Review: Equal parts lightness and sorrow from Northwest Sinfonietta in Puyallup

It was astonishingly fitting — though not planned — that the Northwest Sinfonietta played the program they did at Puyallup’s Pioneer Park Pavilion last Sunday (and prior in Seattle and Tacoma). After a week of shocking violence in Paris and the life-affirming support that rose up around the world in its wake, Sunday afternoon’s concert traversed a broad field of human experience, from the simple joy of Rossini and Schubert to the deep sorrow of Verdi, with some profound meditation in between from Morton Feldman and Osvaldo Golijov. Even better, the orchestra rose above the unsubtle acoustics of the Pavilion to produce a nuanced, unified sound.

Clearly tighter and better-rehearsed than when artistic partner Eric Jacobsen visited last summer, the Sinfonietta began with Rossini’s “Le Cambiale di matrimonio” overture, Jacobsen taking a light, dancing allegro and the orchestra contributing delicate flute and clarinet work, a clean horn solo and crafted string dialogue to a driving finish. Then it was straight into the depths of Feldman, mourning his piano teacher in “Madam Press Died Last Week at 90” – a pensive piece of expanded minimalism. The seating reset – bass clarinet, muted trumpet and trombone, horn providing their lamenting chords from right next to the first violins – worked extremely well, with flutes calling like birds from either side.

But the highlight of the afternoon came next: “She was Here,” the superbly orchestrated 2008 homage to Schubert songs by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. With incredibly sensitive accompaniment from Jacobsen and the ensemble, soprano Jennifer Bromagen pulled every emotion out of those ineffable Schubert melodies, infusing them with a rich, peaceful depth of both tone and humanity. To ethereal flutes and sul tasto violins in “Nur Wer Die Sehnsucht Kennt” she threaded her phrasing with yearning; over low woodwinds, shimmering violins and water-glasses in “Nacht und Träume” she imbued the words with immense dynamic control and tenderness. Throughout, Jacobsen sculpted Golijov’s unexpected, Mahlerian scorings into a cloud of sound.

After intermission the emotional lyricism of the prelude to Act III of Verdi’s “La Traviata” was broken by some ensemble uncertainty, but then the youthful joy of Schubert’s third symphony took over, the orchestra responding enthusiastically to Jacobsen’s call for real dynamic contrast, melodic dialogue, humor and character. Since the new artistic partner model has begun the strings have noticeably gelled, expanding their signature warmth into either end of the expressive spectrum. Highlights included a fiery horn solo in the first movement, singing clarinet in the second, a charming oboe and bassoon duet and powerful cellos in the third, and a headlong Italian vibe in the finale, bringing full circle back to Rossini.

And as a tribute encore, the devastating lament of the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 echoed through the Pavilion, expressing what most of the West is also affirming right now — that creativity, harmony and beauty will prevail.

The Northwest Sinfonietta’s next concert is “Mass in Time of War,” March 11-13, 2016. northwestsinfonietta.org

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Review: Equal parts lightness and sorrow from Northwest Sinfonietta in Puyallup."