The
Cleveland
Orchestra I:
at Carnegie Hall, New York City, 04.10.2006 (BH)
Von
Suppé: Overture to Light
Cavalry
(1865-66)
Mozart:
Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 (1784)
Mozart:
"Porgi amor" and "E Susanna non vien!
Dove sono" from The Marriage of Figaro (1786)
J.
Strauss: "Artist’s Life" Waltz, Op. 316
(1867)
J.
Strauss: "Annen" Polka, Op. 117 (1852)
J.
Strauss: Overture to Die Fledermaus (1874)
The
Cleveland Orchestra
Franz
Welser-Möst,
Conductor
Leif Ove
Andsnes, Piano
Dorothea
Röschmann,
Soprano
Friends
have often heard me say, “I’ll hear the Cleveland Orchestra
play anything,” a glib characterization which was severely
tested on this occasion, the opening night of Carnegie
Hall, by a program that on paper looked pleasant but a
wee bit conservative. Thankfully the actual evening
turned out to be very tasty if not life-changing, but
then not every concert has to be one that rearranges one’s
DNA. To be fair, I asked my listening companions
when they had last heard von Suppé’s Light Cavalry
Overture in live performance, and neither they nor
I could recall anything within the last two decades –
so much for branding this one as “over-programmed.”
Its familiarity through legions of advertisements and
cartoons makes one think it is ubiquitous, but the reality
is otherwise. In any case, the Cleveland Orchestra
is the military band one wants to hear in this piece,
especially with Michael Sachs’ dazzling solo trumpet leading
the charge.
Leif
Ove Andsnes offered clean playing to match the ultra sheen
of the Cleveland ensemble in Mozart’s Piano Concerto
No. 17, and with a reduced ensemble in extraordinarily
respectful accompaniment, Andsnes reminded me that in
this big anniversary year there have been many outstanding
Mozart performances to offset the humdrum ones.
Some friends expressed skepticism about his Mozartean
abilities, but with a lithe, slightly sinewy touch, Andsnes
found poignancy in what is overall a rather gleeful piece.
The Cleveland winds executed some spectacular work that
only added to the pleasure.
The
other scheduled soloist for the evening, Thomas Quasthoff,
called in sick early in the day, leaving the hall to scramble
for a replacement, and fortunately they found a great
one, Dorothea
Röschmann, starring
in Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Met. From The
Marriage of Figaro, she brought out a lustrous
“Porgi amor” and then brought down the house with the
popular “E Susanna non vien! Dove sono.” Comments
from others express doubt over the sheer beauty of her
voice but I find much to admire, and her astute sense
of drama served her well here. While I imagine many
in the audience were disappointed not to hear Quasthoff
(not to mention the glorious Mahler songs he chose) all
that regret seemed to fade into the background just a
few moments after Röschmann
began. I suspect she made many new converts in the
short time she was onstage.
Welser-Möst
has made Johann Strauss something of a specialty.
Friends who heard him conduct an entire Strauss program
a few years back said it was the best concert they’d heard
him do, and an encore last year was an uncompromisingly
sumptuous Emperor Waltz. So it was no surprise
that Artist’s Life was vigorous, almost violent
in places, yet more balanced and entertaining than it
might be in lesser hands. Welser-Möst followed it
with a winsome Annen Polka, tiptoeing in like someone
who isn’t quite sure she is welcome, and then totally
changed the mood with a smashing Overture to Die Fledermaus.
This latter, particularly, was overflowing with high spirits
and some sensational playing, possibly the best I’ve ever
heard in a work that sometimes wears out its welcome even
before it enters the room.
Bruce Hodges
