By Nancy Plum

The stage at Richardson Auditorium looked a bit like an instrument warehouse last Friday night, jam-packed with chairs, percussion, two harps, and several keyboard instruments in anticipation of Princeton University Orchestra’s winter concert. With all these possible players, there might have been a potential for sound cacophony, but the University Orchestra performed its annual “Concerto Concert” with clarity and melodic refinement while showing off the immense talents of two students. Conducted by Michael Pratt, Friday night’s performance (which was repeated Saturday night) showed freshman violist Jisang Kymm and sophomore pianist Sarah Yuan to be experienced well beyond their years in the Orchestra’s presentation of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor.

Schnittke’s 1985 three-movement Concerto for Viola and Orchestra diverged from the traditional concerto structure of alternating fast-slow-fast sections and reversed this order, with outer “Largo” movements bracketing a central “Allegro.” Like many of his Soviet contemporaries, Schnittke collaborated with the finest performers of his day, and the virtuosity and intensity of the Concerto reflected its tribute to a leading violist of the time. Viola soloist Jisang Kymm opened Schnittke’s work with introspection and attention to detail. Taking his time in the reflective texture, Kymm effortlessly executed the numerous double stops and insisted on the score’s dissonance against an unsettled orchestral accompaniment.

Kymm launched into the second movement with a ferocious start and nonstop passages against a cinematic instrumental backdrop, easily switching to more lyrical playing, punctuated by a six-note motive from the brass (Schnittke’s tribute to the name of the work’s premiering violist). Conductor Pratt kept the rhythm solid from the podium to lead the unbalanced waltz, emphasized by a series of decisive strokes from strings and brass. Clarinetist Caroline Johnson played a short but elegant duet with Kymm, and Kymm closed the movement with a sensitive cadenza. The closing “Largo” returned to a contemplative mood featuring dark strings and low brass. Pratt led the Orchestra though clean cadences, with sharp strikes of brass and percussion contrasting Kymm’s thoughtful playing, as the Concerto faded to nothing.

In Friday’s performance, the concertos of Schnittke and Rachmaninoff bracketed short respites of Impressionistic delicacy. Inspired by the paintings of American artist James Whistler, Claude Debussy’s 1890s Nocturnes captured the slow-moving harmonies and pictorial orchestration prevalent in late 19th-century French music. The University Orchestra presented the first two Nocturnes, with “Nuages” (“Clouds”) rendering a picture of the sky through an exotic instrumental quality and crisp winds. Flutist Alessandro Troncoso’s solo was played cleanly, and Kade Jackson’s English horn solo added to the transparent atmosphere.

Rachmaninoff’s towering Piano No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 introduced pianist Sarah Yuan to the audience, although it was clear from the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction that she already has a following on campus. Yuan drew out the opening measures of the Concerto, developing the sound with keyboard “bells.” Her piano solo was answered by a dark orchestral theme which Yuan complemented with flowing piano passages. Rachmaninoff’s orchestration placed significant melodic material in the viola section, and the University Orchestra violas added to the lushness of the sound. Throughout the first movement “Moderato,” Yuan executed virtuosic piano lines cleanly, while Clara Conatser’s horn solo from the Orchestra was strong and lyrical.

The theme from the second movement “Adagio” has been used extensively in popular and film music, and both soloist and Orchestra brought out well the familiar melody. Yuan demonstrated an especially precise left hand within sweeping piano lines. The performers closed Rachmaninoff’s Concerto majestically, with a lush orchestral palette and ensemble and soloist uniformly building intensity. Yuan played the concluding coda with dexterity, as Orchestra and pianist were meticulous in the closing rhythms.

Princeton University Orchestra’s Concerto Competition is a challenge for both the student players, giving them a chance to take on something of a professional level, and the Orchestra members, who rise to the task of accompanying the winning soloists. But some of the most important winners in the Competition tradition may be the listeners who are fortunate enough to hear the results.