CONCERT REVIEW: Järvi introduces us to Nielsen
The Cincinnati Enquirer's Janelle Gelfand writes glowingly of this weekend's concert in Järvi introduces us to Nielsen, (March 19, 2005):
"It was a stunning evening of discovery. But then, so are most concerts under Paavo Järvi at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra these days.
"Järvi's program Friday night introduced some of the best music you've never heard, including Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 3 in its first Cincinnati Symphony performance, and the remarkable British cellist Steven Isserlis in a rarity by Dvorak.
"The orchestral showpiece on the program, Nielsen's Symphony No. 3, "Sinfonia espansiva," is an extraordinary work that travels from the majestic to the mundane. You might call Nielsen the Danish Mahler - he wrote monumental brass passages, quirky tunes in the winds, broad anthems and fantastic waltzes into his music.
"He also added the human voice. The most glorious moment came in the slow movement, when singers Caitlin Lynch and Joshua Benjamin Jeremiah (both students at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) sang a wordless solo from their balcony perches on either side of the stage.
"The first movement might have been mistaken for Shostakovich, with its bold, crashing chords in the brass and angular winds. Details in the music popped out, and the strings played fugal passages with bite. This Nielsen universe evolved into a spectacular, swirling waltz, with Järvi digging into the music as exuberantly as his players.
"The finale's broad Elgar-like theme was one that left you humming on the way home. It alternated with a chirpy little staccato tune - more of Nielsen's quirkiness.
"Järvi's reading was consistently inventive and well shaped; he made sense of what might have been a tough piece to hold together. The musicians played with spectacular precision, and the crowd was on its feet.
"Isserlis, 46, a champion of unusual music, brought, not Dvorak's familiar Concerto in B Minor, but the early, obscure Concerto in A Minor, originally for cello and piano. (A certain Gunter Raphael orchestrated and embellished it in 1929.)
"An emotive performer, he made a convincing case for its beauty. The first two movements, which were mainly romantic flights of lyricism, were an ideal vehicle for the big, gorgeous tone that he projected with his 1730 "Feuermann" Stradivarius.
"The cellist took off like a rocket in the finale, which gave us a glimmer of Dvorak's genius to come.
"Swaying in his chair and tossing his curly mop of hair, Isserlis played with an effortless technique that made double stops, arpeggios and other virtuosities look easy.
"His encore was another chance to revel in his exquisite sound: Pablo Casal's arrangement of Song of the Birds, a Catalan carol, played with a pure tone that seemed almost vocal.
"Järvi opened with a solemn, spiritual performance of Wagner's Overture to Parsifal. It was hymnlike, with seamless brass chorales and glowing sonorities. Go to this one."
"It was a stunning evening of discovery. But then, so are most concerts under Paavo Järvi at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra these days.
"Järvi's program Friday night introduced some of the best music you've never heard, including Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 3 in its first Cincinnati Symphony performance, and the remarkable British cellist Steven Isserlis in a rarity by Dvorak.
"The orchestral showpiece on the program, Nielsen's Symphony No. 3, "Sinfonia espansiva," is an extraordinary work that travels from the majestic to the mundane. You might call Nielsen the Danish Mahler - he wrote monumental brass passages, quirky tunes in the winds, broad anthems and fantastic waltzes into his music.
"He also added the human voice. The most glorious moment came in the slow movement, when singers Caitlin Lynch and Joshua Benjamin Jeremiah (both students at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) sang a wordless solo from their balcony perches on either side of the stage.
"The first movement might have been mistaken for Shostakovich, with its bold, crashing chords in the brass and angular winds. Details in the music popped out, and the strings played fugal passages with bite. This Nielsen universe evolved into a spectacular, swirling waltz, with Järvi digging into the music as exuberantly as his players.
"The finale's broad Elgar-like theme was one that left you humming on the way home. It alternated with a chirpy little staccato tune - more of Nielsen's quirkiness.
"Järvi's reading was consistently inventive and well shaped; he made sense of what might have been a tough piece to hold together. The musicians played with spectacular precision, and the crowd was on its feet.
"Isserlis, 46, a champion of unusual music, brought, not Dvorak's familiar Concerto in B Minor, but the early, obscure Concerto in A Minor, originally for cello and piano. (A certain Gunter Raphael orchestrated and embellished it in 1929.)
"An emotive performer, he made a convincing case for its beauty. The first two movements, which were mainly romantic flights of lyricism, were an ideal vehicle for the big, gorgeous tone that he projected with his 1730 "Feuermann" Stradivarius.
"The cellist took off like a rocket in the finale, which gave us a glimmer of Dvorak's genius to come.
"Swaying in his chair and tossing his curly mop of hair, Isserlis played with an effortless technique that made double stops, arpeggios and other virtuosities look easy.
"His encore was another chance to revel in his exquisite sound: Pablo Casal's arrangement of Song of the Birds, a Catalan carol, played with a pure tone that seemed almost vocal.
"Järvi opened with a solemn, spiritual performance of Wagner's Overture to Parsifal. It was hymnlike, with seamless brass chorales and glowing sonorities. Go to this one."
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