If Festival Napa Valley’s Symphonic Finale was a poker hand, it would have been a royal flush. Presented Sunday, July 19, at the FNV Stage at Charles Krug in St. Helena, the late evening program featured the works of a quintet of American compositional royalty performed by Festival Orchestra Napa under the guidance of conductor JoAnn Falletta.
It a celebration of both the 250th birthday of the U.S. and the 20th anniversary of FNV, the non-profit Napa Valley Festival Association’s extensive arts performance and education program. The atmosphere was decidedly forward-looking, starting with the pre- and post-concert Family Zone at house right.
Falletta, a two-time GRAMMY winner who currently serves as Music Director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, was an ideal guide for the multi-generational audience. She spoke from the podium in between numbers to insights and her passion for the music.
With noticeably crisp playing from the brass section, Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide opened the concert. Bernstein was “a wonderful composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, and an amazing person,” Falletta affirmed. She went on to talk about a Bernstein friend and mentor, Aaron Copland..
“…Copland had this wonderful way of showing us what our country sounds like, even though he lived in New York City and, at the time he was writing this music, had never gone west of New Jersey,” she said, setting up the performance of the Suite from Rodeo.
When it came time for the familiar “Hoe-Down” movement, art created by over 1200 artists “ages 5-95+” were shown on the rectangular video screen behind the stage, edited by Jonathan Robinson of Build Pictures for Festival Napa Valley Arts for All’s How I See Music program. The surrounding vineyards and neighboring buildings gave the entire suite an extra-idyllic visual framing.
The piece that has very likely been heard and performed live the least was also a highlight. San Francisco philanthropist Gordon Getty, the composer of Overture to Plump Jack, was in attendance and received an enthusiastic acknowledgement at his center aisle seat when thanked by Falletta for adding “a beautiful piece to our repertoire.”
Getty’s opera about Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff was written in 1984 and the operatic film of the work will receive its premiere early next year. Its overture expresses the title character’s impishness but also emotional perceptiveness through the low strings and what sounded like a brief jig.
Introducing Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Falletta described the composer-pianist’s ability to bridge the worlds of European classical and American jazz music. By the time that work concluded, one felt a warmth towards both the 20th Century musical canon and the City of Light.
The final selection was more of an encore and, as Falletta admitted, didn’t need much of an introduction “except to say that it has been called the greatest film score ever written.” John Williams’s Star Wars Suite was a reminder that not only has the 94-year-old written volumes of memorable movie music, he has created a legacy within his own legacy with his iconic scores for the fantasy franchise.
As celestial video played on the stage video screen, pop culture staples such as “Main Title,” “The Imperial March,” and “Throne Room/End Titles” brought back images and emotions to anyone who’s ever watched a TIE fighter battle an X-wing or a Jedi wrestle with the Dark Side of the Force.
Ushers wielding miniature red lightsabers guided exiting music fans all of them looking forward to FNV 2027.
