CityMusic Cleveland ends 6th Season with smiles galore! @ Fairmount Presbyterian 4/14/10

You can always expect the unexpected at a CityMusic Cleveland concert, and the finale for their sixth season was no exception. You may well be surprised by a new conductor or soloist, or a new twist on an old favorite. Fortunately, most of the surprises are totally delightful.

This program had a guest conductor, Gregory Vajda, who came to us from Oregon and gave us two old (but seldom heard) favorites, along with a ‘newish’ work from a composer we all know very well. One of the orchestra’s charter members, principal flutist Heidi Ruby Kushious, was the soloist. All three works received vital and enthusiastic performances.

Just when you think you know most of a given composer’s work, someone unearths a rarely-heard marvel. Thank goodness for these little miracles. This time around it was Rakastava ("The Lover") by the great Finnish conductor Jean Sibelius. Too many of us are guilty of thinking cold, dreary, bleak when we hear his name, but hearing this piece will dispel that notion forever in anyone’s mind. But then, who knew Sibelius could write sunny? Here’s proof. According to the spoken notes by the engaging Mr. Vajda, the piece was written for a chorus, but then the composer re-did it for small ensemble and voices, before finally redoing it entirely for chamber-sized group of strings and percussion. Perfect.

It’s in three movements: The Lover, The Path and Farewell. While the strings are thoroughly engaged in singing the opening segment, it’s the tympani (Jordan Schifino) that gathers most of the glory. The lovely and limpid solos of Keiko Ying, principal cello, floated gracefully over the impossibly delicate scoring of The Path, while again as he had for the opener, the conductor rested his baton, for the lyrical final movement, which featured a gorgeous solo by concertmaster Amy Schwartz Moretti.

If ever you find yourself in the position of arranging a ‘Guess the Composer’ competition, you’ll surely stump the contestants if you use this piece.

Mozart supposedly didn’t care much for the flute, but it would difficult if not impossible to prove that while listening to his Flute Concerto No. 1 in G Major K 313, for that instrument. Ms. Kushious proved an able advocate for the work, with her stunning technique and gorgeous tone. The music consists of multiple scales up and down by soloist and orchestra, plus wide leaps from one octave to another, all interspersed with the composer’s usual lyricism. Apparently, Mozart did not write cadenzas for this concerto, so Ms. Kushious created her own. I’m not sure we really needed three such lengthy demonstrations of her virtuosity, but they were each of them distinct and for the most part, Mozartean in style. (Except that unless my ears deceived me greatly, there was a long quote of a Straussian tune at the end of the middle one. Hmmm.) Regardless, the enthusiastic ovation for her and the orchestra was extremely well deserved.

After intermission it was perhaps the most familiar work on the program, but even that is somewhat of a rarity. Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F, Op. 93, is perfectly capable of standing on its own feet, but due to its position in his catalogue, it’s nearly always overshadowed by his odd-numbered symphonies—especially the 3, 5, 7 and 9. Too bad—this one has a lot to say, and the energetic conductor kept an invigorating pace throughout.

The sunny first movement was brisk and spirited from the very first notes. No introduction from the composer this time around. There’s no rondo or scherzo but the second movement has it’s share of fun, anyway, with it’s imitation of the new-fangled metronome, by the crisp chords from the winds. They return later, still cheerful in intent. A menuetto sets off the third movement, highlighted by bits of syncopation here and there, while the final section is again a return to the sunny-side of things.

It wasn’t just those in the audience that smiled throughout. Almost any of the string players visible from where I sat, wore smiles during each piece. That’s a great sign! It certainly didn’t seem to lessen their concentration in any way, but absolutely must have inspired their playing which was totally joyous from beginning to end.

For information regarding the Seventh Season of CityMusic Cleveland, vist the web-site: http://www.citymusiccleveland.org or find them on FaceBook. They promise an announcement by the end of June. Hint: they also sell CDs at the site. Great gifts!

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there's always been the writing. I can't imagine my life without it.