Cleveland Orchestra: Musical Fireworks @ Severance Hall 10/23 250 years ago saw the end of a war between various countries in Europe, including, of course, those traditional warriors: France and England. The battle was over the Austrian Succession. Could Maria Theresa be Empress of Austria in her own right, as the rightful heir of the Hapsburg dynasty, or only because her husband (whoever he might be) was the Emperor. And haven't we progressed a lot as a civilized society in all those years? Not too likely. At any rate, the War entangled not only Austria, England and France, but also Spain, Bavaria, Prussia, Holland, Saxony, and the country in which we now live but which was not yet the United States of America. No, that happy event would not take place for another 25 years.

Nevertheless, the war did end, and among the ceremonies honoring the peace were two (more or less, given the calendar of the time) simultaneous events—one in France and the other in England. France at that time was the center of the world of opera and dance, so the premier composer of the time, Jean-Philippe Rameau produced an opera, Naïs, while in England, George Frideric Handel composed the Royal Fireworks Music.

Actually Naïs bears some small resemblance to Rusalka and the little mermaid, dealing, as it does with the love of a human (Neptune) and a sea nymph—Naïs. Of course, being French, there was much attention devoted to the dance. It is these various dance melodies plus the overture which have been arranged into an orchestral suite by this concert’s guest conductor, Nicholas McGegan. His special interest is in mid 18th-century French music, so he knows whereof he speaks, and in his informative pre-concert interview, he described the technical wonders of French opera houses. These ranged from earthquakes to tempests and a variety of thunder and lightning special effects. Thus, a well-utilized wind machine, which has not been changed at all during the last 250 years!

In any event, the suite was an eyeopener, prompting one to wonder why hasn’t the orchestra played more Rameau during it’s long history? The overture was brisk with stirring military-ish music, especially a smaller sort of kettle-drum. Mr. McGegan was a vibrant and vigorous conductor throughout the various dances, which ranged from charming to more military, various dance rhythms and a fanfare with precise wind playing. Towards the end there was a sort-of march with piccolo and bassoon duet, and strumming from the strings, plus a tambourine and more piccolos!

The Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 of J. S. Bach, while expertly played by nine string players, mostly principals, with Mr. McGegan at the harpsichord, didn’t fare so well. Severance Hall is rather large for such an intimate work, and much of the spontaneity of the work was lost somewhere in the rafters. His son’s Sinfonia Concertante in C major, T289 No. 4 (J. C. Bach) fared a bit better, displaying a graceful elegance and with a slightly larger group of musicians, plus the four soloists, the piece was more distinctly heard. The esteemed soloists were William Preucil, violin; Desmond Hoebig, cello; Joshua Smith, flute and Frank Rosenwein, oboe.

Fortunately, the Music for the Royal Fireworks ensued without disaster, as happened at the original hearing, all those years ago, when a celebratory structure—built for the purpose—was accidentally set on fire and exploded by the fireworks. This time, the fireworks were all musical ones.

Jack Sutte performed brilliantly on the very high and difficult trumpet parts, and the horns weren’t shabby, either. The tympani sounded joyous and the contra-bassoon provided a sturdy foundation. The overall result was dignified and stately, prompting the listener to wish for more peace and more such celebratory music.

This week, guest conductor Marc Minkowski returns for a program featuring works by Haydn, Adams and Roussel, with Franklin Cohen of the orchestra as soloist in the Adams. For tickets or additional information, visit the website http://www.clevelandorchestra.com or call 231-1111.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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