Review, Marija Temo and Ulrika Frank with the Kennett Symphony

Kennett Symphony Fills Longwood With Sounds of Spain
June 25, 2012, The Kennett Paper, Kennett Square, PA, Caryl Huffaker, Social Editor.

Last Saturday the Kennett Symphony of Chester County performed an unusual entire program of Spanish and Mexican music at Longwood Gardens. This was an opportunity for the Symphony audience to have their musical knowledge broadened, thanks to the continuing expansion of music classics chosen by Director/Conductor Mary Woodmansee Green. It was unfortunate that ”Homage to Garcia Lorca” by the alcoholic composer Silvestre Revueltas was the opening piece, as it was universally disliked by both the audience and the musicians who played it. Lorca deserved better. Full of strident, disjointed spurts of music and odd syncopations the orchestra played well what was written but even outstanding trumpet solos by Luis Engelke couldn’t rescue it totally. One wonders the reason it has survived as a standard in Mexican music. One audience member was heard to say, “It sounded to me like the music sounds I used to hear as a child on Coney Island.”

Highlighting the program was the flamenco dancing of Ulrika Frank who stomped and strutted like an Angel from the gypsy caves of Granada though she is really a native of Sweden. When her expressive hands flew like swooping birds her dancing had tremendous impact. Particularly impressive was her sustained foot tapping and her stomping while balanced only on her high heels.

Frank was accompanied by Marija Temo, who is a virtuoso in classical and flamenco guitar, as well as a flamenco vocalist, conductor and former dancer. Her performing of “Concierto de Aranjuez by the blind composer Joaquin Rodigo showed her classical training by her strong authority and crisp playing. The orchestra never overwhelmed the power of her guitar playing which may have been aided by a special trick she uses. To ensure that her fingernails are strong enough to play the guitar she glues parts of ping-pong balls to her nails – no kidding. Strange, but it works.

The second half of the program was the frequently performed Ballet Suite from “El Armor Brujo” by Manuel de Falla that contained among its twelve parts several familiar melodies heard frequently as background music. This was enlivened by dramatic appearances by Temo and Frank in several of the sections, which helped clarify the numerous sections of the musical story. The symphony showed off its ability in this series of constantly changing themes.

As this music did not require a large orchestra, the Symphony was in Classical size, and it did look a little sparse on stage. While I personally like to hear a  fully plumped out large orchestra, with the recent cancellation of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra’s entire year due to budget short falls, I grant the smaller classical orchestra  sounded  great, I just like more musicians and instruments. But I salute the Kennett Symphony Board for fiscal responsibility. Companies that helped underwrite the concert were Star Roses, Star Plants of the Conard Pyle Co., the HeLP Fund of the Hutton Family and Longwood Foundation.

The next concert by the Kennett Symphony will be “Water Music: Titanic 100 Years” on Saturday, August 18 at Longwood Gardens. To buy tickets, call 610-444-6363. This should be a beautiful concert.