The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra took to the outdoor stage at Piedmont Park Wednesday for an evening that consisted largely of works by French composers — a nod to the home country of incoming music director Nathalie Stutzmann.
From the outset, the event was marked by oppressive, delirium-inducing heat (a matter foreseen by concert organizers who provided hand fans emblazoned with the evening’s program) and the omnipresent threat posed by dark, low hanging clouds.
Nevertheless, the concert proved to be a fun and uplifting event received warmly (pun intended) by the sweat-soaked throngs who filled the park.
“The ASO is a treasure,” said Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens, who appeared onstage to introduce the event. “It’s a crown jewel of the city of Atlanta and I am glad we are here once again, outside having fun.” He was clearly in high spirits and his affable, gentle charm seemed to set the tone for the concert ahead.
The ASO was led by associate conductor Jerry Hou. A conductor whose previous credits include the Dallas, Houston and St. Louis symphonies, Hou showcased a precise conducting style that is keenly fixated on emphasizing the beat in a hard and pulsating manner. That rigorous, commanding approach served the evening’s proceedings well with a program that emphasized upbeat, danceable and well-known favorites.
The evening opened with Hector Berlioz’s “Le Corsaire (The Pirate),” a jaunty up-tempo romp written while the composer was on vacation along the French coastline. It set the mood well and brought out a surprising level of vigor in the heavily perspiring musicians.
The performance was impeccable but quickly revealed the evening’s Achilles’ heel: Classical works aren’t meant to be listened to through a PA system. The effect is to blunt the rich acoustic sculpting of the gathered multitude of instruments, reducing a forest of auditory complexity to a well-trimmed garden of melodies and chordal accompaniment. Furthermore, it begats a sense of disconnect between the audience and orchestra, with the fleeting delay between performance and sound creating an unsettling feeling akin to watching a movie whose onscreen actors and dialogue tracks are slightly ajar. This was most likely a non-issue for casual attendees, but was disorienting for those more accustomed to the surroundings of Symphony Hall.
Following the enthusiastic opener, the ASO dipped into the ballad tempos with Maurice Ravel’s “Pavane Pour une Infante Défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess).” This was a rather regrettable choice and one that would be revisited later with Claude Debussy’s “Fêtes (Festivals).” In the sweat-soaked haze of the evening, such down-tempo pieces seemed to float in an ambient void. This is certainly not the fault of the orchestra itself, which carried them off admirably, but rather a case of material that defied the evening’s upbeat format being further bedraggled by oppressive weather.
The evening’s high point was unquestionably Paul Dukas’ “L’apprenti Sorcier (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice),” legendary for its iconic use in Disney’s Fantasia. Hou was quick to provide the piece with some introductory remarks that acknowledged the inextricable link between the composition and film before launching the orchestra into a spirited rendition that could have easily accompanied Mickey Mouse on his increasingly futile battle against an army of bewitched brooms.
The concert’s official closer, a medley of memorable passages from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” (“Carmen Suite no. 1,” compiled by Fritz Hoffmann) was a joy and certainly offered its share of high-octane thrills, finishing on “Les Toreadors” with jubilant enthusiasm. Here, as with Dukas, the ASO was able to flaunt its penchant for crowd-pleasing melodicism. There are certain pieces in the classical canon that seem to get passed over for performance precisely because they are so well known and beloved. As such, it is always a welcome treat when an orchestra steps out of the concert hall and delivers a program stocked with well-known favorites.
“Carmen” alone would have made for a thrilling finale but the ASO offered a pair of encores, the first being Suite no. 2 “Farandole” from Bizet’s “L’ Arlesienne.” This was another up-tempo joyride — what the hip kids call a “banger.” The audience was enthusiastic throughout but the second encore, the can-can theme from Jacques Offenbach’s “Orphée aux Enfers,” had the multitudes on their feet and dancing, the kind of wild abandon seldom seen at classical concerts. It was a joyous close to a light-hearted evening.
Events such as “From Paris to Piedmont” capture the fun side of the ASO — one where a relaxed atmosphere and business casual stage attire supersede elegance and artistry for the sake of lifting the spirits. As the crowd dispersed I found myself reflecting on the words of Mayor Dickens. His introduction was short and to the point but it carried an underlying wisdom: Atlanta has been through a lot in the last couple of years, from Covid to high tension around racial justice and much in between.
But we’re finally getting back to a place where we can enjoy our city again. We are, as Dickens put it, outside and having fun. That fun needs a soundtrack and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is doing its part.
The ASO will return to Piedmont Park on June 22 for “Hooray for Hollywood,” an evening of Hollywood soundtrack hits.
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Jordan Owen began writing about music professionally at the age of 16 in Oxford, Mississippi. A 2006 graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he is a professional guitarist, bandleader and composer. He is currently the lead guitarist for the jazz group Other Strangers, the power metal band Axis of Empires and the melodic death/thrash metal band Century Spawn.
