Cleveland Orchestra may feel more comfortable at home

Oberlin performances receive moderate reviews compared to other dates

The Cleveland Orchestra's annual visit to Finney Chapel on Oct. 11 was met, as usual, with mild response. It has been at least two years since the orchestra's Oberlin concert created any lasting impression. The concert two years ago featured Prokofiev's First Symphony and Beethoven's Fourth conducted by Christoff von Dohnanyi, and both performances were well worth hearing. As for last year's concert, some considered it a failure.

This year's concert started well enough, opening with Wagner's Prelude to Tristan and Isolde. Conductor Franz Welser-Most created an atmosphere well matched to the foreboding first few phrases. The wind playing in general was well-balanced, but several discrepancies, such as a sloppy post-climax oboe solo, detracted from the seductive powers of the music. However, there were memorable moments.

The entrance of the cellos filled the hall with a full rich tone. The buildup to the climax, an area where many conductors opt for a sentimentally drawn-out tempo, was propelled with an exciting forward momentum. But that's just what one expects of this conductor. His beat-keeping is so exacting that the moment he allows for a slight pause, or even a lingered note (as on the climactic chord), the resulting rhythmic freedom becomes all the more satisfying.

In a dramatic reading of the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto, Clemens Hagen and the orchestra captured the various characterizations demanded by the score. Many of the aleatoric sections clearly conveyed moods ranging from jovial and haunting to downright frightful. Occasionally players seemed unmatched in their interpretive ideas, resulting in uncomfortably vague moments in the orchestral sections. Hagen's playing made up for much of this ambiguity. His technique was refined and his confidence engaging.

Wagner's prelude to Parsifal, which followed, again showed a Cleveland Orchestra not in full command of its capabilities. Despite the precision and the tone of the opening string unisons, the excellent control of ensemble and the solid brass in the middle section, the overall effect of this Prelude was uneven and anti-climactic. There was little sense of the large-scale form and there were no hushed tremolos or long flowing lines which we should expect from one of the finest orchestras in the world. Though it had its moments, in the end it seemed little more than academic.

Schumann's Second Symphony comprised the entire second half of the program, and the playing was enough to render the concert redeemed. Particularly successful was the use of contrast. The strings displayed their ability to juxtapose the rugged with the lyrical. The repeat of the exposition was justified by a graciously more expansive second time through. As in the Lutoslawski, character changes were marked and exciting.

It was not until the second movement that the full orchestra was seen totally involved and enthused. The Scherzo theme was taken quite fast, and this excited tempo seemed to influence the ensuing Trio. The relentless tempo didn't relax again until the chorale-like second trio, but the excitement resurfaced at the final return and the movement closed with a rush of energy in the strings, leaving it one of the most memorable movements of the concert.

Welser-Most's metronomic baton proved on separate occasions both liberating and debilitating. The steady nature of the Scherzo theme was a charming alternative to the often heard rubato-laden renderings of this movement. However, his precise time-keeping led to several characterless accompaniments in the third movement solos and even undermined the personal quality of the fugal section in the middle of that movement.

The third movement had its ups and downs. None of the many wind solos were very memorable, and few of the many opportunities for transcendent moments (including the metamorphosis from minor to major in the middle of the movement) were savored. One notable exception must be made for the delicious cello turn figure in the coda.

The finale was played with the same flair as the Scherzo, and it was satisfying to see, for example, the lower strings playing so boisterously in the rondo theme. The sweeping violin melody after the grand pause offered excellent contrast and the build-up to the return to C major was graduated effectively.

Though the symphony ended triumphantly, the concert as a whole was deserving of the mild responses it drew. There is an attitude often prevalent among professionals which allows for performances in inferior venues to be of lower quality.

Quite often, principal players decline to play at such concerts, and the players who remain frequently fail to give a committed performance. In a typical Severance Hall concert, we witness the sincere effort of every musician, and it is not uncommon to hear every note played with feeling and finesse. Yet in Finney Chapel, much of that is lost. Solos become perfunctory, nuances dissipate, and the emotive reaction of the audience is simply less.

It can be taken for granted that this orchestra knows how to play well, and a half-involved performance will still bring its fair share of memorable moments and a hearty round of applause. But we should expect one of the best orchestras in the world to be professional enough not to allow a less than stellar performance.

It would be a mistake to think that Sunday's performance represents the orchestra at its finest, and for a truly moving performance, one is best advised to see them in their home town of Cleveland.