January 24, 25 & 26, 2025
Jones Hall
Houston, Texas – USA
Houston Symphony, Tabita Berglund, conductor; Yoonshin Song, violin.
Anna THORVALDSDÓTTIR: Metacosmos (2017)
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 (1806)
Pyotr TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique) (1893)
Lawrence Wheeler | 25 JAN 2025
Guest conductor Tabita Berglund made her Houston Symphony debut at Jones Hall Friday evening. A conductor on the rise, she is principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony and has recently been appointed to the same position with the Dresden Philharmonic. Berglund began the program with Metacosmos by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. Since its premiere with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the New York Philharmonic, it has been performed more than 60 times the world over. Anna’s music is widely performed internationally and has been commissioned by many of the world’s leading orchestras, ensembles, and arts organizations.
Metacosmos begins with contra-bassoon and basses playing a low F. The music grows quietly, all the while remaining non-rhythmic and amorphous. Musical materials are passed from one performer — or performers — to the next throughout the process of the work. She freely incorporates non-traditional instrumental techniques, such as wind players non-tonally blowing through their instruments and bass drum musicians rubbing rather than beating their drums. “Industrial breath,” “On air with determination and despair,” “Glimpses,” and “Point of no return” arrive at “Rhythmic structures in a chaotic field,” introduced by twin bass drums in a manner similar to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. This arrives “on the other side” at a unison B♭, and eventually melts away into a high C played by a solo violin. The piece follows an arc rather than any formal structure, giving it a cinematic quality. Berglund effectively led a fine performance.
After the first performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in 1806, it fell into obscurity. It was revived 38 years later by the 12-year-old prodigy Joseph Joachim in a performance conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Joachim later proclaimed it to be the “greatest” German violin concerto. Today, it is revered as the most sublime of violin concertos. Written during Beethoven’s middle period, the concerto does not exhibit overt virtuosity later used by Paganini, but the classical style of his contemporaries Kreutzer and Viotti. Its concept is so pure that a single stray note can have an adverse effect. The only mishap this evening came when a bass player mistakenly added a sharp after 10 bars rest. Berglund provided an accompaniment that was delicate and nuanced.

Yoonshin Song, Houston Symphony concertmaster (courtesy of HS)
Yoonshin Song, the orchestra’s concertmaster, was virtually perfect in execution. Self-possessed and with eyes closed, she played with pristine intonation and intimate expression. The first movement runs can sound like glorified etudes if not in the hands of an artist. Yoonshin provided tasteful rubato in her lyrical solo part, in contrast with the more martial orchestral material. The first movement duet with bassoon was quite beautiful, while the cadenza was played with stunning clarity. The emotive second movement was intimately poetic, which, along with the orchestra, was finely shaped and balanced. The Rondo danced buoyantly as Yoonshin introduced each iteration of the theme with a different color. Her sound was clear yet warm, and her vibrato was even but varied. The third movement cadenza was a virtuosic tour de force. This was playing of the first order, earning Yoonshin a standing ovation with three curtain calls.
Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (Pathétique) is a test for any orchestra or conductor. The musical and technical challenges are manifold, with one or the other often taking priority. Last performed with Juraj Valčuha in May 2023, today’s performance showed an orchestra in top form led by a conductor not yet fully developed. As with much of the piece, the opening featured a solo bassoon, admirably played by Rian Craypo. The violas gave expressive sforzandos (heavy accents) with nicely aligned and tuned solo lines, including the spiccato passages that followed. As other string sections joined, there was little loss of precision. Solo woodwinds were uniformly excellent, with principal clarinet Mark Nuccio providing an elegant cadenza. The brasses were unified, but trombones sometimes overpowered the strings, with no indication of balance adjustment from Berglund. The “Allegro vivo” tempo was brisk but on the edge of precision. The final “Andante mosso” tempo was slightly too slow to portray steps of destiny.
The second movement is a waltz in 5/4 time. The cello section played the melody with elegant grace. The countermelody changes from a two-bar phrase to a sighing one-bar figure, well led by Berglund, who maintained a steady tempo throughout. The third movement march consists of lightly flowing spiccato triplets in the strings that contrast with a squarely articulated march theme. Within Berglund’s kinetic tempo, this often pushed the triplets. Her tendency to bend forward at the waist and push rather than click beats was read as forward motion. The movement requires a stoic steadiness, best achieved by an erect, on-the-heels posture with beats coming from the wrist instead of the shoulders. The orchestra managed to maintain ensemble, bringing the movement to a rousing conclusion. As is often the case, many audience members applauded, apparently unaware that another movement remained.
One of the most subjective pieces ever written, the Finale to Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony includes all the emotions of an elegy. Depression, anger, denial, pleading, remorse, acceptance, and resolution are all within this compact movement, which Berglund’s symmetrical beat patterns did not fully convey. It seemed as if Berglund was going through the motions rather than the emotions. While this conductor has much to offer, tonight felt like a fine wine opened too soon. During a curtain call, Berglund motioned for Mark Nuccio to stand up. While justly deserved, she neglected to recognize, at the least, the principal bassoon and French horn.
The concert will be repeated Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Houston Symphony: houstonsymphony.org
- Tabita Berglund: tabitaberglund.com

Read more by Lawrence Wheeler.