A prodigy shines

One enchanted evening

— A cacophony of oddly detached refrains from dozens of instruments being tuned swirled through the massive Walton Arts Center auditorium last Saturday at 7:25 p.m.

The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) was preparing as an audience clad in everything from full length minks to sweaters and suits filed in to find their seats.

I supposed the average age of these arrivals, who obviously appreciate the music only a symphony orchestra can create, to be somewhere in the mid-60s (yeah, like me).

That would be about half the average age of the 72-member orchestra, clad in formal black and white, that was seated on the brightly lit stage.

Soon, every seat was occupied in the orchestra and balcony.

The lights dimmed and the third concert in SoNA’s 2012-13 season began as music director and conductor Paul Haas escorted Ching-Yun Hu, the internationally acclaimed concert pianist from Taiwan, to the Steinway piano at center stage.

The diminutive Hu assumed her seat on the cushioned black leather bench and drew a deep cleansing breath to gather herself. When a lengthy applause from the packed house subsided into anticipatory silence, Hu gave an early imperceptible nod to conductor Haas. He raised his baton to begin the evening.

This opening program for the first of the three remaining concerts of the season was under way, with the prodigy performing Tchaikovsky’s easily recognizable “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat minor.”

For those unfortunate enough to have not yet made it to a symphony concert at the Walton Arts Center, I can assure you this was one of those haunting classical (and romantic) melodies you’d recognize immediately.

I can only describe what transpired over the next half-hour at that piano as a transcendent experience, one that continually spanned the musical continuum from elegant and lilting to powerful, often dramatic.

One moment, this lady (who began her concert career at age 13) was roaming the keyboard with the whispery touch of a butterfly’s wing. The next, she was rising fully from the bench, black locks bouncing at the nape of her neck, to literally attack the keyboard in a blur of fingertips that pounded out the melodies in responsive echoes to the orchestra’s refrains.

As the concerto intended, her talents controlled the pace of the symphony musicians and captured the attention of an audience entranced by her ability.

Entrancement was the most common expression I could make out on the hundreds of faces in the dim glow that spilled over from stage lights into the seats. Some even had their mouths open in amazement.

And Hu was doing it all without a single sheet of music.

It was clear why her peers worldwide have bestowed more than a dozen awards on her abilities at the keyboard, including the top place in the 2008 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition held in Tel Aviv. This early 30s phenomenon also is the artistic director and founder in 2011 of the annual Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival in Taipei.

When she finally arose and stepped away from the bench, the audience called her back to the stage three times to express its appreciation. Believe me, this artist earned every moment of it, along with the floral bouquet she was handed onstage.

Following the intermission, 14 talented members of the Ozarks Philharmonic Youth Orchestra assumed chairs among the SoNA musicians to serenade the audience with “Farandole” from L’Arlesienne, Suite No. 2, by the late French composer Georges Bizet. The youth symphony is conducted by C. Myron Flippin, whom Haas also recognized on stage.

I enjoyed the contrasting and multi-textured themes of this work from a play set in southern France. One segment made me want to march somewhere, and the other encouraged me to dance. Instead, I just sat on my fanny and listened.

I later discovered the term “farandole” refers to a dance made popular in southern France.

Haas said the evening’s final performance in four movements, “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major Op. 100” by the late Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, is among the most challenging and demanding he has directed as a conductor.

He introduced this symphony (created in 1944 during World War II and very tough times in Russia) as an emotional mix of deep anguish, fear and some elements in the final movement that inspire hope.

He wasn’t kidding, either. I assure you that from my observations, no one in the seats was dozing through that offering.

As a layman listener, I found Prokofiev’s works interesting in many respects, as well as unpredictable and varied. It likely was as loud as a 72-member symphony can get in some spots.

The night closed as it should have, with a standing ovation for yet another entertaining evening with SoNA at the Arts Center.

As always, the unpredictable, witty, creative and, understandably, damp Haas was smiling ear to ear.

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Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.

Editorial, Pages 13 on 01/29/2013

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