“Somewhere, Michael Tilson Thomas had to be smiling.
The onetime principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra was, of course, best known in this country as the maestro of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which he led from 1995 until 2020. He died on April 22, 2026, at the age of 81.
He did so much to lift up and promote classical music, not just in the Bay Area but throughout the country, and he was a mentor for many, including Alex Prior, now artistic director and conductor of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, when Prior was just a teenager.
Prior hasn’t forgotten, and on April 23 in the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall, he paid homage to Thomas by wearing blue — Thomas’ preferred color — on stage. He also spoke with love of the way Thomas indulged the very young Prior’s eclectic mind, and a good-size Eugene audience got a healthy dose of Prior’s whimsical taste right off the baton on this Thursday night.
George Frideric Handel’s Water Musick, or at least these four extractions from the piece played by the symphony, never sounded so — well, Alex Prior-like. All of them arranged by Prior, they opened a window into his mind for all of us to see, and trust me, it was fun.
There was joy, colorful phrasing, the tenderness of portions of the arrangements and the symphony members laughing and talking among themselves as if in a town square, as well as humming and clapping.
Most of all, there was the unabashed joy shown by Prior on the podium. He swayed from side to side, even danced a little, as if still his teenage self, happy to hear an arrangement of his making being played back to him by an orchestra.
He was in his element — he was authentic — and it was the most treasured memory many in the audience may carry from this season.
For an opening sequence, that was hard to top, but guest trumpeter Bryce Schmidt, a Salem native, did very well with Oskar Böhme’s Trumpet Concerto in F minor. Schmidt’s work with the dense technical merits of the piece was beautiful, and there are stirring sections for the brass section throughout.
“Majestic Horizons” was the name of the April 23 program, and no piece better captured that title than Robert Schumann’s five-movement Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (Rhenish.)
It was the perfect way to end the night, but no one will soon forget its beginning.”
“Alex Prior, Music Director of the Eugene Symphony, has reimagined selections from Handel’s Water Music for a full-sized modern orchestral, which includes instruments that were not yet invented during Handel’s lifetime. The result was a witty and highly entertaining Four Extractions of Water Musick…
Handel’s Water Music consists of eighteen orchestral movements divided into three suites. Prior selected four of the movements for his modern reimagination, and he shifted their sequence so that they don’t appear in the same order as the original.
The first movement in Prior’s Four Extractions of Water Musick was a “Sarabande in G,” inspired by the Sarabande in the third volume of the original. Prior’s reimagining offers a number of glissandos (especially for the trombones) and isolated passages for various sections of the orchestra. The lively music, sprinkled liberally throughout the orchestra, went smoothly and perked up our ears for the rest of the piece.
Next came the “Overture in F,” which had springy, ebullient sounds and several very similar passages that instantly connected listeners with the original. It was followed by an energetic “Hornpipe in F” in which the orchestra cut loose with rhythmic hand-clapping, snapping of fingers, and fa-la-la singing by the musicians. The “Rigaudon in G” upped the ante with more chaotic elements — like the spontaneous argument between members, a shushing of the audience, and a tik-toc like sequence that suggested rainfall that slowed down to a few drips. It was all done very with a tongue-in-cheek style that P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickele) would have approved. All-in-all, Prior’s light-hearted concoction was a delightful appetizer for the rest of the evening.
Prior made sure to acknowledge contributions by individuals and sections of the orchestra. He is a natural entertainer with an enviable mane (conductor’s hair!) and connects with concertgoers extremely well. So, things should look up for him and the orchestra”
Oregon Artswatch
Photo by Jacob Pace courtesy of Bob Williams Photography
