(Maestro Alex Prior; photo by J.RobertWilliams)

By Daniel Buckwalter
(#CommonManAtTheSymphony)

The Alex Prior era at the Eugene Symphony Orchestra is underway.

And if the Oct. 12 concert at Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall is any indication, the upcoming season will feature a wide array of free-spirited and melodic music, quick one-liners from the maestro himself and, well, joy. And we can all use a little joy right now.

The Sunday afternoon affair — and I hope the Sunday performances gain traction with Eugene Symphony patrons — had a relaxed, introductory flair to it. It came complete with Prior wearing a dark but striking plaid-like jacket for the festive first half of the concert (I am fashion challenged, so bear with me) and a solid black jacket for the serious work after intermission.

It started with the sometimes rousing and sometimes tender overture to Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Guest violinist Kristin Lee led the orchestra through Canadian composer Vivian Fung’s Violin Concerto No. 1, composed in 2009 and which Prior likened beforehand as a walk through a dark cave. Turn on a flashlight, however, and suddenly bright crystals with vivid colors surround you.

It is a stirring piece of work, and Lee — once a student of Fung’s at Juilliard — was splendid. Lee displayed a loving touch to accompany technical control of the piece.

All of this led to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, a challenging symphony about struggling with fate. It premiered in St. Petersburg in 1888, during the Czarist Russia period that saw, among other things, extensive government censorship, and its powerfully triumphant fourth and final movement has led many to assume it’s an upbeat symphony.

“You’ll be shocked to learn that I don’t see it that way,” Prior said before the performance.
That drew laughs from the audience, but there are dark and stormy passages throughout the piece. The Eugene Symphony played it with grace and energy — principal French horn player Margarite Waddell’s lead work in the second movement was particularly striking — and the good-size audience gave the symphony a standing ovation.

Prior, making his formal debut as artistic director and conductor of Eugene Symphony, was solid. He has flair and a common man’s touch with the audience, yet his knowledge of the repertoire is vast, and he has a respectful and pleasurable working relationship with the orchestra.

Add to that the vibrancy of his conducting, this should be a fun year.