Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Symphony No.5
Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose
BMOP Sound 1098 (bmop.org/audio-recordings/ellen-taaffe-zwilich-symphony-no-5)
Thank the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, an institution of similar scope to Toronto’s Esprit Orchestra, for the release of this collection of pieces by the accomplished and celebrated American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. As an overture, Upbeat (1998) jumps in with both feet dancing along to Bach’s E Major solo violin partita, turned into a fiddle tune that then disappears under boisterous percussion, raising itself again and again through the work’s brief but rowdy four minutes.
This leaves one unprepared for the deeply melancholic mood of the next piece. In her notes, Zwilich describes having to rouse herself from mourning the loss of her second husband (having married and been widowed once before) while trying to fulfill a commission for a work for solo flute and orchestra. What finally arose was this Concerto Elegia (2015), beautifully performed here by flutist Sarah Brady. At times I hear a similarity to Shostakovich’s haunting slow movement of his second piano concerto. Zwilich writes “I remember sitting at the dress rehearsal and just crying… I still have a hard time listening to it.”
Far different is Commedia dell’Arte written for Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in 2012. Set for string orchestra and percussion (sometimes played by the string players themselves), it depicts three of the stock characters in each of the first three movements, notably the third: Capitano is a blustering blowhard, a phony who might evoke a certain character in the presidential race. Performed here by concertmaster Gabriela Diaz, it’s a delightful romp.
The final four tracks are a showpiece originally written for the Juilliard orchestra. Naming the work Symphony No.5 (2008) speaks to Zwilich’s philosophy, in which she cherishes the western art music tradition. She also seems to enjoy sheer American band-itry and bombast. Great disc.
