By Daniel Buckwalter
(#CommonManAtTheSymphony)
A first-ever performance of a Eugene Symphony captured for commercial prosperity and an encore performance of one piece that looked at Eugene track and field’s most iconic figure were among the highlights of the Oct. 19 playlist of the Eugene Symphony.
The orchestra covered those bases at the Hult Center along with stirring first half works by Andrea Reinkemeyer, George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi and, after intermission, an encore performance Prefontaine by David Schiff, all under the direction of Francesco Lecce-Chong at Silva Concert Hall.
It was a historic night for the symphony in the sense that the entire night was video- and audio-taped, and Lecce-Chong told the audience at the outset that it will be available online sometime in 2024.
That’s not to be confused with the 1993 fundraising CD the Eugene Symphony produced with Marin Alsop conducting and taped in Portland, of which a limited number of copies were made, says Julie Winsel, director of marketing and communications for the symphony. (I have a copy, and it’s wonderful.)
No, this night was for future audiences to tune into online as well as the night’s in-person patrons. It was an opportunity, Lecce-Chong noted, to showcase the symphony and where the symphony, and Eugene, are today.
Through the first half of the night, the musicians were in top form, from the full orchestra playing Reinkemeyer’s Water Sings Fire to baroque-like settings for Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in E minor and Handel’s Harp Concerto in B-flat.
I was struck by the intimacy of the latter two pieces. Eleven string musicians formed a semi-circle around Lecce-Chong, who conducted while playing the harpsichord, and each performance featured lovely solo showcases.
Searmi Park, violinist and concertmaster for the Eugene Symphony, took center stage first, followed by Chloe Tula on the harp for Handel’s piece. I could have listened to this all night.
But after intermission came Prefontaine, an encore performance of the piece that the symphony first performed June 4 of this year.
I have lived in Eugene for most of my adult life — certainly the last 30-plus years — and anyone can argue that I am perhaps not a good representation of the city, because I have never been bitten by the track-and-field bug.
That said, in recent years I have come to appreciate the humanity and the tenacity of distance runner and superstar Steve Prefontaine, who died May 30, 1975, at age 24 in a single-car accident near Eugene’s Hendricks Park.
He was authentically personable — a man of the people, if you will, and Schiff’s score, and research done by writer Curtis Anderson (with spoken words by actors from Oregon Contemporary Theatre), captured well the spirit, determination and perseverance of Prefontaine, on and off the track.
It should make for a superb CD as well as a YouTube visual in 2024. I recommend it.
