BSO, review by Patrick Burns

“Phoenix” takes flight at Boston Symphony Orchestra 
by Patrick Burns

           Lynn Harrell, solo cellist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, makes his way to center stage, playfully carrying his instrument overhead as he zigzags through the string section. He gives guest conductor Christoph Eschenbach a friendly nod and waves at the seated members of the orchestra and the audience. The first notes of Augusta Read Thomas’s Cello Concerto #3: “The Legend of the Phoenix”, a world premiere piece commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, come alive as Harrell leads the string section through a barrage of elongated sharps and flats. The tones are jarring, waking the audience from a post Mozart glow (The first selection of the evening was Mozart’s Symphony No. 41). The opening moments of Phoenix introduce the crowd to a new vocabulary of orchestral sounds. The piece explodes into a sequence of seemingly random bells, drums, and birdlike whistles. Although the piece seems as if it is the product of experimental improvisation, there are harmonious moments that remind the audience that we are indeed at Boston’s Symphony Hall. These moments are brief and interrupted by jungle like drums or fiery fanfare, but they serve as the melodic strings that tie together Thomas’s 30 minute epic concerto.

            The piece sounds colorful, which makes perfect sense upon viewing Thomas’s graphic “map” of the concerto. On the map, arcs of pink, yellow, purple, green, blue, and orange tie together words such as blazing, luminous, playful, jazzy, clean, and vivid. “With sparkling, radiant, and capriciously witty atmospheres that celebrate the soloist and orchestra, this concerto is optimistic, clean, colorful, bright, and sunny”, says Thomas of her world premiere piece. "Numerous ways of looking at lyrical" was an image in ear and mind as I composed this concerto for Lynn Harrell. I love the way Lynn makes his cello sing at all times and treasure the way he is able to capture the deepest characters in music.”  Throughout the contrasting yet complimentary sections of the piece (performed without pause), the soloist inspires and illuminates every aspect of Thomas’s music.

            Thomas’s mythical concerto begs to be accompanied by dance (“I often dance on tables when composing” says Thomas of the piece’s ballet-esque qualities), but the orchestral performers make their own beautiful movements as they play, ensuring a captivating performance. However, if Thomas’s cutting edge organic, orchestral music was paired with equally innovative choreographer, the end result would be even more otherworldly. 

Mary, Queen of the Heavens by Patrick Burns

Mary, Queen of the Heavens by Patrick Burns

Death and the Assumption of the Virgin by Fra Angelico

Purchased in 1899 by Isabella Stewart Gardener from art historian Bernard Berenson, Fra Angelico’s Death and the Assumption of the Virgin  (1432) hangs on the side of an ornate fireplace mantle in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Early Italian Room. If you are not particularly observant, you may pass by the diminutive exquisite work of art. But if you navigate the museum with care, actively searching each decorated wall, doorway, and ceiling, you will be sure to find this 61.8 x 38.5 cm treasure.

            Death and the Assumption of the Virgin is the final piece of Fra Angelico’s four piece series depicting the life and death of the Virgin Mary. The tempura painting features two depictions of Mary; mortal Mary’s corpse on earth, and immortal Mary’s spirit in heaven.  Mary’s corpse lies on a gilded bed, surrounded by apparitions of Christ and his disciples, as her spirit ascends to heaven, welcomed by a choir of angels. Fra Angelico adorns his figures in vibrant pinks, greens, and blues, giving the painting a celebratory richness. The use of gold lacquer throughout heavenly skies create a sense of enveloping holiness, giving the figure representative of Mary’s spirit an otherworldly aurora. Though the vibrancy and impressive gold work separates this work of art from the characteristically darker 15^th century paintings found in the museum, the most striking element of the painting is the contrast between ornate holiness and naturalism. The figures in the painting retain a sense of humanity through the natural positioning of their faces and bodies, which works against the notion of depicting religious figures idealistically, an idea common to many of Fra Angelico’s contemporaries.  The vibrant hues and grand, golden glazes of this painting may capture the eye at first, but Fra Angelico’s attention to detail in the depiction of facial expressions and body language will keep the viewer in awe.