|
Cleveland Plain Dealer
July 12, 2010
Weekend concerts with Cleveland Orchestra feature intrepid conductors
and guest soloist
By Zachary Lewis
The sun last weekend was
certainly intense, but the personalities on stage at Blossom Music
Center were even stronger.
Featuring a dauntless
soloist and two intrepid conductors, the performances Saturday and
Sunday by the Cleveland Orchestra were not for the musically
thin-skinned. Yet just as overheating is a risk, so too did the artists
sometimes overplay their quests to awaken the senses.
On Saturday, Stephane
Deneve, music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra,
returned to the Cleveland podium for a charming, largely French program
consisting mostly of pieces or abbreviations of larger works.
The only whole entry, in
fact, was Debussy's First Rhapsody, a seductive miniature concerto for
clarinet rendered rapturously by principal clarinetist Franklin Cohen, a
champion of the piece. Setting up his partner for success, Deneve
supplied a diaphanous, taut ensemble.
Berlioz turned up twice,
with the "Roman Carnival Overture" and the Love Scene from "Romeo and
Juliet." Both found the orchestra in tip-top shape, doling out silky
tones and elegant phrasing while observing the conductor's generally
brisk pace.
Ravel's Suite No. 2 from
"Daphnis and Chloe" also benefited from Deneve's touch. The three ballet
scenes came to life in startling color: "Daybreak" as a frothy sweep;
"Pantomime" crystalline in texture and natural in pulse; the final dance
frenzied and effervescent.
Only in Stravinsky's
"Firebird" Suite did Deneve's mercurial style fall short. While the
woodwinds offered an enchanting "Princesses" dance and the brass
delivered a rousing finale, overly-quick tempos in the "Berceuse" and
"King Kashchei" dance sapped the music of its magic.
Leading a program of
musical favorites Sunday, assistant conductor Tito Muñoz avoided such
pitfalls. On the contrary, his performances from memory hovered
enticingly at the brim of energy and vitality.
Still, even he must have
found violinist Giora Schmidt's reading of the Tchaikovsky Violin
Concerto vexing at times.
High on individuality,
Schmidt's rendition of the great violin showpiece was impossible to
resist, captivating with lyricism, tonal warmth, and boundless
enthusiasm. Where so many performances are carbon copies, this one was
his alone. Yet it was also headstrong, full of unpredictable
accelerations that left his colleagues in the lurch.
Munoz enjoyed complete
control the rest of the evening, beginning with Bernstein's Symphonic
Dances from "West Side Story" and ending with Elgar's "Enigma"
Variations.
From the former, two
conclusions were clear: Muñoz is wondrously attentive to detail, and the
orchestra has a knack for jazz. No actors were needed. The orchestra's
performance alone carried more zing than many a staged production.
The Elgar was no less
engaging. Presenting its series of 14 musical portraits, conductor and
orchestra underscored the music's unifying thread while accenting the
humor, nobility, and animation of the individuals.
Notable, as always, was
the famous "Nimrod" variation, which Sunday rose from an almost
imperceptible hush to a gleaming, resonant surge. As the temperature for
the evening dropped by degree, emotion soared.
Link to original article...
Return to 'Press'
|
