Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra

Severance Hall

March 9

He puts a spell on you.

An all-Brett Mitchell weekend at Severance Hall came to a roaring close on Sunday night with fireworks from the Cleveland Orchestra’s junior ensembles, the Youth Orchestra and Youth Chorus. With Franz Welser-Möst indisposed, Mitchell had to conduct the parent orchestra on Friday and Saturday night – in two different programs. The hat trick on Sunday gave him a chance to show what he can do with his own program and players.

The 100-plus members of the Youth Orchestra benefit from regular rehearsals with Mitchell as well as mentoring from their adult counterparts, training that showed up immediately in the opening piece, Beethoven’s overture to Fidelio. It was played with surprising sophistication and authority, pulsing with the rhythms and exuberant energy that characterize an understanding of the material.

That turned out to be only a warm-up for Hindemith’s symphonic version of Mathis der Maler. Adapted from the composer’s eponymous opera, it is a work that would tax any orchestra, offering complex descriptions of and meditations on paintings by Renaissance artist Matthias Grünewald. It also happens to be an ideal student piece, with every section of the orchestra and many individual players required to step forward at some point to carry the melody or fill in the details.

The young players responded with precision and grace, setting electric rhythms and crafting sensitive solos, particularly in the woodwinds. The brass section popped like the power section of a swing band, and the violins positively glistened. Most striking was the orchestra’s clarity. Much of that goes to Mitchell, who knows how to handle a large ensemble and keep the sound clean. But the transparency of the Youth Orchestra was remarkable, on a level that many adult orchestras strive for but never achieve.

If the orchestra was good in the first half of the concert, the chorus was sensational in the second. From the opening bars of John Corigliano’s Fern Hill, a musical treatment of the Dylan Thomas poem, the sound was crisp and responsive, like a well-tuned sports car. The women get the majority of singing time in Fern Hill, and they were warm and radiant, matching the sunny lyricism of the poem. The orchestra provided flowing accompaniment, punctuated by sharp percussion. Toward the end the sound went soft, but the emotional charge in the chorus carried the finale.

Soprano Amanda Russo provided a dusky contrast to the chorus’ bright vocals in two stanzas of Fern Hill and the concluding Drei geistlich Lieder (Three spiritual songs) by Mendelssohn. Even in the relatively simple format of liturgical music, the chorus showed great depth and range. And the effect of soaring young voices was heavenly. There is simply no way an adult chorus can match the innocence and aspiration inherent in a well-trained children’s vocal ensemble.

“Could you believe that chorus?” an exhausted but elated Mitchell said backstage afterward. It’s typical of him to shift the spotlight off himself and onto his young performers, but his point was well-taken. The concert never felt like a group of amateurs trying to sound professional. The intelligence and caliber of the playing and singing were high from the opening notes, and rarely sagged.

It was unfortunate that Maestro Welser-Möst was absent over the weekend. Cleveland audiences see little enough of him as it is, and his appearances with fellow Austrian Rudolf Buchbinder should have been one of the highlights of the season.

But no complaints about what got served up instead. From the intricacies of Rachmaninoff to the hymns of Mendelssohn, it was tasty.

For more on Brett Mitchell and the Cleveland Orchestra youth ensembles: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/education-and-community/youth-ensembles/

PREVIEW: RUDOLF BUCHBINDER

Severance Hall

March 6, 7 & 8

Buchbinder studies scores like they're suspense thrillers.

Even among top-tier classical pianists, Rudolf Buchbinder cuts a distinctive figure.

Long ago the Viennese virtuoso established himself as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of Beethoven, not only because of his superb playing skills, but because he is a scholar who has devoted considerable time to collecting and studying original manuscripts and autograph scores. His studies inform his performances, which are noted for their masterful technique, enthusiasm and generosity of spirit.

At the age of 67, Buchbinder is in demand all over the world. In January he performed in Tokyo, Berlin and London, and later this month will be traveling to Istanbul, Hamburg and Milan. In between he is making a stop at Severance Hall to play with the Cleveland Orchestra for the first time in 15 years. Cleveland audiences will not be hearing Beethoven, however. Buchbinder will be playing one of his favorite works, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Last week the pianist took time out of his busy schedule to talk about the piece from his home in Vienna.

Whose idea was it to have you play Rachmaninoff?

Franz Welser-Möst asked me to play it with him, and I’m delighted. In my opinion, there are three great variation compositions: Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the Diabelli Variations of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody, which is a great, great piece.

How long have you been playing it?

I started on this piece at the age of 14. My teacher said to me, Rudy, my little boy, now you will learn a very great and big, fantastic concerto. I was very excited, of course. But then he said, it’s Rachmaninoff’s Paganini variations. And I was so upset, because I didn’t know the piece at all! I thought he would give me like a Beethoven or Brahms concerto. But the Rachmaninoff was one of his favorite pieces, and since that time, it’s also one of mine.

Rachmaninoff had unusually large hands. Is that what makes his pieces so hard to play?

No, I don’t think you need large hands for piano playing, not even Rachmaninoff. With someone like Brahms, he had his own chords and way of playing, and you have to get used to it. But what Rachmaninoff wrote is very pianistic, in the same way that Franz Liszt composed for pianists. Rachmaninoff also wrote for us.

How do you approach the Paganini Rhapsody?

I try to play it as a big, classic concerto. I don’t care what it’s called, it’s a concerto. And by the way, very difficult to play, lousy difficult.

How long did it take before you felt you had mastered the piece?

Through my whole life, I’ve always tried to study pieces slowly. They should grow in my body, and into my body. Then I can live the piece.

So when you take on a work like the Paganini Rhapsody, it’s a lifelong project?

Absolutely. And every time I return to it, I discover something new.

Is that partly because of the research you do, studying original scores and manuscripts?

Yes, it’s fascinating. I read them like a crime novel, like Agatha Christie. Also very important for me, and I tell all my students this: Before you play a composition by someone, read a book about this person. Learn the history of his time, and become familiar with his life, his family, his loves, his women – everything. Learn a sense of place. Then you can start to study the piece.

Have you performed with Maestro Welser-Möst very much?

Several times, but never this piece. It will be a premiere, the first time we are doing it. So we’ll see how we fight together.

You two share a strong Viennese musical background.

I always say, there’s no place for any compromise in music. Either you fit together, or you shouldn’t play together. If you don’t see the music the same way, it makes no sense. With this concerto, I am looking forward very much to working with him. I’m sure it will be like huge chamber music when we play together.

What are your impressions of the Cleveland Orchestra?

I know it very well, and to me, it’s one of the greatest orchestras. What I love about this orchestra is its perfection, and at the same time the musicianship. You don’t find both in high quality very often.

Do you find much difference between playing with orchestras in Europe and America?

Not any more. The music is so international today – which in some ways is a bit sad, because orchestras are losing more and more of their own personal sound. Of course, Europe has some fantastic orchestras. But as I say, in its combination of perfection and musicianship, Cleveland is for me one of the greatest orchestras.

What do you hope that audiences in Cleveland will get from your performance?

I want to bring my personal interpretation of the Paganini Rhapsody. I hope that people in Cleveland will say, I never heard this piece like that! I want it to be really fresh.

For more on Rudolf Buchbinder: http://www.buchbinder.net

Photo by Basta