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Re: Last night at Severance Hall

Posted by Square Peg on February 3, 2007 at 12:45:13

In Reply to: Re: I'm going to hear them tonight posted by Square Peg on February 2, 2007 at 02:52:47:

My last visit was over 20 years ago. All the names I knew and grew up with were gone and the hall renovated.

Ivan Fischer opened with a very enjoyable work, Symphonic Minutes by Dohnanyi and then Hillary Hahn played the Dvorak Violin Concerto which contains one melodic line, too many duets with the overly-loud orchestra and no cadenzas. Then Fischer liberace'd his way through the Dvorak Eighth. Hungarian schmalz aside, it was obvious that Fischer had spent his rehearsal time with the orchestra well and the sound was well balanced.

I made the 170 mile round trip really to hear Miss Hahn and was not disappointed. She is much more than just an athlete with a violin. And she really is an athlete, using her whole body as part of her technique of strength and grace without the mannered swayings of other artists. I only wished that she had played the Stravinsky. Or even one of The Four. IMHO, she is a once-in-a-generation virtuoso.

She performed a Sonata movement, I couldn't hear the title or composer, as a curtain call, chosen, perhaps, to show what she could do after the rather simple Dvorak.

With Szell's 'sounding board' removed from the back of the shell the acoustic is richer and more sonorous than before. It also makes it a bit harder to hear the pinpoint ensemble playing that Szell achieved. In other words, you can't hear as well whether the players are right together or not.

My seat was nearly perfect, just one seat away from dead center in the eleventh row of the main floor so I could hear the changes quite well. The seating of the orchestra has dramatically changed with the Violas front right and the Cellos where the woodwinds used to be with the woodwinds behind them. John Mack's Oboe, which used to be in front of Szell is now off to the right and the only visible reed player is Franklin Cohen on Clarinet. That's alright as he is a fine musician who played his leading parts in the Dohnanyi and Eighth Symphony with style, wonderful tone and technique.

The Cleveland Orchestra may no longer be "the best band in the land" as the New York Times wrote back in the 60's but still among the best.

'The beatings will continue until morale improves'

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