The Spokane Symphony and Music Director James Lowe. Photo courtesy of Spokane Symphony.
In Monday’s (10/9) Spokesman-Review, Larry Lapidus writes that the program at the Spokane Symphony’s October 7 concert was “entirely music that had been requested by orchestra members. Trombonist Richard Strauch told the audience his choice, the Academic Festival Overture of Johannes Brahms, inspired him to pursue a career as a professional musician at a time when he contemplated quitting. The orchestra’s new third horn, Andrew Angelos, spoke out for his choice, Charles Camille Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony in C minor, which provided the concert’s rousing conclusion, explaining that he had played it during his time in a youth orchestra, and that, to him, it represented the pure joy of sharing the gift of music with others … The Violin Concerto in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn was chosen by its soloist, Mateusz Wolski, who is concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony…. [He] approached it with the freshness of a student, but the wisdom and technical finish of an established professional…. The orchestra chose to program a contemporary work: the brief but impactful ‘Tuxedo: Vasco de Gama,’ written by British composer Hannah Kendall in 2020. The piece was inspired by a segment of a graphic work by … artist Jean-Michel Basquiat … [The score] provided a bracing contrast.” Music Director James Lowe led the concert.
