United States ‘100 Years of Shostakovich’ – Various: Spencer Myer (piano), Canton Symphony Orchestra / Mélisse Brunet (conductor). Umstattd Hall at Zimmermann Symphony Center, Canton, 7.11.2026. (MSJ)
Horacio Fernández – ‘Salsa’ from Tumbao
Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Shostakovich – Symphony No.1 in F minor, Op.10
The Canton Symphony, Ohio’s hidden gem, is currently searching for a successor to Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz, whose final concert we reviewed here. The regional ensemble was polished to an outstanding level by longtime music director Gerhardt Zimmermann but is in need of continuity, quality and innovation to maintain that level into the future. With less innovation on display in this audition season’s programming, the need to select a new leader is imperative.
Already, after one season without a music director, the orchestra showed some uncertainty in the opening moments of the demanding program. The ensemble was initially a little edgy and nervous with the ‘Salsa’ from 29-year-old composer Horacio Ferández’s Tumbao. Drawing heavily on Afro-Cuban traditions, its rhythms featured frequently shifting accents and syncopations. Despite some minor intonation issues, the orchestra threw itself into the music, led with enthusiasm by Mélisse Brunet, one of the finalists to become next music director. As it progressed, the performance grew more certain and felt strong by the end of the piece.
Brunet has appeared in the region with the CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra (review here) and her profile has continued to climb since then. She is currently music director of the Lexington Philharmonic in Kentucky which recently extended her contract, and she is under consideration for positions with other ensembles as well. The Paris-born conductor became a cause célèbre after being seen in the documentary Maestra on Netflix last year. The documentary followed the course of a contest for female conductors, catching Brunet as she returned to France and meditated on a visit to her childhood home. In footage from the competition, Brunet was seen leading the orchestra with great authority. Shockingly, she was eliminated from the first round, replete with one of the judges mansplaining to her that she should ‘smile more’ while conducting. This despite the fact that Brunet was rather clearly on a different plane from the other conductors in the competition.
It was a delight to see her at work with the Canton Symphony. Hardly less challenging in terms of syncopations than the recent Fernández piece is Gershwin’s Concerto in F, but the ensemble quickly settled in, supporting soloist Spencer Myer with high energy. Myer played the solo part with tremendous authority, maintaining incisive clarity in the outer movements and flexible shading of the blue-note harmonies in the slow movement. The finale was perched on that perfect balance honoring Gershwin’s Allegro agitato without overshooting the tempo and blurring the blasts of repeated notes. Myer responded to the hearty ovation with Earl Wild’s brilliant arrangement of Gershwin’s ‘Embraceable You’, delivered with insouciant flair.
The Shostakovich Symphony No.1, celebrating its 100th birthday this year, was given a gutsy performance, alternating caustic wit and dark shadows. Some performances of the piece emphasize the foreshadowing of Shostakovich’s epic mature manner while others seek to avoid that aspect. Brunet instead balanced those approaches, charging forward with youthful energy in fleet tempos yet never shirking from the young composer’s yearn for the big, dramatic moments which Brunet shaped with total assurance. The orchestra responded to the pointed interpretation with alacrity, showing what they can accomplish with focused direction. More candidates remain to be heard but if they are all as astute as Brunet, the Canton Symphony will have a tough but rewarding choice to make.
Mark Sebastian Jordan