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Frühbeck de Burgos Commands Mahler, CSO

Mary Ellyn Hutton
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 1:58:17 PM in reviews_2011

Fruhbeck.jpg
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
A master stood before the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Thursday night at Music Hall.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is one of three Creative Directors appointed to “curate” the CSO’s 2011-2012 season (the others are Lang Lang and Philip Glass).  As such, he planned and will oversee the orchestra’s 10-concert Masterworks Series.  He will conduct two concerts (this weekend and Nov. 11-13).

Frühbeck de Burgos, 78, a maestro in every sense of the word, led the opening concert of the CSO season in the appropriately named (for him) “Titan,” Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler.  The understanding, trust and affection that passed between him and the CSO musicians – entering their first season without a music director, following the resignation of Paavo Järvi last spring – was manifest in one of the finest performances this reviewer has heard from the CSO in years.

The ovation that rose from the audience at the conclusion of the Mahler seemed to come from far more than the regrettably few listeners in attendance (the hall was less than half full and as usual, scattered throughout its 3,500-seat expanse).  The CSO players afforded him a solo bow, too, by refusing to stand for one of his curtain calls.

The concert also marked the CSO debut of Scottish-born violinist Nicola Benedetti in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (“Turkish”).  It was a notable debut, by a young artist (just 24) with a distinctive personality.  From the introduction to the opening Allegro aperto (meaning “open”), Benedetti displayed a centered, jewel-like tone and finely nuanced phrasing.  The Allegro itself was full of energy and included her own extensive cadenza.  The Adagio slow movement felt like a prolonged sigh, while she put lots of gusto into the Rondo finale.

Benedetti, who is of Italian heritage, played the famous “Turkish” episode with considerable vigor, setting the tone for the orchestral tutti that followed, with its col legno cellos and basses (played on the wood of the bow).  Frühbeck de Burgos led a clean, polished accompaniment.

It was Mahler, however, that stirred Music Hall on this musically auspicious night.  Conducting from memory, Frühbeck de Burgos led with precise focus and intense concentration.  Energy radiated from him, but seemingly without effort.  He is a total aristocrat on the podium, in control without gratuitous effort or display.  The players responded to him with a kind of extrasensory perception, a process that absolutely compelled the listener.

The mysterious, sounds-of-nature introduction to the Mahler unfolded with utmost precision.  Tone colors were vivid and dynamic contrasts remarkable, the French horns sounding as if from a great distance at times.  The trumpet fanfares emerged with a keen edge the first time, but Frühbeck de Burgos saved the peak effect for the repeat, creating a spine-tingling effect.  The witty, rhythmically tangled ending (scrambled bird calls?) was delivered with pinpoint accuracy.

The same observations apply to the Ländler-like second movement (Austrian pre-cursor of the waltz), boisterous at the beginning, with a suave, contrasting mid-section.  Again, contrasts were marked, from snarling horns, bells in the air, to violins so soft they seemed to be playing in another room.  The famous funeral march, inspired by a children’s book illustration (Jacques Callot’s “The Hunter’s Funeral Procession”) overflowed with mock-serious imagery.  Principal bassist Owen Lee’s opening “Frère Jacques” set the tone for the repeated, lugubrious lament.  It was a parodistic mix, with dulcet violins and brash woodwinds that wound down to a sodden, dismal pianissimo.

The sudden fortissimo that opened the finale was exceedingly well prepared by Frühbeck de Burgos and delivered for maximum shock effect.  This epic movement was everything it should be, a furor at the beginning, then gentle by contrast. There was an edge-of-your-seat quality about it, as he brought out one effect or portion of the score after another.  As throughout the symphony, textures were wonderfully transparent, never more so than in a startling moment when murmuring cellos cut through the harmony in preparation for the first big climax.  The horns stood, bells upraised again, for the final peroration, a wow moment not soon to be forgotten by anyone in Thursday’s audience.

The concert repeats at 8 p.m. Saturday at Music Hall and should not be missed.  Tickets begin at $10, and are available at (513) 381-3300 and www.cincinnatisymphony.org