Symphony delivers dramatic, colorful season opener

From the moment conductor Ming Luke pounced onto the podium at the New Mexico State’s Atkinson Recital Hall, the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra burst into their 2024-25 season with great fanfare. This promise of athleticism and vitality was fulfilled by a dramatic, colorful evening of music by three of the most celebrated Russian composers.

It set a joyous tone to begin with Dmitri Shostakovich’s oft-performed Festive Overture, Op. 96. The piece has been aptly described by musicologist Lev Lebedinksy as “uncorked champagne” with its lightning-fast melodies and celebratory feel. The sizable orchestra’s skillful opener was met with enthusiastic cheering from the modest crowd.

The least common piece of the orchestral program was Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32. After the concert, I was not surprised to read that conductor Luke has been described as having “energy, creativity and charisma not seen since Leonard Bernstein.” He set the stage for Tchaikovsky’s tone poem with an enticingly dramatic description of the true story that inspired it. He recounted the tale of a woman murdered by her husband after her affair with his brother, and how it was captured in Dante’s Inferno. Luke’s description of how the music communicates the imagery of Dante’s work made the half-hour orchestral piece feel like a titillating modern film score. While the stormy opening and closing of this selection were effective, the middle section depicting the doomed romance was particularly moving. Madelyn Moore’s clarinet solo evoked a sort of miserable happiness that was a highlight of the evening.

After intermission, the program concluded with Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition“ as orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. While there are many settings of Mussorgsky’s original piano work, this is the most famous. As with most LCSO classics concerts, this piece includes passages most music lovers will recognize. Originally composed after Mussorgsky attended a memorial exhibition of paintings by Viktor Hartmann, the piece conveys the audience through a gallery and focuses on ten images. Once again, the woodwinds excelled, particularly in the playful “Tuileries” and “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks,” and in the rare symphonic appearance of a sax solo in “The Old Castle,” offered by Rhonda Taylor. The strings presented lush, versatile sound throughout the evening.

Fittingly, the concert organizers invited the southern chapter of the New Mexico Watercolor Society to create paintings tied to each of the movements of the Mussorgsky work. The audience was encouraged to vote for the painting that they most enjoyed. This smart outreach not only enticed area artists to attend the symphony, but also prompted the audience to envision the paintings during the concert and converse about the work as they evaluated the paintings afterward. It might have made more sense to offer this work before the intermission, allowing more time for interaction.   

This watercolor exhibition was one of many thoughtful touches of the evening. Thorough program notes on each of the composers and Ravel as orchestrator also added to my enjoyment of the concert.

Las Cruces Symphony Association President Michael Chang mentioned the Aggie rivalry game as a blow to attendance, but it seems the LCSO is not as impervious to national trends in declining attendance as it once was. The well-programmed music, enjoyably didactic introductions and masterful playing warrant full houses.

If you are uncertain whether the symphony is for you, I assure you that the environment of this local gem is welcoming and enlightening. At the evening’s rousing conclusion, many audience members’ faces lit up as some turned to companions and mimed the clashing of cymbals.

Though this concert has concluded, it was the first of four programs of classics and one evening of pops that will likely be just as warmly received as the season continues. Explore LasCrucesSymphony.com for information on future programming.