HSO Presents Impressive Associate Conductor Candidates

One of the most unexpectedly moving moments in a program advertised as the “Battle of the Batons” happened before any music was played Thursday evening. Music Director Carolyn Kuan came onstage and asked for an ovation for the musicians of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She also thanked the organization, staff, board of directors and all who care about the future of this orchestra.

The new year can finally begin for the Hartford Symphony. We held our breath, while the public contract negotiations between musicians and management of the symphony took place, before an agreement was finally reached Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Now it was time for music, and the music was welcome.

This program allowed us to hear three finalists in the search for an associate conductor. Each candidate conducted a short orchestral work and a concerto segment featuring an orchestral musician as soloist. The event, in the Belding Theater, was a continuation of The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2015-2016 Masterworks Series at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.

Kuan explained that the position of associate conductor was budget-neutral, and that the new associate would be able to have more continuity with the orchestra and the community than a guest conductor can have. Associate conductors are also essential in the event that a scheduled conductor cannot make a rehearsal or concert.

But this concert was a pleasure to hear beyond its practical function. The size and colors of the orchestra changed for each work and were bright, big and bold. All three conductors were a pleasure to hear.

Adam Kerry Boyles is director of orchestras at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and music director of the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. He opened the program with the second and third movements of the Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B minor by Giovanni Bottesini, featuring Edward R. Rozie Jr. as double-bass soloist. On the second half of the program, Boyles took the central panel of the three pieces we heard by conducting Debussy’s “Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun.” He brought a sense of practical wisdom to the process, and a strong sense of internal pulse came through in the sound. The closing minutes of the Debussy were particularly effective. The Bottesini suffered from moments in which the ensemble inadvertently covered the delicate and sweet sound of the soloist. Boyles could have created more room on the quieter side of the accompaniment.

Conductor Andrew Crust is based in Montréal and Colorado. He has been cover conductor of the Kansas City Symphony and music director of the CU-Boulder Campus Orchestra, along with several other positions. He conducted the first movement of Concerto for Vibraphone and Strings by Emmanuel Séjourné with Robert McEwan as vibraphone soloist, and Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” to close the evening. Crust demonstrated an impressive ability to create atmosphere in musical textures, and he caught inner voices within the Borodin to produce several lovely surprises. His sense of pacing is attractive and deeply musical.

Conductor Patrick Valentino is artistic director of the Boston New Music Initiative. He conducted the Saint-Saens “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” with Leonid Sigal as violin soloist on the first half and Mozart’s Overture to “The Magic Flute” to open the second half of the concert. Valentino missed some opportunities for intensity that Sigal tried to advance, though the performance was still quite enjoyable to hear. Valentino was impressive in the Mozart overture. He got a crisp sound from the orchestra and developed the large-scale musical narrative with artful control.

All three conductors were articulate in the pre-concert discussion, and all three are experienced enough to take on the associate conductor position. We would be well-served with any of them. Which one would I pick? I would go with Andrew Crust. Who was your favorite?

“BATTLE OF THE BATONS,” The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2015-2016 Masterworks Series at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, continues Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. For tickets: 860-987-5900, hartfordsymphony.org.