López-Cobos, CSO Tour Spain

(first published in The Cincinnati Post Jan. 31, 2001)

BILBAO, SPAIN
   Rain followed the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to Spain for the first leg of its European tour this week.
   Bilbao, where the orchestra landed after a changeover in Frankfurt Sunday, was cold and rainy, putting a damper on the group's free day Monday. Undeterred (there was even hail in the morning), some ventured to north to coastal San Sebastian for a winter walk on the beach, while others rented cars for a drive into the surrounding Basque country.
   A car bombing Sunday in San Sebastian and demonstrations outside one of the Bilbao tour hotels Tuesday and Wednesday were reminders of continuing unrest by Basque separatists, who seek autonomy from Spain.
   Clouds lifted briefly Tuesday for a post-rehearsal visit to architect Frank Gehry's celebrated Guggenheim Museum, which sits like an enormous glittering life form (fish? flower?) on the Ria de Bilbao. After paying respects to Jeff Koons' collosal topiary puppy sitting serenely at the entrance, CSO players, staff and guests wandered through the building's vast convoluted spaces, awed (and often perplexed) by the minimalist installations, which included several mazes, an arrangement of harnesses (one neon) and a black fiberglass dome suggesting nothing so much as a huge fuzzy dot.
   It was back to work Tuesday evening with the CSO's first concert in Bilbao's brand new Palacio de Congresos y de la Musica Euskalduna Juregia, a contemporary-style neighbor of the Guggenheim opened last year. Lit outside by bundles of "light sticks," the ship-shaped hall features a wood-clad interior with triangular light fixtures, a pinpoint-lit ceiling and promenades paved in white tile with blue fish inlaid mosaic-style.
   Lack of aggressive promotion -- an interview with CSO music director Jesus López-Cobos done weeks ahead ran only the day before the concert, and no placards could be seen around town -- made for empty seats in the 2,200-seat hall (Barcelona and Madrid are sold out). Likewise, the audience had to wait for intermission to receive their programs, but the 1,600 or so in attendance showed great enthusiasm for their countryman and his American orchestra.
   The program, Samuel Barber's "School for Scandal" Overture, Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony drew sustained "bravos" and four encores: one for cello soloist Han-Na Chang (Saint-Saens' "The Swan") and three for the CSO, including the Spanish Dance from Manuel de Falla's "La Vida Breve" and Ruperto Chapi's Prelude to "La Revoltsa," both of which elicited cries of delight and a final standing ovation.
   After the concert, players and staff adjourned to local restaurants for "tapas," a Spanish treat consisting of several small courses accompanied by wine. This writer enjoyed jamon serrano (the region's special salt-cured ham), grilled shrimp, cuttlefish, pimientos, mushrooms and sauteed asparagus.
   A noonday flight Wednesday brought the orchestra to Barcelona, where they will spend two days. Wednesday's concert is in the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a 1908 Modernista landmark adorned with stained glass. López-Cobos will entertain the orchestra with a party featuring flamenco dancing afterwards.
   After a free day Thursday, the orchestra travels to Madrid for its climactic concert at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica. The 10 p.m. performance will be a sentimental one for López-Cobos, who after overseeing the construction of the hall, conducted the first concert there in 1988. Heightening the drama of the occasion, the National Orchestra of Spain, which Lopez-Cobos served as music director from 1984-88, will perform immediately before the CSO at 7 p.m.
   The CSO travels to Munich Saturday for the German portion of the trip (Munich, Rosenheim, Mannheim and Berlin, through Feb. 8). Final stop is Warsaw Feb. 10. The group returns to Cincinnati Feb. 11.
(published at www.musicalamerica.com in January, 2001.)