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The Cleveland Orchestra in New York (III): Measha Brueggergosman (soprano), Nancy Maultsby (mezzo-soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Raymond Aceto (bass) Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Franz Welser-Möst (conductor), Carnegie Hall, New York City, 7.2.2009 (BH)

Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183 (1773)
Debussy: Nocturnes (1897-1899)
Janáček: Glagolitic Mass (1926-1927)


You don't hear much Czech sung by American choirs, yet the superb Cleveland Orchestra Chorus was at the centerpiece of a rare performance of Janáček's Glagolitic Mass, capping three nights at Carnegie Hall by Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra.  Written the same year as the composer's Sinfonietta, the piece opens and closes with a similar brass-infused "Intrada," which here was both breathless and violent.  Yes, I wish that Carnegie had a pipe organ for large-scale works such as this, but there's no point in that daydream overshadowing the work of organist Joela Jones, principal keyboard for the orchestra, who played brilliantly, especially in the stormy solo near the end.  Soprano Measha Brueggergosman sounded more secure and with greater presence than she did the first night in Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, and Nancy Maultsby was warmly ingratiating in her brief mezzo appearance.  Tenor Stuart Skelton was ardent and radiant, even when almost engulfed by Janáček's seething orchestra, and Raymond Aceto made you wish the brief bass part were longer than it is.

But the force of the chorus seemed the rudder that kept this ship on track, with radiance and rhythmic precision.  Most impressive in the huge tuttis, the group was equally impressive in quiet passages, able to scale back when needed, as gentle as an outstretched hand.  Kudos to director Robert Porco for encouraging the ensemble to such heights.  Welser-Möst seemed challenged and energized by the score, drawing an unusually incandescent performance from the orchestra.

An elegant reading of Mozart's Symphony No. 25 began the concert, with the scaled-back group impressively cohesive in attack and phrasing.  Refinement characterized the Andante, especially its soft moments, which registered with unusual delicacy.  The third movement combined piquant wind choirs with burnt-umber strings, and the finale was again notable for accents and articulation.

Making economical use of the chorus already on the premises, Welser-Möst showed off the women in Debussy's Nocturnes.  But starry turns were elsewhere, too: in "Nuages," the English horn shone as if a beacon, cutting through fog, and in "Fêtes," after a majestic brass climax near the beginning, the two harps were glorious.  But when the women's voices entered in "Sirènes," intonation ultra-secure especially in the top notes, I started anticipating what they would do later in the Janáček.  Further, with the group seemingly able to produce an effortless hush at a moment's notice, I began to wonder, Is the Cleveland the quietest major orchestra in the world?

Bruce Hodges


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