It's late February. The spring is almost around the corner. But some two years ago it was very much different. That winter seemed endless, and the Washington, DC area was repeatedly pounded by snow storm after snow storm. February 14, 2014 was no different as weather was concerned. Heavy snow started falling late in the afternoon, again, and turned into freezing rain and snow mix later. In the evening we drove out from home, to the Music Center at Strathmore, where the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra concert was to be held. The concert hall was respectably filled with many music enthusiasts who failed to resist the charm and attraction of a great orchestra and ventured out in almost forbidding weather despite state-of-emergency alerts. The concert was cut short because of road safety concerns. The opening“Barber of Seville" overture was dropped, the intermission was removed, and the event became an all-Russian affair.
The soloist in the opening Prokofiev violin concerto was 31 year old Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji, a new face to me. She delivered a superb performance with brilliant skills and composure. Then came the large piece , Rachmaninoff second symphony. With velvet like lush sound, flawless orchestration, like colorful clouds, Rachmaninoff's romantically beautiful melodies flowed from the stage, filling every corner of the hall. My ears luxuriated in tactile, simple aural pleasures, and my heart felt rousing warm spring air. Just then I realized why the orchestra was considered a "national treasure" of Russia, and its conductor Yuri Temirkanov one of the best in the world. Thank you, wonderful musicians from Russia, for a most memorable spring like evening in a bitter winter.
violinist Sayaka Shoji conductor Yuri Temirkanov
