by Sam Jacobson
…Dating from 1923, La notte di Plàton wasn’t performed in the US until 1968, conducted by Lorin Maazel who, in his formative years, served as a violinist in the PSO (including under the direction of de Sabata) before becoming Music Director himself. Pittsburgh most recently played the work with Gianandrea Noseda, a performance given while he held the PSO’s Victor de Sabata Guest Conductor Chair.
The work brings to a life a chapter of Plato’s biography in which he momentarily abandoned the intellectual in favor of the hedonistic. Wisps of the night air began, introducing a gentle, contemplative theme that blossomed lavishly. One could sense the influence of Strauss, perhaps tempered by the Italianate taste of Respighi. Matters burst into an exuberant bacchanale, encouraged by Rustioni’s energetic conducting. Pushed nearly to the point of excess, the music suddenly retreated into a somber brass chorale, marking the philosopher’s choice to ultimately pursue the life of the mind. Arching strings drew a pensive, meditative close.
The program closed with another view of Ancient Greece, this time based on mythology rather than history, with Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The composer produced a pair of suites from the full ballet score, and Rustioni offered both of them. In the opening Nocturne, mysterious tremolos were punctuated by virtuosic flourishes in the winds, painting a hazy, surreal atmosphere. In the gritty Danse guerrière, one felt the full force of Ravel’s colorful orchestration. Liquescent flutes coalesced to create amongst the greatest of orchestral sunrises which opened the second suite. Rustioni and the PSO captured the grand sweep of this opulent, entrancing soundscape. The Pantomime saw a rarefied stasis before the gregarious, foot-tapping Danse générale that closed.