And then there are evenings such as Thursday evening at Severance Hall when the originally scheduled conductor was unable to appear, and a guest conductor had to be found with very little advance notice. A complication was that the original conductor was also the genius behind the transcription of a work for orchestra meant for recording purposes only. In 1987 or so, Telarc Records commissioned Lorin Maazel to put together an orchestral condensation of Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungen. After choosing twenty themes—or leitmotifs—Maazel put them together into one large collage, using only music as written by Wagner for the purpose, and then the piece was recorded by Mr. Maazel and the Berlin Philharmoniker in 1988.
So, the program for this weekend’s concerts consisted of only this one ‘work’—The ‘Ring’ without Words, in Maazel’s version. Mr. Maazel was Music Director here for ten years, from 1972 to 1982, so his return to conduct these concerts was eagerly anticipated. It was not to be, however, as an ear infection stranded him in Europe, leaving the orchestra to find a conductor—pronto.
They found a dandy -- Giancarlo Guerrero of Eugene, Oregon. (Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of him before this weekend. You’ll soon be hearing more. Lots more. He’s only in his mid-30s, but is well on his way to a stellar career.) He was not only available for the week, but also familiar with the music. In Eugene, they say he creates magic. He certainly did that here.
Mr. Guerrero runs on stage and bounds onto the podium, darting up and down, here and there, coaxing dynamics and emotion from the players with an elegant and gracefully expressive left hand, while precisely indicating the rhythm with the baton in his right hand. At times, neither hand matches the body english. Occasionally, he also displays an impressive vertical leap, clearing the podium entirely. The result of this athleticism was spectacular! Standing ovations, shouts of ‘Bravo!’ and loud applause from the audience—and the orchestra, as well. He asked for extraordinary effort from the players, but—he gave back just as much.
The result was sumptuous, opulent, sensuous, effervescent, exciting and even—at times—transparent. Of course, it was also brassy and clangorous, and sometimes loud, but gorgeously so. There were nine horns (four of whom doubled on Wagner tubas) and four harps, in addition to the normal contingent of players. The only instrument missing appeared to be the contra-bassoon. The percussion section had a few unusual items: Donner’s Thunderbolt in the form of a huge hammer (a chunk of 6” x 6” wood on a long handle), and an ordinary ball-peen hammer, paired with a length of 2” galvinized pipe which, at the skillful hands of percussionist Joseph Adato, became part of Alberich’s forge where the gold from the River Rhine is transformed into the Ring. Adato also swung the mighty hammer.
The horns, so important to Wagner’s music, were marvelous, especially principal Richard King. His playing was luscious and properly heroic, especially in Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, that notoriously difficult horn part, that repeats itself several times before moving onward. Of course, anyone in this orchestra is a talented musician, but sometimes they’re overlooked, usually because of a lack of solo parts for their instrument, or their position in the orchestra. Steven Witser, acting principal trombone, found himself with almost a concerto effort, from the numerous solos given to his position. He was outstanding; sassy and biting—as the dragon, limpid or heroic in other places. It was hardly surprising that Mr. Guerrero acknowledged Witser first, then King, then typanist Paul Yancich before singling out the others who also excelled in exposed solos.
Richard Stout demonstrated the beauty and unusual sound quality of the bass trumpet. Desmond Hoebig, principal cello; Linnea Nereim, bass clarinet; Franklin Cohen, principal clarinet; Joshua Smith, principal flute; Frank Rosenwein, principal oboe; Robert Walters, english horn; William Preucil, concertmaster;Yasuhito Sugiyama, tuba and Michael Sachs, principal trumpet were all asked to stand for a special bow, before the entire orchestra was bid to rise, as well. It really was a superb group effort.
After two bows, with the cheers still resounding through the auditorium, Mr. Guerrero bounced back onto the podium and gave a sudden downbeat—he just happened to still have the baton in his hand—and away they all went again, right into more Wagner, the Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin! There was mayhem at the end of this piece as well! Everyone present was clapping: audience, conductor and musicians. It was a love fest, all around—an evening not soon to be forgotten.
Next week, pianist Michiko Uchida returns for two weeks of concerts: the first week it’ll be two Mozart works and the following week, the Schumann concerto. For tickets or information about these or other upcoming concerts, call (216) 231-1111, or visit the orchestra’s web-site: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net (:divend:)