Thomas Wilkins
Drew Neneman
June 9, 2018
Music steps in when you can’t find the words, and genius steps in when you need the perfect words to go with it.
At
the Holland Center on Friday night, the Omaha Symphony and Festival
Chorus presented two works that are almost unrivaled in their esteem
among masterpieces to end the 2017-18 season. Leonard Bernstein’s
“Chichester Psalms” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony are both
incredible marriages of poetry and musical imagination.
The
“Chichester Psalms” displayed unusual melodic playfulness and powerful
orchestral textures. The choir presented excerpts from five different
Psalms in Hebrew above the orchestra while a young boy soprano sang the
voice of King David. The boy soprano was Arthur Pecceu. In addition to
his charming voice, his poise and energy onstage were very impressive
for a performer so young.
Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony was remarkable. The power and passion of its spiritual
text and musical genius presented something satisfying for every sort of
listener in the audience. The German poetry that inspired Beethoven to
compose this symphony is electrifying.
Thomas Wilkins, music director, conducted the orchestra with his typical
brilliance. Both the Beethoven and the Bernstein require tremendous
skill, power and agility from every musician involved. At the end of the
night when Wilkins dabbed his brow to turn and bow, he was
well-deserving of the delighted sigh and smile he shared with the
ensemble. A master among his peers, Wilkins still deserves to enjoy his
victory in this mammoth concert.
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