Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 10/23 When conductor Nicholas McGegan took the podium for a mostly-Baroque concert it was clear this was not to be one of those classical music concerts that feels like church. It felt, instead, as if we were visitors in an elegant house (of course, after all we were in gorgeous Severance Hall) where everyone just happened to be having a good time playing musical instruments at a very high level.

(Whether or not Bach or the others ever sounded so good in their own day is still a matter of scholarly debate since no one is sure just how well everyone performed on those cranky early instruments -- always excluding the violin, of course, which appears to have been gorgeously made almost from the first.)

Each work had its special, unique delight. Jean-Philippe Rameau's Orchestral Suite from Nais benefited from the wind machine which cranked out poetic gales and sea-sounds. One can never go wrong programming J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (in this case, No. 3), which the ten instrumentalists and one harpsichord (played by the smiling conductor) made clear.

Next came a sparkling (if not Baroque) work by J. S. Bach's son, Johann Christian Bach. His Sinfonia Concertante in C major showed why J. C. Bach was the toast of London after he moved there to write for the Royal Court. Dramatic staging for the work placed the four orchestra principals (William Preucil, violin; Desmond Hoebig, cello; Joshua Smith, flute, and Frank Rosenswein, oboe), on platforms in front of the orchestra (the conductor was invisible behind them for some of us).

The ensemble played "hoe-down" style -- kinda strings against woodwinds. The strings were fine, but they were (of necessity) muted and so didn't stand a chance against the gorgeous flute and the chirpy oboe. The concert closed with a return to the Baroque with Handel's ceremonial Music for the Royal Fireworks.

It sounded like music made to be talked over by a crowd while the musicians emphasized the appropriateness of celebrating royalty with bright brass and dance music. If this is Baroque, don't fix it (sorry, couldn't resist). Great evening.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Laura Kennelly lkennellyATgmail.com
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