PORTLAND, Ore. — The eclectic side of Portland came through loud and clear at the Oregon Symphony concert Nov. 1 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The program offered a veritable sonic mishmash, stirring together Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, David Schiff’s jazzy piano concerto, Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, and Ostinato, a brilliant one-movement piece by 15-year-old Alejandro Belgique. The transition between styles might have caused whiplash for some concertgoers, but the programming fit squarely with the “Sounds Like Portland” music festival, which the orchestra has sponsored to celebrate the vibrant music scene here.
Schiff’s Uptown/Downtown: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra received an emphatic world premiere with Darrell Grant at the keyboard. Inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and the jazz scene in Harlem and Greenwich Village, Schiff’s music unleashed a series of episodic journeys that blended cinematic scope with depth of feeling.
Grant, a professor of music at Portland State University with an international career as a jazz musician, imbued the first movement, “Montage – after Langston Hughes,” with a cavalcade of arpeggios and crunchy chords that shimmered brightly. The second movement, “Variations: Vanguard Memories,” created a relaxed atmosphere that had moments of Satie-like grace before picking up speed and bursting into a splashy finale.
The orchestra, led by music director David Danzmayr, supported Grant smoothly, often alternating between a big-band sound and sweeping, melodic strings. Grant showed terrific command during several cadenzas in which he improvised with polish and intensity. There were moments when the sound of the piano got washed over by the orchestra, but overall the concerto resonated well with the concertgoers, who responded with a standing ovation.
Originally conceived as a ballet, Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins works equally well in concert format, especially when chanteuse Storm Large portrays the main characters: Anna I and Anna II. They are sisters who make their way across America, earning money to send back to their family to build “a little house in Louisiana.” The Annas survive the sins of sloth, pride, anger, gluttony, lust, covetousness, and envy, but their gritty lives have left them exhausted and hollowed out.
Large has the swagger and forceful energy to convey the story. In a low-cut red dress, she shimmied suggestively, and that made the embittered text — by Bertolt Brecht — crystal clear. Hudson Shad, the quartet of men who represented the family, sang with gusto, but the amplification blurred their diction so that only snatches of their lyrics could be understood. Banjo and guitar added superbly to the orchestral mix, establishing the ambiance for each scene, but the sound of the alto saxophone got a buried.
Portland is fortunate to have the Young Composers Project, which is led by the Fear No Music ensemble. For the past 27 years, the project has helped students in grades 5-12 to write music, which is played by the city’s youth orchestras and professional ensembles.
Belgique, principal oboist of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, wrote Ostinato in 2024 for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Concert Orchestra and revised it for the Portland Youth Philharmonic’s Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra. The piece caught the attention of Danzmayr, who programmed it for this concert.
Ostinato opens with a peppy statement from the bassoon and percussion, which are then joined by chattering flutes. After a sudden stop, gradual, rising tones from the lower strings create an edginess, which transitions to a thicker, more melodic line as more of the orchestra become involved. Finally, the trumpets and percussion jump in, and that brings the piece full circle to the beginning in a very satisfying way. Danzmayr accompanied Belgique to center stage to accept thunderous applause.
The concert opened with the Overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser, which was a nod to the program the orchestra (as the Portland Symphony) played in its first concert 129 years ago. Under Danzmayr, the orchestra made this beloved warhorse sound fresh and glorious.
The “Sounds Like Portland” festival continues with more performances, including a “Concert Crawl” by members of 45th Parallel Universe, which will feature all of the string quartets of Caroline Shaw, who is now based in Portland.
