Cleveland Orchestra among world’s music greats

By Burt Saidel

Do you ever tire of being told that someone, an athlete, a singer, an orchestra is the best in the world?  Or is the fifth or seventh on that lofty list?   I certainly do.

What never tires me is to see a great performance on the field, or on the stage and revel in the beauty and in the grandeur. The Dayton Philharmonic never makes the world’s best lists.  There are, however, concerts of the Dayton Philharmonic when my enjoyment is impossible to measure against another such performance. Not only is it impossible, it is unnecessary and even unwise to apply such standards.

The Cleveland Orchestra and the magnificent Severance Hall are part of my “home fields.”  I began my relationship with the orchestra as a student in 1951 and have continued it with gusto. To me, it has always been one of the world’s great orchestras.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we always include the Cleveland Orchestra. I would rather give up the turkey!

The orchestra had just returned from an extensive trip to Europe.  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law accompanied them and reported the amazing reception at concerts in Cologne, Germany and Vienna, Austria. The thrill, they reported, of hearing their great orchestra in those splendid and historic venues, was unforgettable.

For the Cleveland concert, there was a guest conductor, Pinchas Steinberg.  Mr. Steinberg has some Dayton connections.  He is a good friend of harp and violin teacher Tonya Noffsinger.  Tonya was kind enough to invite us to dine with him after the Friday concert.  The frenetic pace of an active family holiday made that impossible.

We met Mr. Steinberg under the very best circumstances.  On Saturday evening, he was on the podium and we were in our box listening to his marvelous conducting of these great musicians.

The evening began with Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Oberon.  This is a familiar work and a show piece for orchestra.  It opened with clear and inspiring notes from the horns and continued brilliantly through its many varied permutations.
The overture ended the evening’s “standard repertory.” Next came a Mendelssohn concerto – an unusual one.  Two solo voices, piano and violin, teamed with the strings of the orchestra.  It was a Cleveland debut and a first hearing for me, and nearly everyone else. A work of the fourteen year old prodigy, it was written for one of the many Mendelssohn family concerts to be played by Felix and noted young violinist Eduard Rietz.

While named a concerto, I prefer to consider it a double sonata with string accompaniment.  The two artists, Cleveland Concertmaster William Preucil and previous Dayton Philharmonic guest soloist Jon Kimura Parker are frequent collaborators.  This work was an ideal showcase for their virtuoso talents as soloists and as chamber musicians.

The three movements each alternated the playing of the orchestra with the soloists. The orchestral parts were often long and the music presaged the greatness of Mendelssohn but remained in youthful predictability.  

The passages for violin and piano which gleamed brightly. Young Felix was obviously writing for himself and his friend. They were able to show off brilliantly.   The same brilliance was clearly evident with Kimura Parker and Preucil. They exchanged musical lines, altered each other’s statements, and created a compelling and exciting musical colloquium.  These great artists introduced the audience to neglected but marvelous music.

The final work of the concert was a Shostakovich Symphony, No. 10.  Thanks to Maestro Neal Gittleman and the Philharmonic, Shostakovich’s music is familiar and ear-friendly.  In recent seasons Dayton audiences have heard Symphonies 1, 5, 11, and 15.  Add to that, concertos for violin and for piano as well as a string quartet. We certainly celebrated Dmitri’s birthday in style.

I was eager to experience the 10th symphony and compare it particularly to the politically motivated and almost military 11th.  Mahler’s symphonies may contain the world of human emotion. Shostakovich’s 10th contains a different world – that of incredible musical experiences.

Each of the four movements portrays a somber mood. The symphony opens with a long and dark solo from the double bass section. After that, the darkness continued to gather until, suddenly, Franklin Cohen’s clarinet burst in like a ray of sunshine. Such virtuoso playing changed the mood to a transparent glow which only remembered in passing the previous darkness.

Each of the movements followed a similar pattern.  Solos from flutes, bassoons, oboes and horns served as our guides through this musical world.  This great orchestra and the powerful reading of Maestro Steinberg combined to produce a spontaneous standing ovation and a procession of curtain calls highlighting each of the principals who played so magnificently.

The Cleveland Orchestra is truly great.  I relish every experience in their beautiful Severance Hall.  I can even forgive the Cleveland Browns for having a better season than our Bengals.  Now that’s the true power of great music.

Family workshop on kinetic sculpture Dec. 15

Michelle Blades will lead a Family Workshop on kinetic sculptures on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is only $15 for each adult/child pair. Space is limited; call the office at 224-3822 to make a reservation.

If you are not sure what we mean by kinetic sculpture, come in and see the Americana Redux, where you may turn cranks, pull wires and open doors to bring her miniature worlds to life.

Click for more info...

Halpern to perform UD solo concert Dec. 9

Oakwood resident Alan Halpern will perform a solo concert of classical, contemporary and liturgical music at Sears Recital Hall on the UD campus on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 4:30 p.m.  The concert, sponsored by the University of
Dayton Music Department, is free and open to the public.

Halpern, a baritone, will present Robert Schumann’s /Dichterliebe/; arias by Mozart; /Confutatis /from the Verdi Requiem; Don Quichotte, a Dulcinee by Maurice Ravel; two liturgical pieces and two songs by Lee Hoiby.  He will be accompanied throughout the program by pianist Bryon Dobbs. For more information about the concert, visit www.halperns.org

Halpern has been Executive Director and Cantorial Soloist at Temple Israel since 2003. He lives in Oakwood with his wife, Julie, and their two sons.

DTG holding auditions for Mamet play Dec. 17-18

The Dayton Theatre Guild will hold open auditions for the area premiere of David Mamet’s “Boston Marriage” Dec. 17 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rosewood Arts Centre, 2655 Olson Drive, in Kettering.  Saul Caplan directs, Kerry Corthell produces and Shannon Fent serves as stage manager.

Production dates for the show are April 18 through May 4, 2008. Director Caplan is casting the show early so the actors can have plenty of time with their scripts prior to the start of actual rehearsals. “The characters in this show are exquisitely and delicately drawn, and will present many exciting challenges for the actresses playing them,” explains Caplan.

In “Boston Marriage,” Mamet takes the convention of a Victorian comedy ala Oscar Wilde and turns it on its head with his always original take on plot and dialogue. The resulting scene of three Victorian ladies speaking their minds with often contemporary frankness is devastatingly funny and often thought–provoking.

For the audition, please bring a resume and headshot, if available, as well as a list of all schedule conflicts for March and April, 2008.  There will be cold readings from the script; however, anyone wishing to bring a monologue is welcome to do so.  

All three roles are available. The director is looking for one female in her early 20’s, and two females between the ages of 35 and 50. Detailed descriptions of the characters, as well as any additional information about the show, can be found on the website at www.daytontheatreguild.org.  Further inquiries or questions may be addressed to the director at:  dtg_boston_marriage@yahoo.com. If you are unable to attend the open auditions on Dec. 17 or 18, but would like to audition at another available time, please contact the director at this address, as well.

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December 4, 2007
Volume 16, No. 49

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