Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 1/8 Until word got out Friday (the day after the concert) that conductor Franz Welser-Most had the flu, I thought it was Dmitri Shostakovich's masterful Symphony No. 7 ("Leningrad") that did him in. The work lasts over an hour and at concert's end, Franz looked flushed and sweaty. (One expects conductors to be a little sweaty; it's very hard work -- try waving your arms for an hour.) Ticket-holders for Friday were offered a substitute program. Welser-Most was scheduled to be back on the podium on Saturday. But the concert Thursday delighted from start to finish.

Shostakovich's vision of Mother Russia at war suggests both the power and the beauty of Leningrad [now St. Petersburg again] under siege (just after Hitler invaded Russian in June 1941). The Cleveland Orchestra played with authority and precision. Stereophonic brass (from both balconies) intensified dramatic passages for a wonderfully theatric effect. The insistent opening movement with a Bolero-like repeat followed by lyric passages, both solo and ensemble, suggested such Russian grandeur, harmony and beauty, that I was tempted to rush out to re-read "War and Peace." (What folly to attack Russia in the winter; did the German generals skip history class?). The ever-enchanting, honey-voiced Measha Brueggergosman opened the program with Richard Wagner's "Wesendonck Songs." The performance was being recorded for a forthcoming Deutsche Grammophon album. It should be splendid (but it's too bad listeners won't be able to see the gleaming gold bracelets and the gorgeous bronze/orange gown Ms. Brueggergosman wore). One cannot imagine a better start to 2009 than this splendid concert.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Laura Kennelly lkennellyATgmail.com
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