Strong Milwaukee Symphony concert shows off depth of its ranks

The Milwaukee Symphony revealed the depth of its bench Saturday evening, with a colorful, engrossing program led by conductor Ken-David Masur, featuring orchestra members as soloists and putting the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus in the spotlight.

The program’s final piece was its biggest, with the orchestra and chorus joining forces in Maurice Ravel’s evocative, powerful Suite No. 2 from “Daphnis et Chloe.”

This musically rich, beautifully crafted performance featured dazzling colors of orchestral and choral sound, wonderful bits of time taken at the tops of sweeping phrases and some exquisite, extended flute solos by principal flutist Sonora Slocum.

RELATED:Millennials are going to the Milwaukee Symphony — as key players in the orchestra

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ musically poetic “Flos campi” ("Flowers of the Field") preceded “Daphnis,” featuring MSO principal violist Robert Levine in a hauntingly beautiful, expressive performance of a work that is simply beautifully written for the instrument. 

Prepared by director Cheryl Frazes Hill, the chorus sang not a single word throughout the program, functioning instead as a section of the orchestra on the Vaughan Williams and the Ravel. The singers added the sort of timbre, color, texture and visceral sound that only a large ensemble of disciplined singers can create, doing so with precision and musical conviction.

Principal clarinetist Todd Levy gave a moving performance of Aaron Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, which was commissioned by jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman.

Levy gave a stirring, somehow nostalgic performance of the lyrical first movement and cadenza, moving to a delightfully freewheeling, improvisatory take on its jazz-influenced second movement.

An unusual, unannounced encore for clarinet and orchestra was John Williams’ klezmer-influenced “The Viktor’s Tale,” from the film “The Terminal.”

Composer Augusta Read Thomas was on hand for bows after the performance of her musically and sonically fascinating “Radiant Circles,” which opened the program with a journey from intimate sounds of individuals in the orchestra matching and sustaining pitches created on percussion instruments, to stirring brass fanfares, and then a single note decaying to silence.

This MSO performance will be repeated at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water St. Visit www.mso.org or call (414) 273-7206.