Concerto and aria competition winners performed their pieces on Feb. 15 with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra (OSO) at the 29th Annual David Wilder Daniels Young Artists Concert in Varner Hall.
This year’s prizewinners were Jorge Palacios-Rodriguez, piano, Carlos Perez-Hijar, trumpet, Mila Pitman, soprano and Andrea Valenzuela-Lazcano, mezzo soprano. Students who enter the competition aim to study and compete at the highest level, as Gregory Cunningham, Ed.D., music director and conductor of the OSO, explained to the audience.
“These are some of the places where people who have done this [concerto/aria competition] are now performing. Organizations including the Metropolitan Opera, the Detroit Symphony, U.S. Navy Band, Paris Opera, La Scala in Milan, Zürich Opera, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Salzburg Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lincoln Center, Lyric Opera Chicago and New York City Opera,” Cunningham said.
Each year, a select number of students prepare a classical concerto — instrumentalists — or an aria from an opera — vocalists. Such pieces showcase a solo performer’s memorized performance accompanied by an orchestra, challenging the limits of one’s technical and musical abilities.
The preliminary round was held on Dec. 3, and the final round on Dec. 9. Winners were announced soon after and presented the opportunity to perform with the OSO.
Valenzuela-Lazcano led the way with “Parto, parto” (1791) from “La clemenza di Tito” (k. 621) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Part of the early classical period, the aria is sung in Act I of the opera by Sesto, a Roman nobleman and Emperor Tito’s best friend, ambivalent between loyalty to the emperor and his love for Vitellia. The arduous work requires breath control, endurance and precise interaction with the clarinet part — elements that Valenzuela-Lazcano executed seamlessly.
With the recent premiere of Oakland Opera’s “Alcina” by George Frideric Handel, Valenzuela-Lazcano chose the piece because of its similar techniques.
“We just did Handel, so I wanted to focus on those tight, clean runs, which was a lot of fun to work on,” Valenzuela-Lazcano said. “It’s such a long piece, but it’s incredible to explore so many emotions throughout it…I was just so happy to have such a supportive orchestra and director.”
Following an eruption of applause, Perez-Hijar took the stage with “Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra” (1955) by Aleksandra Pakhmutova. The single movement concerto opens with a harp theme reminiscent of “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971), but deceptively transitions into the most triumphant, tonal virtuosity.
One would think an entire orchestra would overpower the sound of one trumpet soloist, but not Perez-Hijar. For the entire 14 minutes, he remained front-and-center, showcasing the power of his enormous sound and dexterity.
After competing in the competition for several years, this was his first time winning the instrumentalist division.
“This is a very programmatic piece, one I felt the audience would understand, and I really liked that. I knew that if I were to win, it would be one that the crowd would take really well,” Perez-Hijar said.
Pitman sang the famous soprano aria from Act I of Giacomo Puccini’s 1917 opera, “La Rondine.” A remarkable piano opening by Professor Victoria Shively signaled the astounding vocals that awaited. Embodying the role of Magda de Civry, Pitman’s character declines prosperity from a king, instead longing for the love of a student.
Her stage presence was enormous; she possessed immense control and fantastic vibrato. The major prima donna role was successfully performed, and the room certainly felt the passion.
“I feel I did really well,” Pitman said. “Singing with the orchestra felt insane, because I practiced it so much with piano accompaniment, and it was just completely different. It was more vibrant, and I was able to give off so much more energy as well.”
Palacios-Rodriguez closed the soloist and orchestra performances with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, I. Allegro (1800). The majority of Beethoven’s concertos have a prolonged orchestra introduction that the piano will then imitate in its introduction. In this concerto, particularly, the orchestra lurks in C minor with tight dotted rhythms. Three minutes later, the piano part makes its vast entrance.
The part demands impeccable timing, technique, dynamic contrasts and fervor. Palacios-Rodriguez brought all of that and more.
“Playing the concerto with a full orchestra felt incredible, and I’m really grateful for the experience,” Palacios-Rodriguez said. “The cadenza was especially fun to perform. I feel really proud about my performance and was glad to share it with an audience.”
The OSO also featured works by Spanish composer and pianist Manuel de Falla, in addition to French impressionistic composer Claude Debussy.
While the crowd was ongoingly beguiled by the student talent on stage, what they may not realize is how difficult learning a concerto or aria is.
To learn such advanced repertoire, students dedicate months to nearly a year studying, practicing and rehearsing. Piano professors play a condensed version of the orchestra score together with students in rehearsals, simulating the real experience. By studying the orchestral score, students gain awareness of how their part fits in with the ensemble’s, what themes or motives are passed between solo and orchestral parts and how melodic content can be manipulated.
Students must consistently listen to recordings, drill technical sections for hours, research key information about the piece, develop practice habits to prevent memory slips and revisit the material nearly every day. Studying music in and of itself is incredibly hard work. But for many, learning such complex music at a high level is a full-time job.
Congratulations to these four young artists for excelling at a stupendously high level. Their dedication to their craft is how OU SMTD continues to gain attention and acclaim.For upcoming OSO concerts, see the OSO and Oakland University Symphony Chorus perform on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in Downtown Detroit — home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. This event is free for School of Music, Theatre and Dance students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased online at www.etix.com.
