Notes of Concern......
…..Jackson Blair
Ludwig Van Beethoven Comes to Boston
OK. We got that out of the way and lots of readers have moved on to the sport columns.
For those who still think this might be about a large St. Bernard of movie fame, sorry!
For those of you who remained because you either love classical music or want to learn a little more about classical music, lets talk about some classy stuff.
James Levine, arguably the most famous Maestro of our time, currently running things at both The Metropolitan Opera house in New York City and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, embarked on a major and wonderful adventure this season.
The Maestro decided to offer all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies in one season. All nine symphonies conducted by him. All nine symphonies played by the acclaimed Boston Symphony Orchestra, and all nine being presented in the almost acoustically perfect Symphony Hall in Boston.
For you opera aficionados, this ranks right up there with a performance of Richard Wagner’s The Ring Cycle.
For you Massachusetts based baseball fans, this would be like a four-week series of continuing games between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, with all games played in Boston and with the Sox winning every one of them.
So it will come as no surprise to learn that I decided not to miss out on this occasion. I stepped right up and bought my tickets for the season.
The opening night of this spectacular series was last week. I invited a good friend to accompany me. My friend is an incredible bass player who has worked not only with major symphony orchestras but also worked and toured with Frank Sinatra and Harry James. I mention this only to give you an idea of how much tutoring I planned to get as the orchestra ventured their rendition of Beethoven’s First, Second and Fifth symphonies.
Fate intervened and there were some last minute changes.
Maestro Levine encountered some disc problems in his back and is out of commission. The BSO was fortunate to obtain the services of the famous conductor, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos.
The baton went up, the orchestra played and there was not an empty seat in the house. In fact, I noticed people standing. Evidently, my own delight at the prospect of hearing all nine symphonies in one season was shared by many who made a similar decision.
Evidently Maestro Levine’s back problems didn’t keep any one away.
The conductor, a fellow who has been around a long time and who has led many of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras, was intimately familiar with Ludwig’s work. He conducted all three symphonies without any musical score. It was obvious he knew every note, every entrance, and every nuance.
The orchestra members rose to the occasion and followed every rise and fall of his baton. He coaxed some incredible music from the ensemble.
I noticed that violinists appeared and disappeared as each symphony was presented. It was clearly a rotation the maestro had in place to allow the section some rest between some very challenging pieces. There may have been substitutions occurring in the other sections of the orchestra but I was sitting close to the violins and that was the section I could observe.
Symphonies One and Two are not terribly familiar but present some wonderful music to the listener. They are sufficiently different from one another to be really interesting to someone who has read a bit of the history surrounding their composition.
Symphony Five is familiar to most classical music fans. It is large, brassy, full, impressive, haunting, triumphant, glorious, rousing, melodic…well, you get the idea.
When the baton came down at the end of the evening, there were five curtain calls, all with standing ovations, and for one of the few times when I have been at Symphony Hall, I saw no one heading for the doors to “beat the crowd” or get their car. The audience was determined to reward the players and the Maestro with continuing ovations.
It was one of those special evenings at Symphony Hall.
The following week I went to Boston to hear Beethoven’s Third and Fourth Symphonies. The Third Symphony is also known as the Eroica symphony, written originally to laud Napoleon. As my tutor this time I had with me someone who has sung for almost twenty years with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, a group of singers who regularly sing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as well as at Tanglewood.
Maestro Levine was again indisposed and, in fact, has now accepted that he will be unable to conduct any of the nine Beethoven symphonies he planned for the season.
Again, the crowds turned out anyway and there wasn’t an empty seat. The orchestra was under the baton this time of the Assistant Conductor, Julian Kuerti , who stepped in for Levine and did an outstanding job.
He left the podium after both Symphonies with sweat running down his face and he was visibly exhausted. The ticket holders brought him back again and again to show their appreciation for his substitution and for presenting such a fine program.
My colleague, who knows about these things, told me that the “orchestra really played for him (Kuerti)” which I took to be an indication the professionals knew that subbing for James Levine was no easy task and this young “comer” had excelled tonight.
There are four more symphonies to be presented. Levine’s announcement has permitted the BSO to bring in some heavy artillery in the form of Loren Maazel the recently retired conducter of The New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a superb last minute substitute for Levine and will undoubtedly deliver two very fabulous performances.
We are fortunate in this part of the world to live so close to Symphony Hall and to have the opportunity to hear such fantastic music played so beautifully by one of the world’s greatest orchestras in one of the world’s most fabulous symphony halls.
If you can get to any Beethoven performances at Symphony Hall, make every effort to do so. There is still time!
The Boston Symphony Orchestra will not disappoint. And you will realize why of all the famous composer names and statuary evident in Symphony Hall, it is the name of Beethoven, in gold leaf, that stands center at the top of the proscenium arch of that fabled palace of great music.
