Janelle's Top Concerts of 2005

The New Year offers us a moment to reflect on the rich musical offerings we have in our city. This year, I feel privileged to have observed the strides made by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, one of the most exciting conductors on the international music scene. I traveled to China with the Cincinnati Pops, an unforgettable experience that showed a country just beginning to emerge as a huge force in the classical music industry, as well as a daunting world power. And I was lucky enough to see three opera premieres in an impressive season of new operas, nationwide.

Here are my favorites, in no particular order, by genre:

Chamber music: For me, the most rewarding and moving chamber music performance came in October, when the Beaux Arts Trio, now in its 51st season, made another visit to Chamber Music Cincinnati. A reviewer could write about how flawlessly they performed trios by Martinu, Beethoven and Schubert (the E-flat). But the real joy was observing octogenarian and founding member Menahem Pressler, who propelled the ensemble from the piano with affection, energy and spark. The effortless communication between these trio members, who included British violinist Daniel Hope and Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses, was something to behold.

Piano: This year I was deeply impressed by two CCM faculty members – one celebrating a 25th anniversary and the other brand new – who gave piano recitals to packed houses in Werner Recital Hall on the CCM campus. In October, Eugene Pridonoff performed a spectacular recital for his 25th that included a breathtaking performance of Liszt’s B Minor Sonata, a feat of monumental power, architecture, majesty and knuckle-breaking virtuosity.

In December, Awadagin Pratt brought a kind of fierce passion to his blockbuster program that introduced him as a new faculty member. What an introduction it was! His Beethoven sonatas - the E Major, Op. 14, No. 1 and A-flat Major, Op. 110 - were probing and dramatically explosive, yet delivered with such clarity that the listener discovered elements one never knew existed. In particular, Beethoven's great Op. 110, with its thundering climaxes and rapt soft passages, was a revelation of color and emotion.

Opera: It's no accident that Osvaldo Golijov was just named Composer of the Year by Musical America. In August, I traveled to Santa Fe to see "Ainadamar," a stunning new opera by the Argentinean composer and author David Henry Hwang. Powerful, moving and exquisitely crafted, it deals with the violent death of Spanish author Federico Garcia Lorca, as seen through the eyes of his principal interpreter, actress Margarita Xirgu. "Ainadamar" means "Fountain of Tears," the place where Lorca was executed.

Just 75 minutes in length, the opera was a mesmerizing intersection of true history, the fantastic imagination of Hwang and the musical genius of Golijov, who is known for weaving Latin melodies and rhythms and Eastern European Klezmer music into his scores. His muse was the magnificent Dawn Upshaw, who was riveting as Margarita. Then there was the surreal set design by Gronk – Guernica-like painted murals covering three walls and the stage floor. Talk about inspired collaboration!

(Watch for concert performances of "Ainadamar" at Lincoln Center next month.)

"Doctor Atomic": In October, on my way to China, I stopped in San Francisco to see the world premiere production of "Doctor Atomic" by John Adams and Peter Sellars (who also directed) in the War Memorial Opera House. Although lengthy and in need of a few editorial decisions (why do composers all seem to have this problem??), I found it an opera of moving and disturbing relevance, and I was absolutely captivated. The "Doctor," of course, is J. Robert Oppenheimer, who with Edward Teller and others developed the atom bomb in what was called the "Manhattan Project." In particular, I think it is Adams' finest, most sophisticated score.

Here's something I'll bet the opera creators didn’t know: I once escorted Edward Teller around Cincinnati for a day. He had a wooden leg, and told me he used to ski on it when he was at Los Alamos!

"Margaret Garner": Nothing can describe the impact of this opera, that I felt privileged to observe from early in its creation, through workshops and the world premiere in Detroit, to its Cincinnati premiere, just blocks from where the actual story took place. When I saw it again in Cincinnati in July, I was truly surprised at how deeply moved I felt by this emotional story of courage and hope, told so beautifully by Toni Morrison, with spellbinding music crafted by Richard Danielpour.

Cincinnati May Festival: In May, the return of Cincinnati's native son James Levine to conduct May Festival forces for the first time in 25 years was simply an extraordinary event. He led Berlioz’s "Requiem," and the spectacle alone was something rarely seen in America: Nearly 340 performers onstage included the May Festival Chorus, Chamber Choir and Chorale from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and an expanded Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - including 16 timpani and four brass bands.

Yet for all its massive, sometimes raucous sound, there was a remarkable clarity to this performance, given in one unbroken, 85-minute span. Levine's view was warmly expansive, clear and at times, mystical.

Just a night earlier, Two of the world's greatest Wagnerian singers, soprano Deborah Voigt and tenor Ben Heppner, came together for the first time in Act II of "Tristan und Isolde," a concert performance under the baton of James Conlon in Music Hall. It was one of those rare moments of music making that one feels lucky to witness, and the hall erupted in cheers for nearly 10 minutes at its conclusion. What a season!

(Yes, that's the newly slim Voigt, above.)

Symphony: It would be difficult to choose just one performance under the baton of Paavo Järvi. How many times have you heard Dvorak's New World Symphony? It could have been a ho-hum evening last March, but it was a voyage of discovery, as Järvi found something new to say in every measure. Where many performances are full of tension, his view was warmer, more spontaneous and often slower than one usually hears. That pulling back in the lyrical themes brought to the fore the nostalgic, folk-like quality.

In January, getting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall involved more than "practice, practice practice" - in the wake of a record-setting East Coast snowstorm that dumped nearly 14 inches of snow on New York. But Monday morning, a day after the symphony's flight had been canceled, Delta found a plane to get the orchestra to the Big Apple in time for its 45th concert in the fabled hall.
The big question remained: Would anyone come? New Yorkers were still digging out from "The Blizzard of 2005."

Come they did – along with no fewer than 15 music writers -- for a memorable performance of Sibelius' Fifth. The great climactic buildups in the Sibelius had visceral power; the opening had a compelling sense of mystery as it unfolded with tremolos in the strings and mournful calls in the bassoon (William Winstead). Järvi, who led without a score, gauged the work's power in steady increments, urging his players to the finale's craggy theme with whole-body, sweeping gestures. As they reached their goal, the arresting sound of cracking, "ricochet" effects by the string basses added power to the moment.

For the encore, Sibelius' "Valse triste," Carnegie Hall was as quiet as I’ve ever heard it.

Happy New Year!