Concert Review: The BPO Performs 'Grand Canyon Suite'
Rockslides, Coconuts, and GO BILLS!
Guest conductor Keith Lockhart took the podium on Saturday, January 25, 2025, leading the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in a program that included Ferde Grofé’s “Grand Canyon Suite,” Ravel’s “Concerto in G Major for Piano and Orchestra,” and two short pieces by Germaine Tailleferre.
The concert repeats today, Sunday, January 26 at 2:30PM. You will be able to make it home in time to see the Bills beat the Chiefs.
The Prime Minster of Jazz
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra reprised the early modern period, performing several compositions from 1931. The Orchestra has an affinity with this period that mirrors our own in so many ways; it performed a similar program only 112 days ago.
On October 11, 2024 the BPO’s “Gershwin & Resphigi” program included Gershwin’s “Concerto in F major for Piano and Orchestra” (1925) which represented an attempt to treat jazz as “serious” music, bridging the jazz and classical worlds.
Known in his time as “The King of Jazz” Paul Whiteman was a foundational figure. Ferde Grofé’s wrote “Grand Canyon Suite” (1931) for Whiteman’s orchestra and in 1932 the New York Times called Grofé “The Prime Minster of Jazz.”
Grofé (1892-1972) was an American composer of the highest order. He orchestrated “Rhapsody in Blue” and in 1961 he composed his “Niagara Falls Suite,” to commemorate the beginning of construction of the power station to replace the Schoellkopf Power Station which was destroyed by a rockslide in 1958 (below).
The Grand Canyon Suite
Grofé composed the “Grand Canyon Suite” in 1931 and in 1958, Disney debuted its widescreen camera lens technology, CinemaScope, with a “pictorial interpretation” of the Grand Canyon Symphony (below).
The musicians seemed at ease with Keith Lockhart, who made his fourth appearance as guest conductor. Fluttering flutes heralded the first movement’s “Sunrise” and Nikki Chooi’s glissandos, portamentos, and double stops introduced the familiar “On the Trail.”
Two halves of coconuts depicted the clip-clop of mules during a ride into the canyon (no word on where the BPO got coconuts in a temperate zone) and the percussion section used the wind machine to fine effect as “Sunset” and “Cloudburst” evoked themes of death and resurrection in an awe-inspiring vista.
It is said that George Gershwin once asked Maurice Ravel to give him composition lessons. Ravel asked Gershwin how much money he was earning for his compositions and exclaimed, “perhaps, I should take lessons from you!” It never happened but, as we all know, that doesn’t really matter anymore.
That said, Ravel used jazz rhythms and harmonies throughout his “Concerto in G Major for Piano and Orchestra” (1931), similar to those in “Rhapsody in Blue” and the “Concerto in F Major” that Joyce Yang performed at Kleinhans in October.
Pianist Clayton Stephenson made his BPO debut with the Ravel Concerto. The highlight was the slow second movement, inspired by Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet (K. 581). The movement began with an extended piano interlude before the orchestra joined in the languid, flowing melodies.
Stephenson flew through the final movement’s keyboard pyrotechnics (google “demisemiquavers”) and brought a sparse Kleinhans audience to its feet, demanding an encore.
Stephenson returned to the stage with a thrilling, frenetic performance of Hiromi Uehara’s “Tom and Jerry Show” (2003), a jazz interpretation of the theme from the famous cat and mouse cartoon.
Below is Stephenson’s performance “The Tom and Jerry Show” in Florida in 2024.
Saturday’s concert began with two short pieces by Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), “Overture for Orchestra” and “Petite Suite.” Tailleferre was a prolific French composer and member of the loosely affiliated group of French composers known as “Les Six.”
Like the artist Marisol, whose retrospective at the Buffalo AKG Museum just departed, Tailleferre was a feminist figure whose work has never received the attention it deserved.
My favorite of the two was Tailleferre’s “Petite Suite,” which evoked many moods and colors in just a few minutes of music.
After bravely confessing a prior fan affiliation with the disgraced and broken New England Patriots, Lockhart and the BPO sent the audience into the cold Buffalo night with a rallying, orchestral version of the “Shout” song.
I have been attending the BPO for thirty years and believe I got a clear sense of the room on three counts: first, the BPO excels at early modern symphonic works, second, Keith Lockhart is a trusted friend; third — and I cannot emphasize this final point enough — GO BILLS!
Keith Lockhart and The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will repeat this performance at Kleinhans Music Hall on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at 2:30PM. Tickets and more information can be found here.