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An equal opportunity showpiece: Everyone's a soloist in virtuosic Texas MusicFestival finale

It's often said that the job of an orchestra is to play as one — it's not a democracy, but a dictatorship with the maestro at the helm.

The conductor "plays" one living instrument comprising strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and sometimes singers and chorus too, unifying their collective interpretation to affix an aesthetic that makes overall artistic sense.

That some groups, like the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, perform conductor-less day in and day out evinces the prowess of non-verbal communication, and it's thrilling to watch.

Then there are concerti, where one, two or three featured virtuosi — think Xiao Wang's Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor performance and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat major for Violin, Viola and Orchestra — showcase their goods with support from a large ensemble. Classical concerti tend to treat the tutti as accompaniment, the genre later progressing to treat the allied forces in a more intertwined dialogue.

It's an opportunity for all the sections of the ensemble to shine by taking on music that's technically difficult, showing off the innate quality of each instrument.

With that as the basis, what on earth is a concerto for orchestra?

The compositional form seems like an oxymoron, the most famous of which is Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra of 1943, a year before his death. Others like Benjamin Britten and Witold Lutosławski tried the structure on for size, but neither was as successful as Bartók's — that's if you consider popularity and frequency in classical music playbills.

The essence of the concerto for orchestra isn't contradictory. It's an opportunity for all the sections of the ensemble to shine by taking on music that's technically difficult, a partiture that takes advantage of the innate quality of each instrument, and offers musicians a forum to add more personality where otherwise interpretation is at the whim of the conductor, who waves the baton — for better or for worse.

On Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at the Moores Opera House, the Texas Music Festival concert, titled "Cinematic Virtuosity," closes the month-long intense summer program with panache. Emerging stars of the classical music milieu will, in a way, reveal what they've mastered during the four weeks of immersive study.

Watch my Art & About video adventure (above) to hear interviews with Spanish conductor Josep Caballé-Domenech, University of Houston DMA flute student Caitrine-Ann Piccini and violist Renee Gilliland, orchestra director at Morton Ranch High School in Katy, to glean why this Bartók pièce de résistance is favorite for musicians and audiences, learn about the composer's love for folk themes and nature sounds, and what excites the musicians about performing it.

Texas Music Festival final concert, "Cinematic Virtuosity," also features violinist Dan Zhu in Erich Korngold's Violin Concerto in D major and Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, made famous by Disney's Fantasia. Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors and can be purchased online or by calling 713-743-3313.

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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