Cleveland Bruckner 5th at Carnegie

[tubapress]

I saw the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall last night and came away very inspired. The program included Messiaen's "Un sourire, several Mozart arias with bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff and Bruckner's Fifth Symphony. Let me preface this by noting that I have not personally been a big Cleveland Orchestra fan!

The Messiaen was very enjoyable and the orchestra played with such impeccable balance. No one instrument would dominate the texture which was really quite impressive and effective. The work reminded me at times of another of his works, "Et Expecto", in that it vaccilated between ethereal, cluster chords and quick, sort of twisted interludes.

Thomas Quasthoff then performed 3 Mozart arias: "Mentre ti lascio, o figlia", "Per questa bella mano", and "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo". If you have not heard this man's voice, you are missing out. Quasthoff's voice can be big as a house or light and transparent based on the demands of the music. He commanded the audience's attention with a connection to the music that was clear as day. The only time I found my attention diverted was during "Per Questa", which featured some stunning obbligato playing by the orchestra's Principal Bass, Maximilian Dimoff. Mr. Dimoff consequently drew rapturous applause from the New York audience and from Mr. Quasthoff. Following his Mozart arias, Mr. Quasthoff was called back 5 times until he finally gave in and sang an a cappella encore -- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. It was fascinating to watch him switch styles so easily and when he finished, on what had to have been either a low C or Bb, the audience exploded in applause. I was simply blown away! Even more inspiring are the physical hurdles placed in front of this incredible artist from infancy. Read here for more on that.

After the intermission, we were treated to Bruckner's Fifth Symphony. This was my first chance to really hear Cleveland tubist Yasuhito Sugiyama with the orchestra (I heard the Cleveland last year, but the tuba work was minimal). The orchestra played at it's usual exceptionally high level with strings and winds working their magic. In the past I have not always been a fan of the Cleveland brass concept, personally. I attribute some of this to it's former Music Director. One of the things that was so standout to me, as a tubist, about this performance was the absolutely solid anchor that Mr. Sugiyama provided for not only the brass, but the entire orchestra. His tone was huge and dark, very present but not overbearing, intonation was dead on...it was not only flawless playing, but incredibly musically sensitive playing. I found that with that solid anchor in place, the brass as a whole sounded completely different, although I would have liked a bit more bass trombone in the mix and the trumpet sound was not really to my liking. Don't get me wrong...Ron Bishop is a legend and provided us with hundreds of wonderful performances and recordings during his tenure with Cleveland. But I hear the brass sound changing in ways that excite me and I credit much of that to the particular foundation laid down at the bottom of the section.

The only thing that I found disappointing was the interpretation. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled by all those amazing Celibidache Bruckner recordings out on EMI, but although there were whole sections where Maestro Welser-Most shaped and paced beautifully, there were many sections that simply made no sense to me. More importantly, I lost track of the bigger picture.

Still, between Mr. Quasthoff's amazing performances and my being absolutely floored by Mr. Sugiyama's tuba playing, I left the hall quite inspired.

I'll be looking forward to hearing more great performances. Congratulations to Cleveland Orchestra...you've found yourselves one of the absolutely finest orchestral tubists!

[TWScott283]

GO CLEVELAND!!!

Glad you liked them - I grew up thirty-five minutes south of Cleveland, so some of my fondest musical memories revolve around that superb ensemble!

I'm currently in Texas - and can still regularly hear the Cleveland Orchestra on the radio on Saturday evenings. They are one of the things I miss most about being in Ohio! Such a tradition of great tubist in the Cleveland area!

[tubafatness]

That sounds like an amazing concert. I would have gone just for the Messiaen!

[Eupher6]

GO CLEVELAND!!!

Glad you liked them - I grew up thirty-five minutes south of Cleveland, so some of my fondest musical memories revolve around that superb ensemble!

I'm currently in Texas - and can still regularly hear the Cleveland Orchestra on the radio on Saturday evenings. They are one of the things I miss most about being in Ohio! Such a tradition of great tubist in the Cleveland area!

Pleased to see you on this site, Travis!

I'm sure you'll be with in spirit for BBWR's first concert of the season, next Saturday. It ain't the same without ya, pal!

Allen

[Mike]

Sounds like you heard one very fine concert! May I ask what kind of tuba Mr Sugiyama was playing?

[tubapress]

Sounds like you heard one very fine concert! May I ask what kind of tuba Mr Sugiyama was playing?

From a distance it looked like it was a Nirschl.