A classical Top 10
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's season begins with Beethoven and ends on a jazzy note
By Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 12, 2005
Paavo Järvi is back for his fifth season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. While it's not exactly "classical lite," this year's programs are definitely user-friendly. There's a generous dose of music you can hum (concerts of all-Beethoven, all-Mozart and all-Rachmaninoff). And for the more adventurous, there's the edgy Estonian Erkki-Sven Tuur.
Järvi says it's difficult to choose just one favorite program, but some highlights are Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the CSO debut of the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. He is especially looking forward to the jazz-inspired program with Wayne Marshall, which promises to "be very fresh and fun."
If 24 different programs leave you clueless about what to sample, here are 10 picks for the coming season, which starts Friday.
A blast of Beethoven, Sept. 16-17 - Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Choral," is one of the most thrilling works ever written. Paavo Järvi conducts this all-Beethoven program. An excellent cast of opera stars - including hometown favorite Stanford Olsen - joins the May Festival Chorus in the famous "Ode to Joy."
A musical giant, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 - She may be petite, but Xian Zhang, 31, is making a name for herself as a dynamo on the podium. The former faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, now associate conductor at the New York Philharmonic, conducts music by her Chinese countrywoman Chen Yi and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
A toast to Kunzel, Oct. 7-8 - You can bet there will be lots of fanfare when Pops conductor Erich Kunzel celebrates 40 years in Cincinnati. Opera diva Frederica von Stade performs Brahms' "Alto Rhapsody."
A long way from Woodward High, Dec. 2-3 - Grammy-winning Richard Stoltzman, one of the best clarinetists in the world (and a Woodward High grad) returns under the animated baton of Japanese conductor Junichi Hirokami.
Look ma, one hand, Jan. 13-14 - French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is soloist in Ravel's difficult Piano Concerto for Left Hand. And Järvi conducts two beautiful works that aren't heard that often - Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" from his opera "Peter Grimes" and Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" (Mathis the Painter).
It's an enigma, Jan. 19-21 - Don't know a trombone from a clarinet? Järvi leads "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," by Benjamin Britten, and American pianist Garrick Ohlsson plays Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor. Oh, yeah, there's also Edward Elgar's famous "Enigma" Variations.
Bad boys and warhorses, Feb. 9, 11 - Maestro William Eddins returns with American music by Aaron Jay Kernis ("Musica celestis" is a beautiful piece) and "bad boy" George Antheil. You'll love Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 (the warhorse) with Jon Kimura Parker.
Brother-sister act, March 3-4 - Don't miss top-notch violinist Christian Tetzlaff and his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, when they play Brahms' "Double" Concerto. Järvi conducts Schumann's lyrical Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish."
Happy Birthday, Mozart, April 7-8 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would be 250 years old. Maestro Jaime Laredo, a local favorite, returns to conduct Mozart's first and last symphonies, and pianist Benjamin Hochman takes a turn with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271.
All that jazz, April 21-23 - Järvi's jazz concert includes Kurt Weill's Suite from "The Threepenny Opera"; Bernstein's "Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs" (original jazz version) and Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Jazz pianist Wayne Marshall and the symphony's principal clarinetist, Richie Hawley, add a few riffs of their own.
IF YOU GO
What: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, "Choral," Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Camilla Tilling, soprano; Jane Gilbert, mezzo-soprano; Stanford Olsen, tenor; Stephen Powell, bass; May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco, director
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Tickets: $18.50-$76.75; $10 students. (513) 381-3300; www.cincinnatisymphony.org
SYMPHONY BY THE NUMBERS
• 2 Number of albums the symphony will record for Telarc: A British disc with Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" and Elgar's "Enigma" Variations and a Rachmaninoff album.
• 5 Number of Thursday-night concerts with free buffet dinners
• 5 Price ($5) of a children's ticket (ages 6-18) for Sunday afternoon concerts
• 5 Number of seasons under Paavo Järvi
• 9 Piano soloists
• 10 Guest conductors
• 14 Concerts Järvi conducts
• 15 Guest artist debuts
• 17 Premieres, eight by living composers
• 0 Years since Erich Kunzel made his Cincinnati Symphony debut
• 111 Number of Cincinnati Symphony seasons so far
• 235 People onstage for Beethoven's Ninth (150 May Festival Chorus singers; 84 musicians; 1 Järvi)
By Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 12, 2005
Paavo Järvi is back for his fifth season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. While it's not exactly "classical lite," this year's programs are definitely user-friendly. There's a generous dose of music you can hum (concerts of all-Beethoven, all-Mozart and all-Rachmaninoff). And for the more adventurous, there's the edgy Estonian Erkki-Sven Tuur.
Järvi says it's difficult to choose just one favorite program, but some highlights are Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the CSO debut of the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. He is especially looking forward to the jazz-inspired program with Wayne Marshall, which promises to "be very fresh and fun."
If 24 different programs leave you clueless about what to sample, here are 10 picks for the coming season, which starts Friday.
A blast of Beethoven, Sept. 16-17 - Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Choral," is one of the most thrilling works ever written. Paavo Järvi conducts this all-Beethoven program. An excellent cast of opera stars - including hometown favorite Stanford Olsen - joins the May Festival Chorus in the famous "Ode to Joy."
A musical giant, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 - She may be petite, but Xian Zhang, 31, is making a name for herself as a dynamo on the podium. The former faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, now associate conductor at the New York Philharmonic, conducts music by her Chinese countrywoman Chen Yi and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
A toast to Kunzel, Oct. 7-8 - You can bet there will be lots of fanfare when Pops conductor Erich Kunzel celebrates 40 years in Cincinnati. Opera diva Frederica von Stade performs Brahms' "Alto Rhapsody."
A long way from Woodward High, Dec. 2-3 - Grammy-winning Richard Stoltzman, one of the best clarinetists in the world (and a Woodward High grad) returns under the animated baton of Japanese conductor Junichi Hirokami.
Look ma, one hand, Jan. 13-14 - French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is soloist in Ravel's difficult Piano Concerto for Left Hand. And Järvi conducts two beautiful works that aren't heard that often - Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" from his opera "Peter Grimes" and Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" (Mathis the Painter).
It's an enigma, Jan. 19-21 - Don't know a trombone from a clarinet? Järvi leads "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," by Benjamin Britten, and American pianist Garrick Ohlsson plays Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor. Oh, yeah, there's also Edward Elgar's famous "Enigma" Variations.
Bad boys and warhorses, Feb. 9, 11 - Maestro William Eddins returns with American music by Aaron Jay Kernis ("Musica celestis" is a beautiful piece) and "bad boy" George Antheil. You'll love Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 (the warhorse) with Jon Kimura Parker.
Brother-sister act, March 3-4 - Don't miss top-notch violinist Christian Tetzlaff and his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, when they play Brahms' "Double" Concerto. Järvi conducts Schumann's lyrical Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish."
Happy Birthday, Mozart, April 7-8 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would be 250 years old. Maestro Jaime Laredo, a local favorite, returns to conduct Mozart's first and last symphonies, and pianist Benjamin Hochman takes a turn with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271.
All that jazz, April 21-23 - Järvi's jazz concert includes Kurt Weill's Suite from "The Threepenny Opera"; Bernstein's "Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs" (original jazz version) and Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Jazz pianist Wayne Marshall and the symphony's principal clarinetist, Richie Hawley, add a few riffs of their own.
IF YOU GO
What: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, "Choral," Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Camilla Tilling, soprano; Jane Gilbert, mezzo-soprano; Stanford Olsen, tenor; Stephen Powell, bass; May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco, director
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Tickets: $18.50-$76.75; $10 students. (513) 381-3300; www.cincinnatisymphony.org
SYMPHONY BY THE NUMBERS
• 2 Number of albums the symphony will record for Telarc: A British disc with Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" and Elgar's "Enigma" Variations and a Rachmaninoff album.
• 5 Number of Thursday-night concerts with free buffet dinners
• 5 Price ($5) of a children's ticket (ages 6-18) for Sunday afternoon concerts
• 5 Number of seasons under Paavo Järvi
• 9 Piano soloists
• 10 Guest conductors
• 14 Concerts Järvi conducts
• 15 Guest artist debuts
• 17 Premieres, eight by living composers
• 0 Years since Erich Kunzel made his Cincinnati Symphony debut
• 111 Number of Cincinnati Symphony seasons so far
• 235 People onstage for Beethoven's Ninth (150 May Festival Chorus singers; 84 musicians; 1 Järvi)
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