MUSIC REVIEW

Pianist, 4 principals thrill concert crowd

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra threw caution to the four winds -- and guest pianist Jon Kimura Parker -- for the orchestra's 2015-16 River Rhapsodies season opener Tuesday night at the Clinton Presidential Center.

A full house (swelled in part, perhaps, by folks who'd heard Parker, this year's Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction, play Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto over the weekend with the orchestra and conductor Philip Mann), enjoyed a superb performance by Parker and four of the orchestra's woodwind principals -- Leanna Booze, oboe; Kelly Johnson, clarinet; Susan Bell Leon, bassoon; and David Renfro, horn -- of Ludwig van Beethoven's E-flat major Piano Quintet.

Parker was a most collaborative chamber player, as far distant as one could get from being a soloist, and as for the wind players -- hey, these guys are good, and they don't really get nearly enough credit for the work they do on the average full-orchestra program, much less get many moments in the musical sun, and they made the most of the opportunity.

The dynamics were nicely nuanced and tempos and balance were excellent throughout. Parker's touch would have been appropriate for the fortepiano for which Beethoven composed the work.

Parker -- who in his second-half introduction noted he got to do all three "jobs" of a professional pianist in a few short days (concerto, solo player and chamber musician) -- had already thrilled the crowd with his performance of the bravura Fantasy on "Wizard of Oz" by William Hirtz, this enormously fun trip down the yellow-brick keyboard.

The Liszt-like piece is apparently incredibly dense in the composer's original version for piano-four hands; his arrangement for solo piano, done at Parker's request, apparently didn't shed a single note, and Parker certainly played it in fine fashion.

As a curtain-raiser, the Rockefeller Quartet (new cellist Aaron Ludwig joining Katherine Williamson and Trisha McGovern, violins, and Katherine Reynolds, viola) gave a charming performance of Alexander Borodin's String Quartet No. 2 in D major, with plenty of stress on maintaining the composer's bright melodies and transparent harmonies.

Metro on 09/30/2015

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