If you polled members of Friday's nearly sold-out Tucson Symphony Orchestra audience about what brought them there, most would likely say the title work, Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring."
After all, the guest pianist, Ilia Ulianitsky, has no marquee magic - yet. He's entirely unknown, a 22-year-old California college kid making his professional soloist debut with the TSO.
Give him another few years of solo gigs like Friday's, and that could change. His technically persuasive performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major showed flashes of a future paved with prestigious solo performances.
Throughout the 34-minute piece, Ulianitsky closely followed TSO Music Director George Hanson's direction, coming off as a bit tentative, a bit unsure of himself. It's easy to chalk that up to lack of experience and age; he has yet to develop his true personality at the keyboard. But during the solo passages, when it was just him and Beethoven's lush score, the Russian-born pianist with lightning-fast hands and a tender touch showed a depth of passion that captured the audience's imagination.
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Hanson and the orchestra gripped us with a breath-taking performance of Stravinsky's famous "Rite of Spring."
When Stravinsky premiered the piece in 1913, the audience nearly rioted, TSO program notes said. The music was wildly avant-garde. Even to this day, Stravinsky's seminal work, with its glorious and pulsating dissonance, can evoke a visceral response, especially coming from an orchestra as enthusiastic to perform it as the TSO was on Friday.
Hanson and his players never retreated throughout the 33-minute work. A solo bassoon, regal and elegant, announced the opening theme. Other winds carried the melody away in pecks and sweeps; it was the piece's quiet time.
Within moments, the French horns, set off behind the violin section, screamed in. The brass, settled onto the other side of the stage behind the bass section, shouted. All over the stage, a flurry of voices joined in: violins jerked and clucked; cellos and violas responded in similar fashion. The deep resonance of the bass barged in to the clank, clank, boom of cymbals being clattered and stroked, and drums being pounded - thump! thump! thump!
Hanson wanted us to know that this is heavy stuff that meanders and wanders, but never quietly. In his hands, this was music to get your heart pumping and keep it in its cardio zone for the duration.
When the last note came thundering out, Hanson quickly wiped sweat from his forehead and faced the audience, already on its feet. They gave the orchestra a thunderous, prolonged ovation that included shouts and hoots. It was not quite the riot Stravinsky faced - but it was loud enough to be heard in the parking lot.
Review
Tucson Symphony Orchestra's "Rite of Spring" Friday at Tucson Music Hall. Concert repeats at 2 p.m. today. www.tucsonsymphony.org
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
