Bartok’s ‘Concerto’ paces BSO

The Bangor Symphony Orchestra gave its second classical concert of the season Sunday at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono, and concert-goers would have been hard pressed to find another local event as entertaining. In terms of programming, Music Director Christopher Zimmerman chose a sure-fire combination of pieces by Bach, Mozart and Bela Bartok. As if that weren’t enough, board member Anne Pooler announced that the concert was dedicated to “world peace.” From the get-go, this one had the promise of an energetic punch built into it.

Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo in D Minor” brought retired concertmaster Estelle Holly together with current concertmaster Lynn Brubaker for a performance of amity, grace and skill. This Bach “double” is a favorite of beginning students, but stands up to the sophistication of seasoned musicians. The two violinists, with the help of the BSO string section and Alice Mumme on harpsichord, were handsomely matched, particularly in the broad, slow second movement.

Appreciation for local musicians came into the spotlight again for Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat Major,” the second piece of the program. Louis Hall on oboe, Richard Jacobs on clarinet, Kenneth Mumme on bassoon and Scott Burditt on horn gave a respectable and genial performance. Jacobs’ and Hall’s reedy tones gave some real tang to the music, and the tempo was relaxed and pert.

It was Bartok that shone the brightest in the concert. Written shortly after Bartok fled war-torn Europe and while he was being treated for the leukemia that would claim his life, the “Concerto for Orchestra” is an exuberant and hope-filled swan song. It has the flexibility and control of a true genius. This symphonic masterpiece is recognized almost universally as Bartok’s greatest work.

From the dark melancholy of the opening notes to the swift and playful affirmation of the finale, the BSO musicians were clearly up for the difficulty of this forceful concerto. In its many moods and colors — from the frightening thunder of primordial confusion to the tranquility of reverence, the jollity of mystery and the surety of life’s majesty — it seems as if Bartok recorded every general state of mind and packed it into this major work. In doing so, he allowed many solo instruments to have a moment of glory: a languid flute, tweeting piccolo, blurting tuba, gliding harp, dancing woodwinds.

The BSO was at its best for this sometimes troubling, sometimes quite hilarious score. Zimmerman’s own enthusiasm for the piece was clear in the fervor of his direction.

For those who might have been annoyed by the cameramen onstage, in the wings and in the audience, it’s all for a good cause. A tape of the concert will be played on 1:30 p.m. Nov. 26 on WVII-TV, Channel 7, in Bangor. It will be well worth hearing again.