By Paul Horsley

At 85, André Previn has nothing to prove. As one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century and for that matter the 21st, the Berlin-born American whose family fled the Nazis has headed several international orchestras, won four music-category Oscars, and received fistfuls of kudos including the Kennedy Center Honors, Lifetime Achievement Awards by both the Grammys and Gramophone magazine, and an honorary knighthood by the Order of the British Empire. Along the way the pianist-conductor-composer-arranger has written a Noah’s Ark-sized oeuvre that includes operas, orchestral and chamber works commissioned by major soloists and ensembles, dozens of movie scores and vast quantities of jazz that practically redefined the relationship between that genre and classical music.

Far from pondering retirement, André remains one of the more inquisitive musical minds of today: Thus it’s not surprising that new compositions pop up from time to time. His fine Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, which received its local premiere January 16th at the Kauffman Center, showcases a composer utterly comfortable in his skin—one not afraid to embrace a lush, at times late-Straussian mood that is imbued with élan, charm and a sophisticated feel for structure, soloistic writing and chromatic complexity where needed. Composed for the husband-and-wife team of violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson, the Concerto received a confident rendering by Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony, a co-commissioner in this “rolling premiere” of seven orchestras worldwide.

Cast in three movements (fast-slow-fast), the Concerto began with solo statements, a wan and quirky cello line answered by violin, after which the two joined to play off each other, and occasionally together, with a comfortable ease one might expect from a musical couple. The first movement’s development section featured mildly virtuosic solo statements in confident alternation with gorgeously scored orchestral moments, culminating in a sweet climax filled with breathless harmonic shifts that reminded us just how close the arching themes of Der Rosenkavalier and its ilk are to those of Hollywood’s golden years. The duo cadenza confirmed what a great lyric artist Jaime has remained through the years, and it gave Sharon plenty of opportunity to show off her large, lovely tone as well.

The tender slow movement, with ethereal strings punctuated by Gershwin-like cadences, was followed by a forthright C-major finale. This maze of shifting meters and assertive but always-transparent orchestral textures featured witty passages in which the soloists seemed to “argue” then achieve a sort of parity, agreeing to disagree in similar manner to that of the string soloists in Brahms’ famous Double Concerto. If this is not music we’d rush out to hear again right away, it demonstrated all the marks of a master composer at work, and in the end it made for sleek, not inconsequential entertainment. Moreover it struck one as ideally tailored for the Laredo-Robinsons. “He already knows how we play very, very well,” Sharon had said of André at that morning’s open rehearsal. “It pours out of him.”

The program had begun with a bright and cheerful “Haffner” Symphony, generally solid with only a few issues of ensemble in Mozart’s “as-fast-as-possible” Presto. The second half was devoted to Brahms’ First Symphony, in which Stern and company produced a solid, honest orchestral sound that could stand alongside that of other fine American orchestras. Traditionally stately in the Un poco sostenuto, Michael nevertheless took the Allegro at a brisk clip, perhaps eliding over the climax a bit but drawing good balance overall. This ensemble has a fire in its gut, occasional tardy attacks notwithstanding, and though you might take exception to some of the principal players’ “sound-ideal,” when soloists such as concertmaster Noah Geller or clarinetist Raymond Santos play you feel like you’re in the big leagues. (Especially in the Grand Tier of the Kauffman Center’s lovely but slightly-too-small Helzberg Hall, where unlike Mahler and larger Shostakovich textures, Brahms sounds just right.) Michael possesses a fine ear and strongly intuitive musicality, and if his reluctance to tinker with phrasing or structure at times results in generic-sounding interpretations, his confidence and love for the repertory win the day.

This January 23rd through the 25th at the Kauffman Center, the Symphony performs Ravel (Rapsodie espagnole) and Debussy (La Mer) and presents pianist Joyce Yang in Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto. Associate conductor Aram Demirjian conducts. For tickets call 816-471-0400 or see kcsymphony.org.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net or find him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or Twitter (@phorsleycritic). Banner photo of André Previn above by A.P. Mutter.

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