When I heard the Virginia Symphony was doing a concert of Russian music, I was looking forward to something not usually heard. But when I discovered they were playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, my first thought was, ‘Who is going to pay 50 bucks for something they can hear every Fourth of July for free?’ As it turns out, the concert wasn’t all about the Overture. It was just the icing on a great big cake (or maybe a blintz).

I attended this concert at the Ferguson Center on Sunday afternoon, and it appears that a great deal of people wanted to hear the Russian standard, as the hall was filled to near capacity. Music Director JoAnn Falletta greeted the crowd with a preview of next season’s line up, using a screen that ascended into the ceiling at the conclusion of the PowerPoint presentation. It was a neat effect and I thought of it later when  . . . well, I’ll get to that later.

The poem was translated into Russian by Konstantin Balmont. It is a very free translation, so much that it could be considered a separate work. The orchestra was joined by the Virginia Symphony Chorus and three excellent soloists. In three of the four movements, the composer uses instruments to imitate the sounds of the bells. The sleigh bells were created by a combination of triangle and tambourine along with high winds and pizzicato strings. Brass plays the part of the arlarum bells, while cellos and basses substitute for iron bells.

Only in the second movement, does the percussionist actually play the chimes for a familiar bell sound, but it was only for a few measures. In this movement Ms. Falletta demonstrated the dynamic control she has over the orchestra, leading them to explore the range from pianissimo to fortissimo. Rachmaninoff was the last of the great Romantic composers, and it was here where all the emotional expression and lush harmonies associated with the period were used to their fullest extent. The Presto third movement gave the Chorus the most to do. Russians love basses and Rachmaninoff really let them have a well-deserved spotlight here. The funereal final movement featured a great solo by the English horn as a prophet of doom. But when it seemed as if the whole piece was going to drag us down to the depths, angels from heaven appeared in the form of pizzicato strings and harp bringing us into the light for a perfectly gorgeous ending.

In the end I respected this piece a great deal, but remained somewhat disappointed. It simply wasn’t the Edgar Allen Poe I was expecting. Though the Chorus did a fine job, the Russian version just didn’t seem to have all the elements of the English version I love so much. Someone like Philip Glass, Danny Elfman, or even Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (check out his score to There Will Be Blood) needs to set this poem to music!

The second piece on the program was Stravinsky’s Suite from the Ballet Petrouchka.  I’ve been a Stravinsky fan ever since I saw The Rite of Spring sequence from Fantasia. (Yes, another high school discovery, only this time it was a Humanities class field trip.) His use of syncopation and dissonant harmonies opened my ears to a whole new world of music. Stravinsky composed Petrouchka in 1911, while living in Paris. It’s obvious that the new form of music called jazz, which by then had found its way to Europe from New Orleans, must have influenced him. It’s also obvious that many later composers drew their inspiration from Stravinsky. You can hear bits of Gershwin, Bernstein and even John Williams (the theme from Jaws is clearly stated in the lower strings).

I have never seen the ballet, so the first thought I had upon hearing the music was, ‘How does anyone dance to this?’ Its rapidly changing rhythms would be enough to give Bob Fosse a heart attack. Ms. Falletta really had her work cut out for her during segments in which it sounded like various sections of the orchestra were playing in different meters simultaneously. She held them together like glue without missing a sixteenth note. The piano is not usually used as an orchestral instrument, but here Stravinsky uses it to full advantage, even including some brilliant solo passages. Other great solos were provided by the trumpet and flute. It’s just a shame we couldn’t see them.

Remember that screen I mentioned back at the beginning? This is where the Symphony can kick it up a notch. Why not treat the concert like any rock concert you’d see at the Amphitheatre? Have a cameraman in the balcony and project images of hidden soloists onto the smaller, more tasteful version of a Jumbotron. It’s one way they could do away with their stuffy image, attract a younger crowd and bring the orchestra into the 21st century.

Finally, the time came for The 1812. The Chorus came back out, but this time the singers appeared to be standing in quartets rather than in sections. It helped to create a beautiful blend. They began by singing the old Czarist Russian hymn “O Lord, Save Thy People” a cappella and sounded wonderful. That’s something you never hear at an outdoor concert. I wondered what else was in store. As they reached the inevitable climax, I was prepared for tympani to substitute for the familiar canon shots – but no! Suddenly, from the upper balcony came the unmistakable sounds of canons. Did they bring Howitzers into the Ferguson Center? Heads turned in every direction looking for the source. Whatever computer-generated special effect was used, it was great. And then came the church bell section – the percussionist went to town clanging those chimes. Bells! Bells! Here, finally, were the bells that should have been in the Rachmaninoff! Then the chorus came back in with the Russian hymn. Lumps started forming in throats, spines started tingling, skin started getting all goose-bumpy. The orchestra raced to a wild finish. The crowed went crazy, giving a thunderous standing ovation. Who would have thought that something heard so often would inspire such response?  Yet it did, and it was well-deserved.