The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra launched its two-week Mozart festival Friday at Kleinhans Music Hall, with former BPO music director Maximiano Valdés returning to lead the program.
The first half featured Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony while the highlight was Mozart’s monumental “Great” Mass in C Minor, a work the BPO has performed only once before, at the end of Valdés’ tenure.
Valdés, the 100-member chorus, soloists Natalia Santaliz, Camila Isabel, John Tiranno, and Holden Turner, and the orchestra delivered a deeply moving tour de force of a dramatic work that remained unfinished in Mozart’s life.
Valdés served as the BPO’s music director from 1989 to 1998, before JoAnn Falletta took over. Critic Mary Kunz Goldman hailed Valdés’ conducting as “a triumphant return,” and wrote glowingly on the conductor’s virtues:
It has long been my impression that musicians who remember Valdés’ time in Buffalo hold him in special regard. Friday, it was easy to see why.
Some conductors are dramatic, even bombastic. There’s a place for that. Valdés is the opposite. He conducts conservatively, using the traditional stick. His movements are economical. He stands stiller than any conductor I have ever seen. Tempos were steady, brisk, and unwavering.
It was like observing a calm airline pilot. You get the sense that the universe is unfolding exactly as it should. It frees you to listen and enjoy. Absorbing the “Prague” Symphony, I felt myself drifting into a trance — and I mean that in the best way.
The musicians of the BPO followed the conductor’s example. Everyone played with focus and precision. The dynamics were intentional and carefully sculpted, the sound warm and rich. Valdés lovingly took repeats.
… It was thrilling, and moving, to see Valdés and his assembled forces rise to the challenge of bringing [Mozart’s] vision to life.
Read the whole review.