A Night with the Academy

Every time my radio dial arrives on Nashville’s classical station, I hear one group’s name more than any other - The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Now I can say I hear the group live. Named for the English church where it was founded, the Academy was in the middle of a 14-city American tour. Among classical circles, it’s a rock star chamber orchestra.

For the Academy’s March 15 Nashville stop, Nancy got us tickets to see if with her Dad and her sister. American violinist Joshua Bell is the Academy’s second music director after its founder, the famous Neville Marriner. The 40-member Academy runs smaller than most orchestras but never lacks for a full sound from its violins, violas, cellos, double bass, flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, horn, trumpet, timpani and harpsichord.

The Academy wasted no time, launching directly into Mendelsohn’s The Hebrides Op. 26, an nine-minute dark epic concert overture. The piece starts with a dark motif that eventually swells into something more sweeping. The piece was supposedly inspired by Menelsohn’s visit to Fingal’s Cave in the Hebrides archipelago, and the dark percussive intro feels akin to ascending rapidly from a cavern (Full disclosure: I have no talent for describing classical music, so bear with me).

From Mendelssohn the Academy Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 218 – pieces of the concerto sounded familiar but I can’t claim to know the piece. It’s a favorite of auditioning violinists because of the incredible technique required. Bell took control of the concerto’s violin solos, deftly moving through intricate fingerings.

 I asked Nancy if I heard heard the Academy's next Mendelssohn piece, the Italian Symphony (aka Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90). After hearing the famous first notes, I could have smacked myself for such a foolish question. It’s only one of the most famous motifs in classical music, and has appeared regularly in television and film.

Hearing the full piece behind a famous motif or theme always casts a fresh perspective. The second movement proceeds on an undercurrent of bass and cello notes, an expression of light and dark worlds away from the well-known first movement.

Ovations followed the Italian Symphony, hardly a surprise after a rich performance. Bell walked off, yet the musicians never left their posts and no one closed their music books, signs of an encore. Bell shuffled back out and led them through a brisk, upbeat movement from a Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, a piece the Academy would perform in full at later shows.

After the show, Bell stayed and signed programs and CDs for everyone lined up, which was fortunate since we only had a few people behind us. Despite his obvious fatigue, he took no break from shaking hands and autographing items.

It’s uncommon to see classical performers of the Academy’s magnitude in Nashville. Next time I turn on the classical station, I’ll be reminded of the evening when we didn’t rely on the radio to hear The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.