The Apollo Orchestra continued its season Sunday afternoon with a program of Shostakovich and Dvořák in Bethesda at the Church of the Little Flower. Led by conductor David Chan, who serves as concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, this concert featured another major principal of an East Coast orchestra with Hai-Ye Ni, principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, joining the group for Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor.

The effervescent impression left by Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 gives few clues to the work’s dark and controversial history. Premiering in 1945 months after the victory over Nazi Germany, the 26-minute bauble, which can at times sounds like a demented Looney Tunes score, was formally censored by the Soviet state and rejected as an unserious contribution for the moment in the West as well. The composer’s previous declaration that his Ninth would be a celebration of Soviet triumph surely did not help, leaving future generations to guess at Shostakovich’s intentions.

Chan and the Apollo Orchestra finely captured the burbling character of the opening Allegro, cleanly etching the fleeting comic figures traded across sections. Chan maintained a healthy drive throughout though perhaps fell a bit short of the potential ebullience.

The gloomy Moderato featured a fine clarinet solo from principal Shawn K. Buck, giving way to richly textured sound in the violins. Bravura solos for piccolo (Sarah McIver), trumpet (Kris Westrich) and trombone (David Sisk) prodded the swirling Presto against breakneck figuration in the strings and winds, while the Largo featured more impressive solo work from the orchestra, with a mournful bassoon solo played with plaintive longing by Sandy Johnson.

Chan set an exhilarating tempo for the rambunctious Allegretto that closes the piece, the orchestra responding with impressive pace as the finale seems to continually find ways to top itself with new levels of manic energy.

Returning after the half for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, the orchestra built a stirring opening statement of the theme, before making way for Hai-Ye Ni’s entrance. Ni offered a warm flowing tone that would be a hallmark of her performance, as well as precise energy in the cello’s agitated passages. Less effective here was the interplay between cello and small ensembles in the orchestra, with some shagginess in the coordination. Possible cautiousness in these passages may have affected the pacing as well, as it was difficult to find the throughline between these sections and the larger architecture of the movement. Deft handling by Ni of the cello’s increasingly ornate double-stopped passages set the stage for a soaring finale.

The Adagio opened with a lilting chorus for the winds in conversation with expressive playing from Ni in the cello’s descending, sobbing lines. Balance issues again surfaced in this movement. This was not always a matter of the orchestra covering the cello, though there was some of that, but more a general difficulty in balancing the sections and soloist in a way that helped to clarify musical ideas across the orchestra. Exquisite high notes from Ni brought this section to a close.

The Allegro moderato finale presents challenges for interpreters in how to handle the stark contrast between the recurring expansive statements for the full orchestra and the intimate material featuring the cello in between. These parts effectively move in opposite directions over the course of the movement, the cello becoming more hushed and introspective while the full orchestra builds to the iconic passage that ends the work.

This performance couldn’t quite thread the needle, as the sections with cello had difficulty maintaining their own sense of direction and energy, and felt unmoored from the larger movement. Challenges with bringing the cello to the front of the mix may have contributed to a sense of drift here as well. 

While Ni’s shapely phrasing and languid tone continued to captivate, the more strident or edgy colors that might have helped compensate for the instrument’s inherently lower profile were lacking here. Those full orchestra statements anchoring the movement offered bracing interludes, however, with a robust sound from the combined forces ending the performance out on a high point.

The Apollo Orchestra’s season continues on March 2, 2025 at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Maryland, with a program of Schubert, Strauss and Brahms. https://www.apolloorchestra.com/

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