By JoEllen Collins
Before you skip ahead, I am NOT talking about poetry, though I always like to. In this column I am “waxing poetic,” or communicating in a flowery or poetic manner, about another kind of art wherein one can find excitement, solace and wisdom: music.
I do typically speak by waxing poetic, loving to tell stories, share experiences and be as colorful in the process as possible, which may lead to hyperbole, a slightly inaccurate exaggeration, or simply too many words. I often consider a delicious dinner “the best I ever had.” I admit to all. However, I can hardly be poetic enough in sharing my exhilaration about the recent performances of our Sun Valley Music Festival orchestra. Due to constraints of length, I will focus on Sunday, August 15, an evening where I felt floated on air by hearing Rachmaninoff in perhaps the most beautiful orchestral rendition of classical music I have ever experienced.
I have traveled widely in my long life and have heard fine orchestras in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London, among others. This evening, however, our assemblage of professional musicians from many other places than our “small” town topped them all. Certainly, Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra is magic, a remarkably lyrical and rich rendition of two melodic themes. Also, the musicians seemed to possess an overtone of delight at making music together again, and a packed house expressed their appreciation for the presence of such skilled artists.
Perhaps the most fortunate aspect of that evening was the brilliant performance of this challenging work by piano soloist Joyce Yang. Her evident genius as her hands swept across the space of the Steinway reminded me of seeing Nureyev leap across the stage. I even noticed her appreciation of the strings as they provided the complex and deep harmonies necessary to accompany her. I swear she often smiled at violinist and Concertmaster Jeremy Constant after a perfect session of strings.
Sometimes in my columns I have mentioned the blessings AND the tensions that arise from the wealth this community attracts. I was living here when our beautiful orchestra started to grow from the Elkhorn ensembles led by conductor Carl Eberl and his wife Julianne to the vast array of talented artists we now see at the Pavilion. It took effort, time and dedication to develop what we are privileged to witness today, but it also took money. Many of us volunteer for the many nonprofits our Valley has nurtured, and some of us have contributed also to the Symphony, but it is those magnanimous major donors who have succeeded in making this the kind of venue that welcomes such magnificence. I thank them for the moments I can escape from this troubled world and dwell in beauty, even in our tiny corner of humanity.
I wish everyone could be transported as I was last week. Perhaps we can then be energized to accept our responsibilities to work toward changing the inequities outside our brilliant bubble.