Several ISO members come forward as soloists in all-French program

More evidence came forward this weekend of Jun Märkl's knack for programming, though more wasn't required. The music director's long view of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's classical season rests on the firm support of each program's integrity and balance. In macro and micro terms alike, he's got a fine track record. 

The newly popular late-afternoon time of each weekend's concluding concert is proving popular, as I found out firsthand Saturday when the orchestra played music by Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saens and Fauré. Three of the five works allowed four principals to speak musically with a French accent. Märkl thus underlined his sensitivity to French distinctiveness with the same insight and radiance that he has long lent to the Austro-German mainstream.

Painter in sound: Claude Debussy

Especially revelatory was the sole piece after intermission, Debussy's  suite "Images," which slowly cohered from separate tone pictures that illustrate (despite the composer's dislike of the term) what's called  impressionism. A work for two pianos originally, the three-movement piece, especially with the third one divided colorfully into three sections, is rarely performed as a whole. It sounds as if it must have been always intended for full orchestra, particularly with the sun-drenched finale, "Iberia."

Effective for its synesthetic magic (sights and smells blended) was the performance of "Les parfums de la nuit (The Fragrances of the Night)." Stephen Walsh's estimable critical biography of Debussy is subtitled "A Painter in Sound," and no work by this composer deserves that description more than  "Images." The program's other piece without a featured soloist was "Pavane" by Gabriel Fauré, a work of painterly charm all its own, whose melody is instantly catchy. Its performance had all the right tints in the right places in opening the program.

Of the solos that the program highlighted, the most extensive display went to Bryson Karrer, the ISO's principal second violin since 2024. He played "Tzigane," a showpiece for his instrument that encapsulates Maurice Ravel at the extreme of his stylistic outreach, with the possible exception of "Chansons madécasse." 

"Tzigane'"s long unaccompanied beginning tests a performer's sympathy with the quasi-improvisatory nature of gypsy music as interpreted by this 20th-century master of essential focus. Whatever Ravel set his mind to earned his most direct approach, and thus has a place in the repertoire. Of Ravel's 75 pieces, it's been said that none of them has dropped into obscurity. 

Karrer trained an essential focus all his own on Ravel's score. He took the unaccompanied section's less tense moments as less introspective than his colleague Kevin Lin did in 2022 and in a more deliberate manner of a studied change in direction or emphasis. He built anticipation for the orchestra's delayed entrance unerringly, then moved confidently into the moments of bravura display with the accompaniment closely synchronized. Tempo changes, sometimes abrupt and sweeping, came off with  unanimity. 

New principal harpist Claire Thai was the first of the ISO principals to be featured. "Danse sacre et danse profane" offers the harpist an indelible range of rhythmic vitality and sheer expressive brilliance with string orchestra accompaniment. Her tone was immaculate, and articulation was lively and precise.  

Orchestra principals are frequently required to partner briefly with other first-chair players. So a lighthearted display for flute and clarinet  soloists in front of the orchestra was a great opportunity for flutist Jungah Yoon and clarinetist Julianna Darby to show how much such a partnership can draw out a composer's skill at exploiting instruments in combination at their most characteristic. The vehicle here, in a lively dance form, was Saint-Saens' "Tarantelle." The duo feeling was consistent and sounded flawlessly applied to the charming composition, with Märkl and the orchestra in full sympathy. 

Taken together and for once showing that high quality in symphonic music does not have to be linked to profundity, the works in these concerts brought forward individual excellence to an extent somewhat more sustained than the usual symphonic repertoire allows. What's more, Märkl pointed out to the audience, all the soloists took their usual seats in the orchestra when they were not in the spotlight. He suggested jokingly that this makes them tougher than the usual guest soloist, who does his or her ovation-getter, then leaves. It's pleasant to entertain that thought, for these are the musicians we see week after week. Maybe the age-old question of infrequent symphony-goers — "What do these musicians do to earn a living?"— can be put to rest permanently.