Golan, Komodore unearth new emotions in the Denver Philharmonic

Friday, November 20, the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra gave another fine performance at the KPOF Hall at 1340 Sherman St., which is their home base. Their next performance will be December 18, when they will perform Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, excerpts from The Nutcracker, and a Bach Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Sterling Trent. The Guest Conductor will be Tom Jensen.

The guest conductor at this performance was Dr. Lawrence Golan, who is the Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. In this position he is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater. Golan has conducted worldwide and throughout the United States, conducting symphonies, ballets, and opera. He is also the Resident Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony as well as the Music Director and Conductor of the Portland Ballet Company.

A native of Chicago, Lawrence Golan holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (B.M. and M.M.) and the New England Conservatory of Music (D.M.A.). In addition, he studied at all of the major conducting festivals including Aspen and Tanglewood, where in 1999 he was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship. The long list of distinguished conductors with whom Dr. Golan studied includes Robert Spano, Jorma Panula, David Zinman, Seiji Ozawa, Gustav Meier, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Murray Sidlin, and Harold Farberman.

The program for the evening began with Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Guitar in D Major, RV 93. It is interesting to note the RV number. Unlike the D. numbers in Schubert, which stand for Deutsch, the musicologist who put Schubert’s works in chronological order, there are six different methods in identifying Vivaldi’s output. To make a long story short, Mario Rinaldi catalogued much of Vivaldi’s output, but some works were not included or not yet discovered. The Danish musicologist, Peter Ryom began his own catalog of Vivaldi’s works and also included a Concordance with Rinaldi’s catalog. Ryom suggests using RV, where in the V stands for the German word Verzeichnis or catalogue (not Vivaldi as many suspect) and R can refer to either the Italian publisher Ricordi or to Rinaldi. I pray that you readers will trust me on the following comment, and that is: once the difference between all of the Rs is established then one can continue to the Pincherle Catalog, the Fanna Numbers, or the Malipiero Organization. There is enough information here for a doctoral dissertation.

The guest artist for the evening guitar performances was Alex Komodore, Professor of Music at Metropolitan State College.

His powerful interpretations, formidable technique, and natural musicianship have won unanimous praise from critics, audiences, and many of the world’s finest guitarists. First Prize National winner in the Music Teachers National Association 1985 guitar category, his subsequent appearances on NPR and PBS broadcasts brought swift national acclaim. John Dileberto of PBS “Echoes”, gave his collaborative 1990 CD “Redstone” with flutist Rod Garnett a rare highest rating, which also earned the coveted “Best of Westword” best classical recording of 1990. He has played as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra soloist in virtually every concert venue along the Front Range. He has performed extensively across the United States, including at New York’s Town Hall at the age of 11, a solo recital in historic New York’s St. Paul’s Chapel at the age of 16, and an appearance at the United Nations while still a music performance major at New York University. His 1994 solo debut recording “Passport” won praises from several of the world’s most prominent guitarists, including Christopher Parkening and Sharon Isbin, both who hailed his interpretation of Carlo Domeniconi’s “Koyunbaba” as “Terrific!”

The last time I heard the Vivaldi performed live, was several years ago when Jo Ann Falletta performed and conducted the work with the former Denver Chamber Orchestra. Friday night’s performance was truly quite exceptional. Golan’s movements when conducting the Vivaldi were almost neat and tidy, but of course he was conducting a chamber orchestra. He was still very expressive, particularly in his facial expressions, and it was very clear that the musicians responded quite well to his direction (and in this work Golan did not use a baton). Komodore had good contact with the Golan, and the orchestra never covered Komodore – the balance was perfect. Komodore had plenty of opportunity in this first movement to demonstrate his musicality and his remarkable technique. The second movement of this concerto is certainly one of the most beautiful works that Vivaldi wrote. I particularly liked the way Komodore performed it, because his ornaments were not “affected” or pedantic, but were quite accurate and within this style of the period. I was sitting quite close to the orchestra, and for the first time in this piece I noticed that Komodore either did some tuning “on the go” or, perhaps, there was an example of scordatura in this piece. Scordatura is an extended technique of tuning the instrument so that the performer can play notes that are normally out of the range of the instrument. The third movement of this concerto was wondrously vigorous, and everyone concerned seemed to really be enjoying themselves. Golan and Komodore worked very well together.

Next on the program was the Mozart Symphony Nr. 21 in A Major, K134. This symphony is the sixth symphony that Mozart wrote in the summer of 1772 when he was sixteen years of age. This particular work was completed in Salzburg in August. What is unusual about this symphony is that the meter of the first movement is 3/4. This is a meter that is normally associated with something more gentle; however, let us remember that Haydn’s Farewell Symphony and even Beethoven’s Third Symphony have opening meters of 3/4 time. The first movement of Mozart’s Symphony is considerably more gentle than those two. This symphony is extraordinarily beautiful and the Mozart seems to have spent a great deal of time developing the inner voices of the orchestra. Golan used a baton in this work, and the orchestra responded to his every effort beautifully. The second violins, as seems to be their custom, got off to a somewhat rocky start but as the symphony progressed, they played more and more in tune. Early Mozart can be quite a remarkable experience under the hands of someone who truly loves it, and it is clear that Lawrence Golan is one of those individuals. It was also clear that the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra really appreciates his conducting.

After the intermission, Alex Komodore returned to the stage with Dr. Golan to perform the very popular Concerto de Aranjuez, written by one of Spain’s important composers, Joaquin Rodrigo. Rodrigo was born on November 22, 1901, a serendipitous day for sure, because that is St. Cecilia’s Day, and as many of you may know, St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music. Went on a journey to Paris, Rodrigo had lunch with the guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza and the Marqués de Bolarque Joaquin. These two individuals suggested to Rodrigo that he compose a guitar concerto, and even though he was quite busy performing many piano concerts, he agreed to begin the composition. There is no question that this concerto is the most popular for the instrument. The orchestra did extremely well in this piece and the violins seemed more in tune than they have been for some time. Komodore’s playing was exceptional and is a balance between the orchestra and the guitar was very good, and it can be quite a trick in this particular hall. This piece is always a joy to listen to. It may be that sometimes an audience goer will look at the program and think, “Oh my goodness, this concerto is being performed again.” But when the music starts, and when the soloist and the conductor are so accomplished, and the orchestra so responsive, one can only think, “I’m really glad they’re doing this.”

Closing the program was another very popular piece, and again, it is popular for a very good reason: it’s a good piece. This work also gave the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra an opportunity to show that they can perform with incredible passion. The low strings, the harp, and the woodwinds were all quite remarkable. The violins, and sometimes I think that I pick on them too much, were quite good and their pizzicato was excellent. From where I sat, it was very easy to keep a close eye on all of the orchestra members, and they were absolutely riveted on Lawrence Golan. There was a real connection that was quite apparent. Indeed, when I spoke with several members of the orchestra after the performance, they all said that they felt a kinship with his conducting.

The evening was enormously successful not only because of the high quality of the performance, but because the KPOF Hall was filled to capacity. I do not recall ever seeing it that full. As I have said so many times, and it needs to be said again, this orchestra is the best community orchestra in the state. They worked very hard under Dr. Horst Buchholz, and they worked just as hard Friday night under Dr. Lawrence Golan. If there is anyone in this state who thinks that community orchestras are always second-class, I strongly suggest you come hear the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra.

Robin McNeil lives with his wife in Littleton where he teaches piano privately and continues to do research on the French composer Théodore Gouvy and the Medieval Mass. McNeil is an honorary member of the Institut Théodore Gouvy of Hombourg-Haut, France; president of the Piano Arts Association; and a member of the Henry Bradshaw Society (for the preservation and publication of rare liturgical documents). Read more of his work at OpusColorado.com.