Mozart’s Prague Symphony with Gábor Takács-Nagy at Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul (June 15, 2025)

In their 2024-25 season finale, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra delighted the audience and received three standing ovations throughout the afternoon at the Ordway Concert Hall. Reunited with Gábor Takács-Nagy, it was clear to see the strong connection the orchestra has developed over the years with the Hungarian conductor.

Gotham News © 2023 The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

An image of the 1955 painting Gotham News can be seen at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s website.

The US premiere of Gotham News by Geoffrey Gordon kicked off the program. The piece is a musical reimagining of the 1955 painting of the same name by artist Willem de Kooning which was based on mid-20th century New York City daily life. The piece began with a quiet but haunting melody that quickly gave way to a fear-inducing percussive sound effect created by the celli and basses snapping their bows against their instruments. A cautiously calm middle section desperately wanted to give hope to the audience by changing to a major key, but the music never got there. The piece ended with low notes in the bass section and intervals reminiscent of what might be expected walking down a dark alley.

Next on the program was the familiar Pavane for a Dead Princess by Maurice Ravel. In this calm and quiet work, the orchestra allowed the audience to relax by setting the scene of an airy French salon. The tempo started slowly and only increased slightly in the middle section before returning to the original largo. The French horns were featured and delivered a beautiful, crisp sound. The oboe and harp also had their moments to shine. At one point the gradual crescendo of the orchestra gave goosebumps.

The first half was rounded out by Takacs-Nagy’s own orchestral arrangement of fellow Hungarian Bela Bartok’s String Quartet No 1. Prior to starting the piece, Takács-Nagy set the scene of Bartok’s life when composing the work. Bartok fell helplessly in love in 1927 only to be rejected shortly after. This piece reflected Bartok’s “love death”, as described by Takács-Nagy. The orchestra brought out the composer’s pain with their methodical and passionate interpretation. It was clear the musicians were in their groove throughout the technically demanding tempo changes and precise dynamics ranging from pianissimo to double forte across the three movements played without breaks. The audience responded with a well-deserved standing ovation and one audience member shouted, “Absolutely amazing, thank you!”

The second half began with another US premiere of Geoffrey Gordon, Fumée (Smoke) for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra. Clarinet soloist Sang Yoon Kim demonstrated his mastery of the clarinet through rapid trills, impressive dynamic range, jumps from low notes to high notes and even a clarinet growl at one point. The orchestra also did their part with expert trumpet staccatos and the strings echoing clarinet solos. At the end of the piece, the audience jumped out of their seats for another standing ovation.

The concert ended with Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Prague. The piece is signature Mozart style with a familiar, yet original, light and cheery melody that had several audience members bobbing their heads to the beat. It was clear the musicians were having just as much fun performing likely due to Takács-Nagy’s energetic conducting. At some particularly fervent moments, it seemed as if both of Takács-Nagy’s feet left the ground to bring out even more energy from musicians. His respect for the musicians was particularly highlighted when he gave a thumbs up to the oboe for coming in right on cue. The bassoons were also highlighted with several playful calls and responses with the strings. The audience gave a third standing ovation when the piece ended.

The orchestra brought a range of emotions out of the music played and finished the 2024-25 season finale leaving the audience excited for what is to come next season.