beneficiaries.
The LICO forces gave the symphony an exciting ride, and it sounded as fresh as ever (remarkable considering how often the piece has been excerpted and its themes plundered for various uses). Of course, every musician has favorite interpretations of such a work, and this listener’s favorite renditions of the first movement have held back ever so slightly on the tempo, enabling a feeling of what one might call traction, for lack of a better word. It is not that the tempi taken in the first and last movements were necessarily faster than the average, but that a suavity and forward fluidity sometimes swept over the rhythmic “grit” with its high gloss. There were also times when Maestro Fagone countered this tendency with a more grounded feeling – and angular motions to bring that out – and it was a joy. He too seemed elated and smiled broadly for much of it.
In the third movement the only quibble was the occasional need for more clarity ensemble-wise, but the horns deserve special mention for their exceptional playing here, as well as in the fourth movement. The final Saltarello was an intense drive to the finish, and the large audience gave a rousing ovation in appreciation. It closed what was an excellent and quite memorable concert. Kudos to all!
