Orchestra's assurance speaks for Perick

By Steven Brown
The Charltote Observer

Christof Perick let the music do the talking. He strode onto the stage Friday night, gave his usual courtly bow to the Charlotte Symphony audience, and launched right into Richard Wagner's "Rienzi" Overture - never mind that this weekend's concerts are in effect his goodbye as the orchestra's leader.

His finale was supposed to have played out last May, when his tenure ended. But the ash-spewing volcano in Iceland prevented his flying here.

Now we're halfway through his successor's first season. So Perick evidently opted not to look backward with any valedictory statements. He got right down to business with Wagner and Anton Bruckner - music from the Germanic tradition that's his specialty.

The orchestra played Friday as if that were its specialty, too. The rousing "Rienzi" prelude was polished and zesty. Wagner's chamber-orchestra serenade, the "Siegfried Idyll," glowed with richly turned lyricism. In Bruckner's hourlong Symphony No. 3, the orchestra not only expanded that lyricism to grand scale, but it revved up from there to make Bruckner's epic sonorities resound in the Belk Theater.

All of it showcased the polishing that Perick gave the orchestra since 2001. The melodies of the "Siegfried Idyll" flowed out sweetly and smoothly. The orchestra savored Wagner's crossplay of tunes and tone colors.

In some conductors' hands, Bruckner's music carries its weight heavily. But Perick made it ringing and passionate instead. Yes, there were spacious episodes. But even in the slow movement, melodies sang out ardently. The momentum toward the big moments was palpable. And Perick gave the little Austrian dances a lightness that let Bruckner have some fresh air. At the end, before turning to the audience, he applauded the orchestra. That was his valedictory address.