Musical conservatories and educational institutions have had to adapt and innovate in the Covid 19 era in order to fulfill their mission. The University of Miami’s Frost School of Music has combined classroom and online learning with livestreamed performances presented before small, socially distanced audience.
On Saturday night, nearly 75 students and faculty members greeted conductor Gerard Schwarz and members of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at UM Gusman Concert Hall. For a critic who has not experienced live music since March, the event was doubly welcome. As usual Schwarz did not disappoint, spotlighting a rarely played work by a significant American composer and leading energetic readings of repertoire staples. (All the musicians and the conductor wore masks, except for the wind and brass players.)
William Grant Still was one of the first major African-American composers to write classical music. He penned over 200 works in virtually every musical medium and form. Darker America, a 12-minute tone poem written in 1924, combines elements of blues and jazz with the uplift of spirituals and sacred hymns. Still’s finely crafted score features introspective solo passages for winds and an active piano line, suggesting his early work as an arranger for big bands and Broadway.
Schwarz commanded tight ensemble and superbly controlled the tricky changes of meter. Even with one player to a stand and the musicians spread out across the stage, he managed to meld a cohesive corporate sonority. String textures were rich and the brass climaxes emerged with visceral impact. Still’s catalogue deserves further investigation and revival, particularly his later more austere efforts.
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Saturday’s Frost Symphony Orchestra concert is available for free viewing on YouTube.
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