Swan Lake Music at the TPO

(Photo above left) 15 years old and still in braces, Pitchayapa gave a warm and beautiful performance of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, belying her young age. (Photo above right) Italian conductor Alfonso Scarano (left) and Korean composer Thomas Hyuk Cha (right)

Swan Lake Music.  Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.  Mahidol Salaya Campus.  Nakhonpathom, Thailand.  August 4, 2012. I wasn’t expecting much from this program mostly of familiar romantic music, but the soloist and orchestra sounded so good that they raised the concert into the memorable category.  The most surprising part was the gorgeous performance by 15-year old Pitchayapa Luengtawikit of Max Bruch’s often played Violin Concerto No. 1.  While still wearing braces, this youngster performed as a mature musician, with a big, a dark romantic tone, which never flagged as she perfectly captured the lines of this melodious work.  It is easy to predict a big future for Pitchayapa.

The orchestra was rearranged for this performance, by Italian guest conductor Alfonso Scarano, so that the second violins replaced the cellos in the front at stage right.  I thought that it gave the TPO a different sound, which I liked.  Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite was given a gorgeous reading by Scarano, who, with an economy of motion, guided the orchestra through many expressive passages expertly executed by the orchestra’s first desk players. 

Korean composer Thomas Huk Cha was present for the world premier of his “Glory to God” for Orchestra.  It was the usual dissonant music written today, without the trace of a melody, but I liked the energy and big sound behind Cha’s work.  Unlike most contemporary compositions I hear, I wouldn’t mind hearing “Gory to God” again, but I hardly think that will be possible:  these works are given world premiers, and then are buried in the composer’s archives.