End of ISO's 2024 Classical Series: 20th-century music on the eccentric, undoctrinaire side (plus Mozart)

Su-Han Yang, also adept without a baton

 One of the cleverest thematic titles for an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra program is the current "Mozart and the Misfits." It has both the perennial allure of alliteration and a tease to provoke curiosity and stimulate attendance. 

Apart from the hint that Wolfgang Mozart himself was a misfit — the caricature portrait in "Amadeus" hangs on in the public imagination — the provocative title accurately brings in the eccentric, genre-bridging figures of Friedrich Gulda and Alfred Schnittke. 

The prime attraction is the solo position of one of the ISO's outstanding principals: cellist Austin Huntington. I had thought the ISO's publicity surrounding him moved into hype when it described him as "beloved." But once I heard the huge ovation after his performance of Gulda's Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra and looked up into the front row of the dress circle to take in the hearty demonstration of six young men, each of them wearing T-shirts bearing a large letter of the soloist's first name, I got it.

Ten years after his appointment to the cello section's first chair while he was still a student, Huntington is

Austin al fresco, walking the dog downtown

one of the chief carriers of the ISO's continuing improvement. His command of the solo part here displayed virtuoso treatment of a variety of idioms, mainly blues and a march/polka mashup, with significant appearances along the way of a taxing cadenza and heart-melting lyricism.

The work brings to bear a "rhythm section" from jazz, consisting of double bass, drum set, and guitar (both electric and acoustic). The rest of the ensemble is a bevy of wind instruments, which makes the timbral contrast with the cello bracing and piquant. 

There are intriguing slides and harmonics from the cello, dazzling fingerwork, and passages that seem like deep, stray thoughts to set against the overall exuberance of the five-movement piece. The brash Finale alla marcia would have delighted Charles Ives, in whose music I've recently immersed myself. Laudably Huntington managed to present the Gulda spectacle without the theatrical postures of famous cellists mercilessly parodied by Hauser. He's all business in performance. For a restful encore, the cellist played Saint-Saens' "The Swan" in an arrangement created by and performed with guitarist Daniel Duarte. 

More recently in ISO history, it's been rewarding to appreciate the position of Su-Han Yang as associate conductor. He not only managed the eccentricities of the concerto and Schnittke's "Moz-Art a la Haydn," both with unconventional stage layouts (for which Yang rendered appropriate kudos to the four-man crew under the management of Kit Williams), but also brought Mozart fully into the picture with his conducting insights in the Symphony No. 36 in C major, K. 425 ("Linz").

"Moz-Art a la Haydn" in the ISO version features concertmaster Kevin Lin and principal second violinist Bryson Karrer, a splendid duo, in front of a string ensemble of colleagues. There's quite a bit of individualism required of them, including some shifts of stage position while they are playing. Such rare departures from the demands of ensemble unanimity in close quarters were smoothly managed Friday night. Speaking of departures, the inspiration of Haydn's Farewell Symphony was unmistakable in the ghostly conclusion of the work, as the players gradually disappeared into the wings while Yang continued to beat time. 

After intermission, the orchestra was at the largest practical size for a work of its period. The symphony carries the name of the Austrian city where the composer hurriedly composed it. Here, the ensemble seemed riskily heavy at the outset. Yet the first movement was well-played, and it made sense for Yang to cap the concert with music that would give him and the orchestra maximum opportunity for display while honoring the classical-period salute of the Schnittke.

But I didn't seriously question the large string sections because the performance was shipshape. By the Presto finale, it was clear that "Linz" performing forces deserve to verge on the outsized — on a level with the trinity of the last three Mozart symphonies. Though without the fantastic layering of voices well-integrated under godlike control (hence the deserved nickname "Jupiter" for Symphony No. 41, also in C major), this symphony's Presto movement could hardly have sounded better. 

It felt Yang was directing a shade less than Mozart's "as fast as possible," but the tempo was still genuinely Presto. The slight deliberation of manner allowed the string sections in particular to represent virtually different personalities in their playing. Clarity and cohesiveness worked together, with instrumental voices well-defined, as if to recall that Mozart is also one of the elite masters of opera. 

The Trio of the minuet movement presents a charming dialogue of oboe and bassoon, masterly on Friday in the playing of principals Jennifer Christen and Ivy Ringel. And that in itself was a reminder of the stature of ISO first-chair players that Huntington had exemplified so well in the Gulda concerto. 

All right, then: maybe a bunch of them are "beloved," and the orchestra is becoming so, too.