CSO Heads for the Beach

(first published in The Cincinnati Post March 22, 2004)

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, "just back" from a tour of Japan in November, heads for the beach Wednesday.

Vero Beach, that is, first stop on a seven-day tour of the Sunshine State.

There will be no time for dipping in the ocean, however. They will be too busy.

The tour, the CSO’s third with music director Paavo Järvi, also includes Sarasota, Orlando, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Naples, six concerts in six days.

"It’s the most economical way to do it," said CSO board president Steven Monder. "And for obvious reasons, that’s very much on our mind."

Like virtually all American orchestras, the CSO is facing tough economic times. Projected deficit for the 2003-04 fiscal year (ending Aug. 31) is $1.4 million, three times its 02-03 shortfall.

"The total cost of our tour to Florida will be covered by the fees our concerts will generate," said Monder.

The Vero Beach concert is sold out and Fort Lauderdale is selling very well, CSO officials said. All of the concerts are part of local subscription series, with fees paid to the CSO by the local presenter.

Guest artists will be the Eroica Trio - pianist Erika Nickrenz, violinist Adela Pena and cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio - the glamorous ensemble who helped open the CSO season in September, 2002. The trio will perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, the same work they performed with the CSO.

Tour repertoire (two programs) also includes Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 (previewed at Music Hall last weekend), Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 ("Haffner"), Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

Why Florida?

"Florida has become a touring circuit for all the major orchestras," said Monder. "First of all, there are some very nice halls down there (Broward Hall in Fort Lauderdale, Van Wezel Hall in Sarasota and the new, modern Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples).

"Secondly, there are a lot of residents in Florida who still spend part of the year there or used to live in major cities in the U.S. Orchestras tour there in part to keep in touch with these people."

The CSO expects to see many of its friends on the tour, said Monder.

"There will be a couple of receptions. Naples is being hosted by our presenter Myra Daniels. And in Sarasota by (Cincinnati residents) Dr. and Mrs. Ira Abrahamson. He called and said he’d like to do it for the orchestra."

Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel, former principal pops conductor of the Naples Philharmonic, has a home in Naples and is expected to attend the concert there. The Greater Cincinnati Convention and Business Bureau will bring a group of customers and clients to the concert in Orlando.

The orchestra will rendezvous with some other Cincinnatians "on tour." The CSO brasses, led by principal French hornist Thomas Sherwood, will play the National Anthem at the Reds’ pre-season game March 26 in Sarasota.

The CSO last toured Florida in March, 1995 under the direction of music director (now music director emeritus) Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

Touring, whether it is Japan or Florida, has important artistic benefits, said Järvi.

"It’s important to be on the road together, to do things together, to play the same repertory more than once. And with every concert you play outside your own city you are building a reputation.

"Playing for the presenters in Florida - who represent major orchestras, big European orchestras - it’s word of mouth. That’s how news travels in the classical music world."

The schedule in Florida is "really brutal, no walk in the park," he said. But you learn how to cope.

"It’s a different mind set. A lot of routine needs to be re-thought and it’s because you have no other choice. If you need to get from one place to another and you don’t have time to sleep before the concert (part of Järvi’s usual pre-concert routine) you find a different way of relaxing.

"You tap into a different source of energy which keeps you focused. I don’t remember a tour where the concerts were any worse because of the fatigue."

There is a kind of energy that comes from being onstage, even when you are tired, he said. "It’s something different from normal."

With his recent Grammy win (for "Sibelius Cantatas" with the orchestra and choirs of his native Estonia) Järvi is getting lots of requests for interviews, he said.

"There is going to be quite a lot of press." He will do signings of his CSO CDs at the concert venues, he said.

The tour repertoire is "very substantial and it suits the orchestra," he said. "It’s really our repertoire, real masterpieces that we’ve done. We’re not going with little show pieces and trying to win easy popularity."

With the concerts scheduled on consecutive days, there will be no free day for the orchestra, a component usually built into CSO tours, said Monder.

"A free day is expensive. Given the (financial) circumstances, we play six days in a row, which is max, then we turn around and come home."

The orchestra will fly to and from Florida and travel by bus between tour stops. Monder himself will act as chauffeur for Järvi so that he can arrive a little earlier and perhaps squeeze in some rest before the concerts.

The CSO is not hiring drivers and there will be no photographer on the tour.

As few staff members as possible are making the trip.

"We’re keeping it tight, no frills," said Monder.

However, the full CSO is going. "When we take the CSO, we take the whole kit and caboodle (97 players). We don’t try to economize on the artistic product. That you can’t do."

CSO Florida tour.

When: March 24-29.

Who: 2 conductors (music director Paavo Järvi, assistant conductor Sarah Ioannides)

97 musicians

7 staff

3 crew

Guest artists: The Eroica Trio

Cargo: 65 boxes (instruments, wardrobe)

Value: approx. $2,500,000

Weight: approx. 11,000 lbs.

Trucking company: Tony Totten, Tony Express, Inc. (all cargo is transported in a 53-foot, air-ride, climate-controlled trailer).

Concert halls: Vero Beach: The Community Church (886 seats)

Sarasota: Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall (1,736 seats)

Orlando: Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre (3,450 seats)

Miami Beach: Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (2,600 seats)

Fort Lauderdale: Au-Rene Theatre (2,700 seats)

Naples: Philharmonic Center for the Arts (1,473 seats)