Abdullah Impresses in His CSO Debut
Kazem Abdullah
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Guest conductor Kazem Abdullah.
Abdullah was both a guest and a returnee. Born in Indiana, he grew up in Dayton, was principal clarinetist of the CSO Youth Orchestra and graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Now 35, he is a conductor, one to watch on the international stage (the Daily Beast named him no. 4 on its 2009 list of “Young Rock Stars of the Conducting World”). Abdullah has served as assistant conductor to James Levine at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and is currently Generalmusikdirektor of the city of Aachen, Germany, which means that he leads and administers all of its musical activities (others to hold this post have included no less than Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch).
In music by Debussy, Stravinsky and Dvorak, Abdullah impressed listeners with his energy and insight. He conducts with broad, muscular gestures, at the same time conveying precise and expressive musical directions.
His program was thoroughly engaging, too, with a CSO premiere, a well-loved symphony and a fine collaboration with the May Festival Chorus.
The CSO premiere was a remarkable one, the never-heard cantata “King of the Stars” by Stravinsky. Scored for a very large orchestra, it shared the program with Debussy’s “Jeux,” Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8.
The men of the May Festival Chorus (50 voices) joined the CSO in “King of the Stars,” a 1912 work to mystical verses by Russian symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont (1867-1942). Perhaps because of its brevity, just 54 bars and barely six minutes long -- and the massive forces involved, including quadruple winds, eight horns, triple brasses, etc. -- it was not premiered until 1939. Dedicated to Debussy and coming just a year before Stravinsky’s epochal and very different “Rite of Spring,” it marks a dead-end in his compositional style (compare Alexander Scriabin). It holds interest, however, for that very reason.
Abdullah drew an ethereal sound from the ensemble as he began the work. He built to a kind of majesty with full winds and brass before tapering to a quiet end. One can understand the economy that dictates scarce performances of this work, but with the heavily scored “Jeux” also on the program, it made sense here.
One of the gems of 20th-century music, Stravinsky’s 1930 Symphony of Psalms, dates from his neo-classic period. The CSO and 115-voice May Festival Chorus, prepared by director Robert Porco, gave it an extremely moving performance. Abdullah crafted a great big arch in the invocatory first movement (“Exaudi orationem meam, Domine,” from Psalm 39, King James Version), then discretely drew out the baroque textures of the second, (“Expectans expectavi Dominum,” from Psalm 40). A gentle “Alleluia” opened the final movement (“Alleluia, Laudate Dominum,” Psalm 150), which also featured highly effective, percussive singing by the Chorus. The recurring figures of the coda evoked a stirring vision to bring the work to a close.
Abdullah bathed Music Hall in sunlight in Dvorak’s richly thematic Symphony No. 8. He drew a warm, lush sound from the strings in the first movement (indeed, throughout), while solos by the winds, brass and acting associate concertmaster Kathryn Woolley were idiomatic and illuminating. The trumpet fanfares that opened and closed the finale were thrilling. Abdullah raised a nice orchestral ruckus when called for here, leading the movement to a blistering end that filled every crack in the hall.
The concert opened with “Jeux.” Written in 1912 for a ballet about tennis (no fooling), it is filled with motifs indicative of the action. As such, it gave everyone in the CSO something to do.
Repeat is 8 p.m. Saturday at Music Hall. Tickets begin at $12. Call (513) 381-3300, or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org