Review: Eugene Symphony’s March concert “a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon”
by Daniel Buckwalter (#CommonManAtTheSymphony)
Posted on 03/17/26 by Eugene Scene
Guest artist Hanzhi Wang performing with the Eugene Symphony.
We come today in praise of the accordion. Seriously.
Think beyond tango, folk and polka, any genre you might associate with the sometimes maligned instrument. Think instead of the spirited and provocative beauty of the accordion as laid out by composer Nina Shekhar in her piece, Accordion Concerto.
Then picture the diminutive Hanzhi Wang taking center stage with the blocky instrument strapped to her shoulders. Accordions today are much lighter than they used to be, yes, but it’s not the simplest chore to maneuver around tight spaces to take your seat while lugging that instrument.
And Wang — surrounded by the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, conducted by artistic director Alex Prior — was masterful on March 15 in the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall, showcasing all of the accordion’s possibilities to a nearly full house on a Sunday afternoon, and receiving a standing ovation.
Accordion Concerto starts softly with harp, bells and piano offering foundational staccato layers in which Wang soon joined, until roughly midway through the 20-plus minute piece, she has the concerto all to herself.
And it was mesmerizing to watch her work at that point, either vigorously pumping the instrument for more volume or letting her right hand dance effortlessly on the keyboard section.
I was taken by it all. It is something I had not experienced before, and I hope to hear something like-minded in the future.
The concerto was preceded by Aleksandr Mosolov’s Iron Foundry, and if Accordion Concerto had its moments of delicate staccato flavor, Mosolov’s very short piece (composed in 1928 and remarkable for its time) was absolutely fierce and relentless in its staccato flavor, evoking the metallic sounds of factory work in the old Soviet Union.
After intermission came two staples of symphonic music. The first was Franz Schubert’s Symphony No.8 in B minor, a beautiful and uplifting score. Finally, there was Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy — Overture, and it has everything you would imagine for the iconic ballet. There’s the energy, the familiar elegance, the haunting passages and, of course, the muscular ending.
All in all, a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
