{"id":6374,"date":"2020-03-07T17:29:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-07T17:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/?p=6374"},"modified":"2020-03-10T17:30:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T17:30:40","slug":"review-columbus-symphony-cellist-shine-in-works-inspired-by-romance-and-reverence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/review-columbus-symphony-cellist-shine-in-works-inspired-by-romance-and-reverence\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Columbus Symphony, cellist shine in works inspired by romance and reverence"},"content":{"rendered":"

From The Columbus Dispatch<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jennifer Hambrick<\/p>\n

…Columbus Symphony Music Director Rossen Milanov led the orchestra and cello soloist Joshua Roman in a second Columbus performance of Roman\u2019s own Awakening, a romantic drama in the guise of a cello concerto, and in Anton Bruckner\u2019s Symphony No. 7, the composer\u2019s most ardent expression of respect for a revered master, Richard Wagner.<\/p>\n

Over its five movements, Roman\u2019s Awakening, which Roman performed in Columbus in 2016, portrays the life cycle of a romantic relationship \u2013 a beginning rich with possibility, a phase where things get weird, the break-up, healing and, eventually, a return to the world.<\/p>\n

Roman, as cello soloist, was the protagonist of this drama, which began as the strings of the orchestra out of nowhere floated like a camera shot over a vast plain at the beginning of the first movement, \u201cMomentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solo cello plucked its way into the shot against a backdrop of ravishing music in the orchestra \u2013 wistful, lyrical, lushly orchestrated, imbued with the sound and spirit of John Williams\u2019 finest film scores and, at the same time, fresh with unexpected shapes and turns. Roman\u2019s flawless cello lines were seemingly effortless expressions of a soul captivated by some great beauty.<\/p>\n

Roman\u2019s playing was at its most lyrical in the second movement, \u201cPossibility,\u201d where he sang the soaring lines of his beautiful self-described love song. The brief turn into increasing dissonance was masterfully controlled and orchestrated, and masterfully performed by soloist and orchestra.<\/p>\n

That dissonance gently foreshadowed the third movement, \u201cIt\u2019s You, Not Me,\u201d the abrasive violin solo at the beginning of which became the sand in the flesh of the protagonist\u2019s oyster, sending the cello into anxious diatribes. The emotional tension in the imagined relationship registered also in the heartbeat of pounding drums, against which the solo cello seems to have no way to hold its own dynamically as the relationship unravels.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the fourth movement, \u201cClinging,\u201d the cello is truly solo, mournfully alone and ruminating. Roman\u2019s introspective tone was as intimate as an inner monologue. Gradually, the orchestra joined the cello, first as a backdrop of a few instruments, some marking each moment like chalk marks on the wall of a prison cell, some waiting on a single sustained pitch like confidantes ready to listen.<\/p>\n

A gradual crescendo in the orchestra begins the finale, \u201cAwakening, Incorporated.\u201d These are the sounds of the world \u2013 people\u2019s voices, the ever-present beat of time, the clang of the technology and chatter that ebbs and flows among all people. These sounds return to the warm, cinematic sound world of the first movement before the cello-protagonist, having grieved its loss, returns to take part in the world.<\/p>\n

Roman\u2019s bluesey entrance here was full of saucy flair. Moments of rock-inspired drumming conveyed the edge of wisdom newly found. Whistles, bravos and a standing ovation greeted Roman at the concerto\u2019s emphatic end.<\/p>\n

Read the full review.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From The Columbus Dispatch By Jennifer Hambrick …Columbus Symphony Music Director Rossen Milanov led the orchestra and cello soloist Joshua Roman in a second Columbus performance of Roman\u2019s own Awakening, a romantic drama in the guise of a cello concerto, and in Anton Bruckner\u2019s Symphony No. 7, the composer\u2019s most ardent expression of respect for … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3633,4256,4010,3686,3612,3805],"class_list":["post-6374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cello","tag-composer","tag-joshua-roman","tag-orchestra","tag-review","tag-symphony"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6375,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6374\/revisions\/6375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}