The October 21 opening concert marking the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey’s 10th season was a triumph for the CPNJ, conductor/music director Daniel Spalding, and guest pianist Maja Rajkovic. Concertgoers might remember the Serbian pianist from 2019, when she performed the Mozart Piano Concerto Number 21, “Elvira Madigan.” Let’s hope this charismatic virtuoso doesn’t stay away quite so long next time.
I recall watching Rajkovic in 2019, smiling throughout the Mozart piece. Not so the other night as she played the Piano Concerto Number 3 in D minor (1909) by Sergei Rachmaninoff. What I saw and heard was incredible technique, deftness combined with delicacy, and even athleticism at times.
Rajkovic is a wonder, and the CPNJ is an ideal counterpart for her and any other soloist. Its rich sound and precision perfectly complemented Rajkovic and provided a rock solid foundation for this technically and emotionally challenging work.
The first movement began with a simply stated theme, a melody that soon passed through the orchestra and evolved into keyboard pyrotechnics. Rachmaninoff explores the entire range of the piano in this work, and Rajkovic kept up ably.
Some of her runs had such fluidity you could almost hear “the space between the notes.” One long cadenza ended in a flourish; then a solo flute, then oboe, clarinet, and French horn entered with a neo-romantic melody, the movement softening to a close.
The oboe led off the second movement, balanced by sumptuous, muted strings. Rajkovic reached for the lowest notes on the Steinway, conjuring a sad refrain lightened by trills in the upper octaves.
The soloist sounded like an ensemble in herself. She plays with such passion, easily shifting from a touch of showmanship to delicacy. With Spalding guiding the orchestra, the CPNJ remained focused and matched every mood in this rollercoaster of a composition.
We heard the main theme from the first movement reappear. Then Rajkovic dove into an almost violent-sounding cadenza-like passage, which then moved into the third movement without pause.
Fast-paced and vigorous, the final movement ran the gamut of moods, at times martial, then brooding, then sweet, and Rajkovic channeled them all masterfully and with stunning technique.
The second half of the program featured Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 composition, “Pictures at an Exhibition.” This piece was originally a piano suite in 10 movements; in 1922, Maurice Ravel, composer and master orchestrator, adapted it for orchestra.
Mussorgsky wrote “Pictures” in memory of his friend, architect and artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died suddenly in 1873. Indeed, visual art played a big role in the second half of the CPNJ’s program, which featured 10 new pieces of art in special collaboration with Artworks Trenton.
The participating artists were Tamara Torres, Trenton; Alia Bensliman, Robbinsville; Kathleen Hurley Liao, West Windsor; Amanda Chesney, Lawrence; Mayfield Williams, Lambertville; Leon Rainbow, Trenton; Hannah Fink, Franklin Township; Diya Paul; Katelyn Liepins, Hamilton; and Artworks Trenton director Addison Vincent.
The concept of the suite is a viewer strolling through an exhibition, stopping to enjoy each painting. And so, as each section (or “artwork”) was played, an original work by an area artist was displayed on a screen above the orchestra.
“Pictures at an Exhibition” begins with the stately Promenade, a brilliant solo trumpet in this iteration, and then moves onto “The Gnome.” I always enjoy the CPNJ’s brass section, have praised them numerous times, and I do so again now. The lower brass in particular rumbled and buzzed through this eerie passage, balanced by a flourish in the strings and percussion.
We then heard “The Old Castle,” and its mournful melody, first played by the English horn, then expanded on exquisitely by the alto saxophone. Many more sections and a variety of moods followed, from the humorous “Children’s Quarrel,” to the lumbering “Oxcart” (voiced by solo tuba), to “Samuel and Schmuyle.” This is a musical portrait of a conversation between an imperious rich man (voiced by the cellos and bass viols), and a hapless poor man (staccato muted trumpet).
“Catacombs” was perfect for the Halloween season, with the lower brass and trumpets evoking a funereal sound. This spooky sound was lifted by the harp and woodwinds, and the passage ended peacefully.
Even more Halloween-ish was “Baba Yaga” and “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs” with fiery, plucked strings and a full percussion section introducing this witchy character from Slavic folklore. The brass came in at full blast, and you could almost feel yourself chased by old Baba and her minions.
The strings swirled, rose, and fell with intensity, yet Spalding never let this ferocious passage get out of hand. The orchestra rose again as a whole, and after a brief pause launched into the magnificent “Great Gate of Kiev,” transforming the simple “Promenade” theme into an impassioned anthem.
The music quieted down briefly as we heard a solo chime, like a church bell, leading to the piece’s climactic finish, which brought together every brilliant color of Ravel’s lavish orchestration, and all the skills of the splendid CPNJ.
The Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey will next perform Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale,” at the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street, Trenton, on Saturday, December 2. 609-200-0043 or www.capitalphilharmonic.org.
