Cleveland Orchestra Opening Night @ Severance Hall 10/1/09

To open the new season of the Cleveland Orchestra, Music Director Franz Welser-Möst chose music from three distinct periods of music history: classical, lush romanticism and stark contemporary. The total was completely satisfying, drawing loud ovations at the end of each piece, and prompting an encore -- the Act I Prelude from Lohengrin, which elicited more cries of ‘bravo!’

Symphony No. 85 in B-flat major ("La Reine") by Franz Joseph Haydn is one of the few nick-named works that was actually so named by the composer. In this case it was for Marie Antoinette, Queen of France until the revolution. The slightly-reduced orchestra (no brass, few winds) sounded especially buoyant throughout. The second movement Romanze featured a gorgeous flute descant by principal Joshua Smith, who was later joined by bassoonist Barrick Stees in a sort of duet. Stees had more opportunity to shine in the third movement. A bit of Viennese elasticity in the tempi added to the charm of the performance. (Actually, the entire evening featured a bit of that elasticity which kept the listener just a tad off-balance, adding a touch of ‘not quite knowing what’s coming next’ or when.)

Richard Wagner specialized in lush, sensual romanticism in his music – and also in the words he wrote for his music. None more so than the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, one of the oldest and greatest love stories of all time. The orchestra has become a Wagner orchestra par excellance, and the players gave the maestro everything he asked for, from the softest, most gentle sounds to the great passionate declarations of love and longing. It was incredibly moving.

The Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich is a completely different species than either of the above. If it is at times terrifying for the listener, one can only wonder how the persons living through that time could have survived. (Last winter’s performance of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 was the most relentlessly terrifying piece of music I’ve ever heard.) The 5th isn’t quite in that territory, while yet presenting terrors of its own. The eerie beginning alternates with bits of lushness as if to remind us of what once there was before the world as we knew it fell apart.

The four horns sounded like eight, before all the brass joined in to present a scene of organized chaos. Wow! The composer is excellent at distributing melodies to each instrumental section in turn—they each get a chance to shine. And shine they did.

The cellos and basses were most muscular in the second movement Allegretto, and shortly after the contra-bassoon (Jonathan Sherwin') was growling around, providing a grand portrayal of the Russian bear.

Mr. Welser-Möst led a bold, vital performance overall; stark, sparse, broadly lush as indicated by the composer.

The encore was much appreciated, tempering the mood of the listeners from the stormy bleakness of the Shostakovich to the ethereal, dreamy landscape of Lohengrin.

This week, pianist Mitsuko Uchida returns with Beethoven Four, not Mozart! Thursday and Saturday’s concerts (conducted by Mr. Welser-Möst) will also feature Lizst’s Faust Symphony. Friday night is the first of a new series at Severance Hall – Fridays at 7. For complete details, visit the website: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com or call the ticket office at 216.231.1111. '

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 next 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.