“Go away Winter. Here’s Spring. We love you, let’s dance.”
That seemed to be the message the Cleveland Orchestra, led by visiting conductor Klaus Mäkelä, conveyed in April 18th’s scintillating concert.
Mäkelä, in the second of two weekends guest-directing the Cleveland Orchestra, showed why he has been snapped up as the Chicago Symphony’s newest maestro. Not only is his conducting nuanced and intuitive, it is also very physical (and hence) fun to watch.
French composer Darius Milhaud’s The Ox on the Roof or Le Boeuf sur le toit, Op. 58 (1920) opened the program. While its whimsical use of Brazilian melodies had a bouncy “new music for the 1920s” vibe, its rondos, while well-played, contributed little and grew tiresome (like an old joke repeated too many times).
Following that, the orchestra launched with gusto into George Gershwin’s gorgeous Concerto in F (1925). Piano soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet reveled in the jazz, melody and joy embedded in the work. Mäkelä, dancing on the podium, amplified the concerto’s energy as he encouraged orchestra instrumentalists to have their say too. And they did. Lush strings, flutes, trumpets, trombones, woodwinds, percussion — alright, everyone in the orchestra — added to this passionate performance.
After intermission, the “big piece,” Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (1913), continued the energy. The Rite of Spring was composed for a ballet for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in partnership with dancer-choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. At the time the work was radical and certainly not expected by staid classical music audiences when it premiered in Paris. There was a famous mini-riot of objection at its first performance (which, of course, was great PR).
Today, however, Stravinsky’s musical depiction of ritual sacrifice to welcome spring fits neatly into the “classical music” box. Times have changed.
Conductor Mäkelä and the orchestra painted a vivid picture. The work depicts a tranquil community resigned to a customary and deadly habit each spring: a virgin is chosen to dance herself to death to protect citizens from harm. One imagines gentle dancers moving about like trees in the breeze as the piece begins. However, very soon a storm of timpani, brass and shrieking woodwinds builds intensity and volume. Mäkelä, at times bouncing with such enthusiasm the podium seemed a trampoline, celebrated the finale as the maiden (evidently) died from dancing too much. It was a powerful performance that did not require the ballet dancers to make its tragic point (but I would have liked to see them anyway).
Bottom Line: It was a bit like a rock concert and, if we had all been standing instead of perched sedately in our seats, we all might have danced and waved lights. It was that good. Bravo.
One Response to “MUSIC REVIEW: Cleveland Orchestra with Klaus Mäkelä by Laura Kennelly”
EDWARD MYCUE
Happy days and nights with the Cleveland Orchestra with the bottom line staggering to the top of crazy.