Simon Webb

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra concert on Friday, April 7, at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park was fantastic. The program was conducted by Otto Tausk who is the music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I enjoyed Tausk’s style. He performs sans baton a la the great Ferenc Fricsay. I also enjoyed the program he put together.

The concert started with a piece entitled 365 by Dutch composer Joey Roukens. I settled in and prepared to have my teeth set on edge by another contemporary composition. To my great delight, I loved the piece. I was able to connect to the music. I was able to enjoy where it started and where it ended, which is the same place. There are 365 measures of music in 365 and the piece ends as it begins just like a calendar year. The piece is not on YouTube but there are other solid compositions by Roukens available there.

The next selection was a suite from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake but it wasn’t the standard suite that concludes with the finale music of the ballet. This suite started with the big tune that we all know and love and then went on to include four national dances from the third act of the ballet.

The concert was packed. There was nary an empty seat at The Shell. The headliner for the concert was pianist Lang Lang and San Diego showed up for him. For this performance, Lang Lang played the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Camille Saint-Saëns.

In the concerto's opening allegro moderato, Lang Lang's playing was marked by its restrained agility. His fingers dance effortlessly across the keyboard. In addition to the brilliance, Lang Lang infused each phrase with a sense of longing and yearning, capturing the introspective nature of Saint-Saëns' music.

In the second movement, Lang Lang demonstrated his delicate touch and nuanced phrasing to create moments of profound beauty. We were voyeurs to an intimate dialogue between piano and orchestra.

The exhilarating final movement is marked Presto but the tempo Lang Lang took would best be described as tempo d’ tear-ass. It was a dazzling display of technique and energy. Histrionics aside, Lang Lang's virtuosity was on full display as he galloped through the concerto's intricate passages with fearless abandon.

There were four pieces scheduled for the concert but one had been skipped after the intermission. When Lang Lang’s performance concluded, a second piano was wheeled onto the stage. I had no idea what to expect. What we got was another piece by Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals. It was a perfect choice. I’m sure any TikTok’ers in the audience were thrilled to hear “The Swan” segment as this piece has become something of a social media superstar.