No Spring Break for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

first published in The Cincinnati Post April 1, 2004)

Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra spent spring break in Florida.

But unlike the youngsters (and oldsters) who went there for R&R, they came to work, playing six concerts in six days and returning home Tuesday.

Despite the grueling schedule, there were some stolen moments now and then. Concertmaster Timothy Lees walked to the beach in Naples between the orchestra's arrival Monday afternoon and the concert that night. "It was my first time in Florida," he said.

The CSO brasses saw a few innings of the Reds/Phillies pre-season game Friday in Sarasota before packing up for Orlando (they played the National Anthem before the game).

And a trio of CSO wind players -- oboists Lon Bussell and Chris Philpotts and clarinetist Anthony McGill -- exited "Alligator Alley" (I-75) on the way to Naples Monday for an airboat ride in the Everglades where they met Betsy the alligator.

"She came right up to the boat and it looked like you could reach out and touch her, but we thought we'd better not," said Philpotts (the better to play English horn in Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony later in the day).

There were concerts in Vero Beach, Sarasota, Orlando, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Naples, the CSO's first in Orlando and Naples.

It was the orchestra's first visit to Florida since 1995 under former music director (now music director emeritus) Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

The Eroica Trio -- pianist Erika Nickrenz, violinist Adela Pena and cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio -- enhanced the tour with their glamorous image and spirited performances of Beethoven's Triple Concerto.

Järvi made keen repertoire choices for the tour. Besides the Beethoven, there were Brahms' Symphony No. 1 and Mozart's Symphony No. 35 ("Haffner"), Prokofiev's splashy Symphony No. 5 and Arvo Pärt's mystical "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten."

The CSO was a popular ticket everywhere. The concert in Vero Beach's Community Church (886 seats) sold out six weeks in advance.

Overall attendance was 8,817, an average of 77 percent per venue. Orlando's Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre was the highest, with 2,144 of 2,450 seats sold (88 percent). Naples's Philharmonic Center for the Arts was next with 1,093 of 1,473 (74 percent), then Fort Lauderdale's Broward Center for Performing Arts with 1,923 of 2,700 (71 percent), Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall with 1,197 of 1,736 (69 percent) and Miami Beach's Jackie Gleason Theatre with 1,574 of 2,600 (61 percent).

Audiences in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, though smaller, were as enthusiastic -- if not more so -- than elsewhere. Response was clamorous in both cities, listeners demanding three encores each night.

The CSO was perhaps "far more than they expected," said CSO president Steven Monder.

As with tours in general, artistic achievement was a plus. "If you do two performances, that's it," said Järvi. "If you have six performances, little things -- even accompaniment, everything -- we are constantly fine tuning. It gets better and better."

Järvi was particularly pleased with the Brahms. "We somehow got to a different place with our Brahms, and that to me is personally very important."

Concert presenters picked up on the excitement generated by Järvi and the CSO. "There have been preliminary discussions about other opportunities for the orchestra two years down the road," said Monder.

"What is important for the local presenters," said Järvi, "is to see the reaction of the audiences. It's tempting to rely on very well known names like Chicago or Vienna Philharmonic or London or Moscow. They go by the names of the cities. In terms of name recognition, Cincinnati can't really compete with San Francisco, for example. But what we can compete with is what kind of show we put on. I hate to use the word 'show,' but figuratively speaking, once the audiences react the way they do, it helps give presenters confidence to invite us back or to trust what they hear about us."

The tour helped cement Järvi's identification with the CSO. "The orchestra is known by its recordings," he said. "Seeing us together is important."

Järvi signed CSO CDs in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and attracted considerable media attention.

Encouraging support for the CSO was a tour goal. There were current and former Cincinnatians at every stop and Amy Gallo and Ben Stauss of the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau brought local clients and potential clients to the Orlando and Sarasota concerts.

Positive feedback helps market the CSO at home, Monder said. "What people say about Cincinnati's orchestra in Florida has an impact on how we are perceived here. It's hard to be a prophet in your hometown."

Despite the CSO's current deficit (a $1.4 million shortfall is expected this fiscal year), touring will remain a priority for the orchestra, said Monder. The Florida tour will pay for itself out of concert fees, he said, and underwriting from Toyota and an anonymous donor have been secured for the CSO's nine-city tour of Europe in October and November.