NEWBURGH, N.Y.—On May 14, the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, directed and conducted by Woomyung Choe, presented “Tonight We Love” at Aquinas Hall, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh. Acclaimed Armenian-American pianist Kariné Poghosyan performed Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893) popular Concerto for Piano No. 1 in B-flat minor. The other enduringly popular crowd-pleaser to be performed was Bruckner’s magnificent Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, “Romantic.”
Concerto for Piano No. 1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23 is very likely the most beloved work in its category ever set before the public. When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed it, he could not have dreamed it would have its premiere in America, where he was then entirely unknown. But it did, and Hans von Bülow triumphed with the work in its 1875 Boston premiere. That enthusiasm has been sustained ever since–for more than 130 years. Listeners of sufficient antiquity will remember that the theme of the introduction flourished in the early forties as a pop song, “Tonight We Love.” Poghosyan, with her passionate musicality, was the perfect choice for the passionate Tchaikovsky Concerto.
Ms. Poghosyan’s music studies began in her native Yerevan, Armenia and continued in the United States after her arrival in 1998. She made her orchestral debut at 14 playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and her solo Carnegie Hall debut at 23. Kariné is the winner of a very long list of competitions. Recently, she helped organize the “Requiem and Resurrection” concert in commemoration of the 95th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York, where her performance of the Piano Sonata by Khachaturian received a standing ovation. In addition to performing, Ms. Poghosyan teaches at her alma mater, the Manhattan School of Music.
Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was at his most individual in his magnificent symphonies in spite of extensive revisions driven more by external pressures than inner conviction. Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, “Romantic,” was his first great success. Romantic, in this case, does not have the modern meaning but refers to imaginative, unrestrained and mysterious or perhaps to nostalgic reverie. According to the program, which Bruckner wasn’t all that serious about, the beginning paints a medieval city at sunrise, reveille sounding from the tower, gates opening, knights sallying forth into the countryside on spirited horses surrounded by the magic of nature, complete with forest murmurs and bird song. All this entails brilliant spotlighting of the instruments, particularly the horns.
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