Lauderdale and the Symphony Put on a Show

When the Oregon Symphony came to Salem on Tuesday night, the audience knew they were going to hear some wonderful music, but with a last minute change of conductor, the expectations likely stopped there. The first half of the concert was filled with the orchestra performing Stavinsky's Four Norwegian Moods and Schubert's Symphony No. 5. Both very melodic pieces that greatly matched Michael Francis' classic conducting style. Other than during a few string passages, where it was evident that concertmaster Jun Iwasaki was helping the conducting of the string section through his head nods and bow gestures, there was little evidence that this conductor was a replacement.

The second half of the show was a stark contrast to the first half with a high energy performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto like only Thomas Lauderdale could deliver. The exuberance on his face and in his playing was shared with the conductor and quickly infected the orchestra and audience alike. Known mostly for his work with Pink Martini, Lauderdale proved that he has what it takes in the classical piano world as well. The orchestra concluded the concert with a contemporary work by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez, Danzon No. 2. This was a fun piece that showcased concertmaster Jun Iwasaki in a short solo passage as well as a trumpet solo by Principal Trumpet Jeffrey Work that had the audience transported to Mexico. While not disappointed with the Danzon, the only unfortunate thing was that Lauderdale was not the last piece on the program as it was apparent that the audience was hoping for an encore.