Severance
Hall
May
12
 |
| A fitting finale to an impressive tenure. |
Sunday
night’s concert was an emotional one for conductor James Feddeck,
who had to leave the stage at the conclusion of Strauss’ Death
and Transfiguration to compose himself before returning for final
bows.
“It’s
a beautiful piece of music,” he said backstage afterward.
But
the moment was fraught with much more than Strauss. It capped
Feddeck’s final performance with the Youth Orchestra, which he has
guided for the past four years. During a brief speech, he described
his time leading the young musicians as “an incredible journey,”
a sentiment they evidently shared. There were many wet eyes and hugs
exchanged as he left the stage for the last time.
This
season also marks the end of Feddeck’s tenure as assistant
conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra, which has been another
incredible journey. In the past two months alone, Feddeck stepped in
as a last-minute replacement for an ailing Franz Welser-Möst
for four mammoth performances of Carmina
Burana, and
established an historic benchmark with the “California Masterworks”
concerts at the Art Museum. Transfiguration indeed.
The
hallmarks of the Youth Orchestra under Feddeck have been its
professional standards and sound, which shone brightly in his
concluding concert. Barber’s Overture to the School for Scandal
got it off to a brisk start, with sharp opening chords setting the
tone for a witty, energetic romp. Feddeck was able to develop
surprisingly deep dynamics that at times grew fuzzy around the edges,
but were otherwise an adept rendering of the work’s animated
orchestration.
 |
| Eloquent expression. |
Dvořák’s
Cello concerto in B
minor, Op. 104 is
a sophisticated piece for any orchestra to take on, and the young age
of this one was evident in the work’s heartfelt but thin emotional
veneer. It was nonetheless lovingly crafted, with Feddeck striking a
superb sound balance between the orchestra and the soloist, Hannah
Moses. She showed impressive command of both the music and her
instrument, a 1929 Carletti cello that seems not to have a harsh note
in it. Moses played a lustrous second movement that featured an
eloquent closing dialogue with the woodwinds, and a particularly
expressive third movement backed by full-bodied lights and darks in
the orchestra. Though they lack seasoning, the players showed a great
feel for the material, and Moses displayed a technical fluency that
will only get better.
The
second half opened with Szymanowski’s brief Etude
in B flat minor, Op. 4, No. 3,
which was perhaps the most nuanced piece of the evening. Feddeck
started soft and built the sound very gradually, as it might have
emerged in the original piano version. Warm and subtle, it set the
stage for his “bittersweet” parting speech and the concluding
Strauss work.
Death
and Transfiguration
proved to be a perfect send-off, a professional-caliber performance
that started with dark, airy strains and swelled to a great dramatic
sweep. The sound was surprisingly supple coming from such a large
ensemble, with seamless segues between the many vignettes, especially
the transition from fever dreams to the momentary respite of gentle,
sparkling strings. The final section of the tone poem could have been
written for the occasion, with its heroic horns and rising theme
suggesting a sense of accomplishment and new vistas beckoning. As it
faded out, the piece seemed to breathe with the rhythm of a
heartbeat.
As
good as it was, it will not be this critic’s lasting memory of
Feddeck. That came almost a year earlier, at the Rudolfinum in Prague,
where the young conductor was leading his even younger ensemble on
their first international tour. They came to Dvořák’s
house to play his music, fully aware of the challenges and boldness
of such a move – and pulled it off. The hall was full and the
comments afterward were glowing. It was a proud moment to be from
Cleveland and a milestone for the Youth Orchestra that will provide
lasting inspiration not only for those who achieved it, but
generations to come.
For
more about the Youth Orchestra:
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/about/education/youth-orchestra.aspx
For
more on James Feddeck:
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/about/feddeck-bio.aspx
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