May 19* and 26, 2012
Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio


Richard Strauss: Salome, Opera in concert


Franz Welser-Möst, conductor; The Cleveland Orchestra
Rudolf Schasching, tenor
Jane Henschel, mezzo-soprano
Nina Stemme, soprano
Eric Owens, bass-baritone
Garret Sorenson, tenor


Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano, Rodell Aure Rosel, tenor, Matthew Plenk, tenor, 
Bryan Griffen, tenor, James Kryshak, tenor, Darren Stokes, bass-baritone, Evan Boyer, bass,
Sam Handley, bass-baritone, Brian Keith Johnson, baritone


Eric Weimar, Répétiteur and Joella Jones, Rehearsal Accompanist

The Cleveland Orchestra has been sounding particularly good of late and seemingly reached their pinnacle for the first-time-ever presentation of "Salome" in Severance Hall. Augmented to bursting by extra instruments and with very tight seating arrangements due to the balcony-like platform for the singers which occupied the back portion of the stage usually taken up by the percussion section, they played as if they had been waiting forever to bring forth Strauss' music. Even without the singing, the result would have been incredible; combined with some amazing voices, the performance was one to be remembered always.




Why Maestro Welser-Möst doesn't conduct opera full time is a mystery. He has a real affinity for it, immersing himself to become one with the musicians and lead the singers seamlessly, never interfering but always watchful. Another house's loss is Cleveland's gain though, for at least once a year he brings a carefully selected work to Severance Hall. This year, rather than a fully-staged work, he chose to do Salome as a concert arrangement, and with the performer's he chose, staging wasn't missed a bit. There wasn't a weak link in the casting; from the smaller roles on up, each person gave just as much, perhaps even more because of the lack of costumes, props and movement, to the roles they were assigned.




Of particular note was the clear diction and strong voice of Jennifer Johnson Cano as the Page (and a Slave); she has a warm sound but with a steely core that made one sit up and take notice of what she was saying. A member of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she bears watching as her voice matures and she takes on larger roles.

Nina Stemme, @ Tanja Niemann

  

  

Nina Stemme's name has been mentioned among the great Salome's in opera history, and for good reason. The consummate singing actress, her facial expressions and body language turned her to a petulant young girl, experiencing new feelings for the first time and being frustrated by being told "no" from several sides. She tried to be seductive, pouted, flounced and did everything but stamp her foot. While the role is that of a teenager, the vocal line can be terrifying for most singers. The tessitura sits quite high and is exhausting to sing but Ms. Stemme was strong from start to finish and her final twenty minute scena was truly electrifying- the finest I've ever seen. She sang to the imaginary head she cradled in her hands, completing her wild descent while effortlessly spinning Strauss' music to its hectic climax.

Salome clearly could have learned her manners from her mother, Herodias. Jane Henschel was alternately imperious as she called for the silencing of her tormentor, Jochanaan, exasperated. amazed at the ravings of her husband and pleased as she watched her daughter doing her dirty work for her. Always a solid performer, she didn't disappoint here. Herod is a role that can go wrong very easily. There isn't much to like about the fellow- he's crass and lewd, with a roving eye that all too often lands Salome, but is kept in check, barely, by his wife. Rudolph Schasching portrayal was that of a man teetering back and forth between moments of lucidity and wandering madness and it worked very well.

Eric Owens, @ Paul Sirochman

        

                                                         



Eric Owens has had a very successful couple of years and it's easy to see why. His voice is impressive, smooth and velvety, and his acting resolute and strong. The unfortunate fact was that his placement for the "off-stage" singing left us hearing little more than muffled sound. Higher voices carry better in Severance Hall, and the positioning dictated by the over-sized orchestra only served to make things quite a bit worse for the men. Their voices went up and out but may have hit the back of the super-title screen rather than reaching out into the house. The three women were heard and understood, but while the men sounded nice, it was all but impossible to discern what they were saying. It was also hot on that platform, necessitating surreptitious face and neck mopping in between singing duties.

Yes, the orchestra was huge, but the musicians were fully invested in the performance. It seems like every instrument possible was included in the scoring for Salome, but of special interest was the heckelphone (a "oboe on steroids" that is so large that it rests upon the floor) solo, eerily and beautifully played Jeffrey Rathbun. That's not something you hear everyday! The most famous music from the piece, the Dance of the Seven Veils, was played at an every accelerating pace, filling the hall with sound that pinned us into our seats. A deep breath and off they went again, finishing the opera sounding just as fresh as when the evening began, 90 minutes earlier. Maestro Welser-Möst produced a jewel of a piece, which despite the acoustic flaws, will go down as one of the finest evenings of opera ever performed in Cleveland.

The entire show goes on the road to Carnegie Hall in Manhattan for one performance on May 24th before returning for the final performance here on May 26th. Do everything you can to catch it in one place or the other.

Back to the Future

May 10*, 12 and 13, 2012

Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio

Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Galánta

Dimitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1 in E-flat major, Opus 107

Albert Roussel: Suite from The Spider's Feast (Le festin de l'araignée)

Igor Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1919 revision)

Lionel Bringuier, conductor, The Cleveland Orchestra

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

The regular season is coming to a close and the orchestra is on a roll. This week was no exception with the works being fascinating, the conductor engaging and the soloist amazing. I know that the use of excessive superlatives is discouraged when writing reviews, but what can be said when the audience doesn't want the soloist to leave the stage or the evening to end? Once again, that was the case on Thursday night, and for good reason.

Lionel Bringuier- photo by Anastasia Chernyavsky

They must be doing something right in the training of conductors in France. Those hitting the international scene are making a big impression and I'd say it's because of their engagement with the music, their acknowledgement of the members of the orchestra as top musicians in their own right and their unbridled enthusiasm for what they are doing. Associate Conductor of the LA Philharmonic, Lionel Bringuier, is only 26, but he isn't afraid to introduce different music and he elicits a unique sound from the orchestra playing it.

The size of the sitting ensemble varied according to the piece being played, but transitions were handled smoothly. Jung-Min Amy Lee was once again Concertmaster for the performance.

The opening work, Dances of Galánta, loosely based on music the composer heard as a child, built upon a clarinet solo strikingly played by principal, Franklin Cohen and echoed by the flutes and oboes along with solid support from the percussion section. I found myself holding my breath during the harmonics played toward the end of the second movement- they were that perfect.

Alisa Weilerstein-photo by Jamie Jung

Alisa Weilerstein attacked the Shostakovich Cello Concerto, widely considered one of the most difficult works written for that instrument. She has recorded  the piece and played it all over the world and obviously felt comfortable with the total concentration it demanded. The composer's signature DSCH motive was laid down by the cello, then distorted and shaped anew as it moved up the register. Brief solo passages from the clarinet and horn echoed the theme and elaborated upon it. The remaining three movements are played with no break, but the test of a virtuoso cellist is the cadenza. Ms. Weilerstein played this unaccompanied third movement brilliantly, finding the balance in the difficulty as well as the emotional involvement required. As the cellist caught her breath, the theme was reintroduced by Jeff Rathbun's oboe and Franklin Cohen on clarinet. The piece wrapped up with the cello section playing the theme from the first section while the soloist played rapid scales before taking over the theme. Just as we were falling into the music again, we were brought up short by seven distinct timpani strokes, played by Tom Freer, who did an excellent job throughout the entire piece. Almost immediately, the audience of Severance Hall rose to its feet requesting several curtain calls from Ms.Weilerstein and Maestro Bringuier. The latter made sure to acknowledge the members of the orchestra who had featured solos as well as the entire group that played so well. Ms. Weilerstein offered a lovely encore in the form of a Bach minuet which garnered her still more bows. She is a very accomplished musician and seems to truly understand what she is playing; however I do wish that she would tie her hair back from her face! Each time I see her play I'm afraid that her long hair is going to get caught in the fingerboard of her cello as she bends over the instruments and becomes engrossed in what she is playing. 

A tiny jewel of a piece, The Spider's Feast, hasn't been played by the orchestra in fifty-five years, but hearing Maestro Bringuier's interpretation's was a joy. His style lent itself particularly well to the evocative portraiture of this work and the orchestra made a good showing. The various insects were portrayed by the strings, flute, oboe, clarinet and English horn (always well played by Robert Walters) with drama lent by harpist Trina Struble. Various sections of the orchestra were gently quieted by the Maestro so he could bring out just what he wanted to be featured so that it almost became a "guide" to the instruments themselves.

It's difficult to put a new spin on such a familiar piece as The Firebird, but it was here that Maestro Bringuier's abilities to work with this orchestra shown. He connected with every chair, making each sound just the way he wanted and the result was a shining whole- exhilarating and fresh. The musicians were fully vested in the conductor's plan and seemed to enjoy themselves as much as he, and we, were. Again, he was called for multiple bows and he took the time to personally knowledge soloists and section leaders and thank them for their participation.

All too often nowadays, things are rushed and orchestra members treated as automatons, there to showcase a conductor. It's such a pleasure to watch a relationship building between the podium and the orchestra floor, and it's no small wonder that Lionel Bringuier has had such success at such a young age. He's one of those "micromanaging" conductors, very physical, with nothing getting by him, but who respects the knowledge and artistry of the members of the orchestra he's leading. I do hope that he comes back to Severance Hall in the near future.

When Everything Clicks- May 3.2012

Ton Koopman (Photo by Jaap van de Klomp

                                             
Every once in a while, I've been privileged to be in a concert hall or opera house on an evening when everything just works so perfectly that you don't want to leave when the event ends. The last time I experienced that was in November of 2010 during a performance of Le nozze di Figaro in Paris, and then again, in Severance Hall on the first Thursday in May of this year.

The Dutch conductor, Ton Koopman is Artist-in-Residence with the Cleveland Orchestra, and leads concerts here for two weeks each year. A Baroque music specialist, his passion for the music is infectious, traveling through the orchestra and extending out into the house. He resembles nothing so much as a genial elf, complete with white hair and beard; his hands, sans baton, mold and shape the music into something that reaches into the soul of the listener. He also likes to bring works that haven't been heard here, which makes for an enlightening program, educating without effort!

Opening the program was Introduzione teatrale, Opus 4, No.4, written in 1731 by Pietro Locatelli, is a short series of six works for string orchestra.  Jung-Min Amy Lee served as concertmaster for the abbreviated ensemble, playing the solo line with a bright tone.

Mark Kosower (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)

The undeniable highlight of the program was Boccherini's Cello Concerto in D major, G479, with Mark Kosower, principal cellist, as the soloist. He was very simply, amazing. The composer placed the opening Allegro in the upper registers of the instrument with brutally hard fingerings, while the the Adagio showcased Kosower's exquisite singing tones. Amazingly, he tossed in cadenzas on all three movements, and it was delightful to see smiles on the faces of his fellow orchestra members as they listened!

Closing out the first half of the program was Symphony No.20 in B-flat major, by J.C.F.Bach. A surprisingly good piece, this enlarged the number of instruments by the addition of some woodwinds and horns.The work called for a lot from the flute and Joshua Smith did not disappoint, playing solo and weaving and dancing with the clarinets, bassoon and horns.The latter, as usual, played as a seamless whole and sounded wonderful.

Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the Serenade No. 13 in G major hasn't been performed as part of a regular subscription season here in 34 years. We all feel like we know this piece so it's hard to make it feel new, but Maestro Koopman succeeded in every way. The Allegro and Romanze were light and and fun, the Minuetto  picked up the tempo even more sliding into the Rondo at breakneck pace. The instrumentalists never held back and didn't falter, keeping it swift and clean.

Sticking with Mozart, the fanfare laden Symphony No, 31, the Paris, composed when he was only 22, was scored for much larger orchestra than was usual, and was his first to utilize clarinets. In the first movement, the Allegro assai, we heard the trumpets making a strong, solid arc. The flutes, clarinets and horns factored into the remaining two movements, while the timpani was ably played, as always, by Paul Yancich.

The entire program could have been played within a museum setting, but we were fortunate to have it in Severance Hall. Seats were almost full and it was a pleasure to see so many youngsters present. They were all very well behaved, and the audience, for the most part confined its collective coughing to the breaks between movements. A cell phone located somewhere in center orchestra, row, 10-12 vibrated loudly during the pause between the second and third movements of the Paris, and its owner made no attempt to shut it off. A woman in Row H, seat 201 of the orchestra felt so comfortable that she must have thought she was in her living room; slipping off her shoes, she slapped her bare feet on the floor in time to the music while swigging water from a bottle she kept under her seat. Her companion slid over into an adjacent seat and proceeded to make use of her own water bottle while texting on her phone. One can hope that she was telling her friends about the great performance she was enjoying!

The Comfort Zone... Lang Lang plays Bartok & The Cleveland Orchestra goes back to Bruckner

Lang Lang (Photo: Detlef Schneider)

I've waited for a while now to see Lang Lang in person and I have to say that I was blown away by his technical artistry. Striding onto the stage with his signature pouf of hair and black silk jacket, he looked every inch the rock-star and the orchestra seemed to be feeding off of the energy he brought,
 The  Bartók Second Piano Concerto could be considered the most difficult piece ever written for the instrument but for the audience demographic at Severance Hall, Liszt or Chopin would have been a better option. The arching form of the work kept it driving forward, fast-slow-fast-slow-fast, with excellent support from Maestro Welser-Möst, and a very strong exchange with the timpani, played magnificently, as usual, by Paul Yancich. Outstanding support came from the brass and woodwind sections too, while the muted strings played right under the level, just as they were supposed to. It's rare to see music on the piano, but I would suspect that it was there in the capacity of moral support! From 5th row seats, I found myself glued to watching Lang's hands as they flew across the keyboard, managing the wide chords with ease and although a few wrong notes would have been forgiven with the difficulty of the piece, none were forthcoming. The audience was very appreciative and rose to their feet, but there were a lot of perplexed expressions and questions during intermission. Had a more lyrical piece been chosen, the audience might have been more comfortable affording wild applause just because they would have felt they "knew" where it was going. I disagree; I would have followed such magnificent playing anywhere!

Bruckner+ Welser-Möst+ the Cleveland Orchestra= a great evening, and this was no exception. The Maestro has never stinted on the Bruckner; he feels an affinity with the composer, so the orchestra is making its way through the symphonic works. The 4th Symphony in E-flat major is one of the most popular, but there are several revisions and the piece played was the latest, 1888 version. How much the revisions differ is up for debate, but there is no denying that this was a pretty piece, sensitively interpreted and excellently played. The Orchestra's ease with Brucker really shows- the horns were featured and were perfection (this is a great example of why all of the members playing on the same type of instrument pays off) while the strings were able to cover the various moods required of them with ease.
Legend has it that after a successful rehearsal, Bruckner tossed a coin to the conductor and told him to buy himself a beer; this performance by the Cleveland Orchestra merited a toast from the delighted audience.

The audience at Severance was quiet for the most part during the Bartók, with only a few coughs and rattlings to be heard and no more than a handful of empty seats. That number increased quite a bit after intermission though leaving me to wonder if those that fled wanted to be able to say that they saw Lang Lang or if they were weary of the tide of Bruckner.
A side note to a particular gentleman in the first violin section: You may know the music and hate the pauses when you're not playing, but chomping away on gum is not classy and is distracting for the audience.

A Holiday Card

There is a stack of several reviews waiting to be posted on this new site, but to begin with a bit of reflection seems appropriate at this time..


I would like to say "thank you" to the musicians and administration of the Cleveland Orchestra for the wonderful experience I've had with them this past year. Moving to a new city is difficult,  but the hours I've spent in Severance Hall and at the Blossom Music Festival immersed in the amazing music from this group have been very special. There are great ensembles in the world and the Cleveland Orchestra ranks among the top, of that there is no doubt.


Each member is a soloist in his/her own right but they play as an ensemble able to anticipate each other and to respond to whomever is on the podium. Maestro Franz Welser-Möst is the Music Director whose plans have included residencies from Miami to Vienna and the list of guest conductors has brought old favorites and new faces to town. Concerts range from standard orchestral rep which always sounds fresh interspersed with new or little known works and the guest conductors and soloists are always the finest available.


I especially enjoy it when an orchestra member is featured on the program and I admit to feeling a little proprietary when I watch and listen to a section member play a solo that is so obviously pleasing to a visiting conductor! I know who sits in what chair, who is new, who has just had a baby or is back from an extended leave, I pay close attention when a chair is open and someone new comes in and watch as they become part of the group over the course of a couple of concerts. This has become my orchestra and I love to share it with not only the patrons of all ages who fill the seats but with anyone who reads my reviews and shares my love of the music created here.


Severance Hall has been called  "the most beautiful concert hall in America" and having seen quite a few,  I'm inclined to agree. I never get tired of looking at the lovely ceiling or checking out the fleur-de-lis that run along the top of the elevator cars. And the elevators aren't those automated, do it yourself things- each car is run by a uniformed attendant who gets to know on which level you sit without asking. That feeling of "family" extends to the ushers and the woman in the booth in the parking garage. When we wish each other "Merry Christmas", we mean it. My contact in the administrative offices is the wonderful Ana Papakhian, the Director of Communications and I owe her my sincere gratitude for helping me get to know the workings of the place, for answering any questions I have promptly and for supplying notices and pictures (sometimes more than once, when my filing system went awry!). Her knowledge of the orchestra and her background in music makes her a valuable asset not only to the orchestra, but the community as well.


So, as the holiday fast approaches, I will say that I am lucky to live in a place where the arts are so important and where the great Cleveland Orchestra makes its home. May the peace of the holiday season be with you.