Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 1/13 For sure, American composer Charles Ives has achieved one mark of distinction. There is no way that any of his music could ever be mistaken for that of any other composer. It is unique. His setting of Psalm 135 into an Anthem-Processional for chorus, organ, trombone, trumpet and percussion is only five or so minutes in length, but it seemed unusually disjointed, even for Ives. That shouldn’t be taken as meaning it was unpleasant, just that in places it couldn’t seem to make up its mind what it really wanted to be. It might be more effective using only the chorus; for the most part the instruments couldn’t be heard, anyway. Nonetheless, the large Cleveland Orchestra Chorus was enthusiastic and diligent...

As many times as I’ve heard the wonderful Symphony No. 9 From the New World in E minor, Op. 95 by Antonín Dvořák, still I heard notes new to my ears in this performance. Overall, I found it a brisk and vibrant rendition, with the second movement Largo especially translucent. The famed English Horn solo was beautifully nuanced in the performance by Robert Walters, while the clarinets and horns playing underneath were brought to the fore, as well. The quiet ending was particularly poignant.

The final movement Allegro con fuoco was a bit of a travelogue: the beginning with its majestic construction reminiscent of the mountain ranges of the American west, then heading eastward to a frenetic pace, more like the New York City of 100 years after this work was written.

Franz Joseph Haydn’s Mass in D Minor, known fondly as the Lord Nelson Mass, is one of those large works so well done by music director Franz Welser-Möst. The more than capable soloists were Twyla Robinson, soprano; Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; and Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone. The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus was prepared by its director, Robert Porco.

It’s the chorus that carries most of the weight in this piece; the orchestra is greatly reduced in size, and the soloists (other than the soprano) aren’t given all that much to do, mostly appearing as a quartet. Whether hushed or thunderous, it was glorious to hear, and the full house was properly appreciative.

The Sunday afternoon concert was the first in this season’s Musically Speaking series, in which a pre-concert prelude presents chamber music that is in some way connected to the concert program. In this case, it was the Serenade in C major, Op. 10 of Ernö Dohnányi and the Piano Trio in G major (Gypsy) of Haydn. Women of the orchestra were the spirited, stellar performers: Alicia Koelz, violin, Joanna Patterson, viola and Tanya Ell, cello, in the former; while Emma Shook, violin, Martha Baldwin, cello and Carolyn Gadiel Warner, piano, did the honors in the latter. The overall theme of the day was ‘national’ music, as explained by commentator Michael Beckerman, in a brief talk before the main concert began.

This week’s concerts feature music of Stravinsky, Mozart (with Radu Lupu as piano soloist) and Thomas Adès, conducted by Mr. Welser-Möst. For tickets or other information, call 231-1111 or visit the website: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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