Anthony McGill with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of Malek Jandali’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, led by Christopher Zimmerman. Photo by Daniel Corey.
In Monday’s (3/10) Washington Post, Michael Andor Brodeur writes, “Among the things to admire about the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is its commitment to variety. Avoiding the obvious seems like a guiding principle for conductor and music director Christopher Zimmerman … Saturday night’s concert at George Mason University … represented a particularly well-struck balance: two sizable portions of music from Syrian American composer Malek Jandali, including the world premiere of his Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, followed by a heroic dose of Beethoven…. Jandali, 51, is a prolific composer whose symphonies and concertos incorporate Arabic maqams (or modes) into a blend that resists transparent fusion … Jandali’s concerto for clarinet and orchestra [was] composed for … Anthony McGill, principal clarinet for the New York Philharmonic…. The three movements of the concerto indulge McGill’s chops and leave ample room for his clarity and expressive range…. Jandali never forces McGill’s virtuosity, opting instead for a cinematic treatment … A crisscross of darting piccolo and nimble bassoons brought us to McGill’s final cadenza, a thrilling soliloquy that moved with liquid ease through jazz-tinted voicings and angular simplicity.” Also on the program were three movements from Jandali’s Sixth Symphony and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3.
