Jeremy Denk (above); Eric Gratz

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Expected and unexpected treats

SA Symphony, Jeremy Denk, Eric Gratz

February 4, 2017 Making his eagerly anticipated debut  appearance with the San Antonio  Symphony, the pianist Jeremy Denk  richly confirmed his reputation in two  Mozart concerti, Feb. 3 in the Tobin  Center. Less expected was the  extraordinary leadership of young  concertmaster Eric Gratz, conducting  string-orchestra works by Rossini and  Mendelssohn from his chair at the  head of the first violins.  Mr. Denk, a MacArthur Fellow and  Avery Fisher Prize winner, was both  soloist and conductor in Mozart’s  Piano Concerto No. 19 in F and No. 23  in A.  In both, his uncommonly lively  phrasing, deeply etched rhythms and  quick tempos, enhanced by a tendency  to pounce impulsively on emphatic  statements, gave the performances a  contemporary edge. At the same time,  although he was playing a modern  Steinway with its lid removed, he was  careful to blend the piano’s sound with  the orchestral texture — as would have  been the case necessarily with a piano  of Mozart’s time — rather than to ride  above it. In that sense, the performance came closer to an 18th-century sound.  The pianist was dazzling in the  cadenzas, which he took with great  flexibility, a fine sense of the theatrical  and an improvisatory freshness. The  adagio of the A Major concerto stood  out for the deeply human feeling in the  solo line — a reminder that Mozart’s  piano concerti were, in large measure,  opera by other means.  One quibble: Sometimes, especially in  the F Major concerto, Mr. Denk’s  tempo was so fast that the Steinway’s undeniable resonance, magnified by that of the Tobin Center’s H-E-B Performance Hall, reduced the clarity of the solo line.  No such problem intruded on his encore, the andante from Mozart’s “Sonata Semplice” in C — intended for beginners, but rewarding to a mature artist as well.   Mr. Gratz, now in his fourth season as concertmaster, has impressed many times as a violinist with the orchestra and with local chamber groups — this season he also became artistic director of the Olmos Ensemble. But wait! There’s more! To open the concert, he led 23 string players (no violas) in an expanded version of the third of Rossini’s six Sonatas for two violins,  cello and double bass, a product of the composer’s late teens but clearly foreshadowing the wit and lyricism of his mature operas. The closer was Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 2 for strings — violas included, bringing the contingent to 33. In both cases, the number of musicians was about twice what would be customary — or prudent, for performances without a conductor standing in the middle to hold everything together.  But lapses of ensemble precision were few and minor; even the fleet finale of the Mendelssohn was crisply executed. More important, in both works the performances were robust, throughly considered, carefully balanced and meaningfully detailed in dynamics and phrasing. Both gained in stature.  The adagio of the Mendelssohn was especially interesting for voicings that brought out the relative modernity of a work that in many respects looks backward to the early classical period. The Rossini finale gave showcases for splendid solos by Thomas Huckaby (double bass), Ken Freudigman (cello), Karen Stiles (second violin) and Mr Gratz. The andante of the Rossini ached with tragic (or mock-tragic?) feeling — a welcome balm for an audience that was surely suffering from shock and grief over news of the Bowling Green Massacre.  Mike Greenberg