Beethoven, Tchaikovsky Come Together for Second May Festival Weekend
Tchaikovsky opened for Beethoven at the Cincinnati May
Festival Friday night at Music Hall.
And not just any Beethoven, but Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony.
It may not have been the exposure the Russian composer would have preferred, but it made for an ingenious bit of programming by May Festival music director James Conlon.
The thread drawing the two together was Schiller, specifically his “Ode to Joy,” which famously concludes Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In 1865, as his graduation thesis from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Tchaikovsky was required to write a Russian adaptation of Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” for soloists, chorus and orchestra. His "Ode to Joy" Cantata was not published until 1960 and received only one performance during Tchaikovsky’s lifetime (at the time of its composition). He disliked the inevitable comparison to Beethoven, but viewed through the prism of his own distinguished compositional career, it is definitely worth a listen.
Conlon led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the May Festival Chorus with soloists Erin Wall, soprano, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy, tenor Rodrick Dixon and bass Kristinn Sigmundsson.
Tchaikovsky's six part work, sung in Russian, opened with an Overture, which grew from soft beginnings into a stately, melodic statement. The second movement began with shouts of “Joy” (“Radǝst’”) by the quartet and the Chorus, becoming march-like and unmistakably Tchaikovsky in the manner of his symphonies to come. The third movement alternated soloists and Chorus, the latter in a touching a capella statement, “but if there be one to whom these blessings are strange, in tears, in secret, retreat and be gone.”
Dixon and the Chorus shared the energetic fourth movement, “All creatures alive.” It was Sigmundsson’s turn on in the next movement, while the combined forces came together in the jubilant fugal finale, which became declamatory on the concluding “men are brothers, we kiss you all.”
Taken together, Tchaikovsky’s student work was a revelation and a worthwhile addition to his performed repertoire. However, going head-to-head with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is a tough assignment, as the performance following intermission attested. This reviewer had the benefit of the best acoustics in the house – front row center gallery – to relish it. Textures were crystal clear. Every line and touch of color projected vividly, from Beethoven’s soft, tentative beginning to the full-throated finale. The bustling scherzo featured fine work by the woodwinds, horns and timpanist Patrick Schleker (a comment applicable to their playing throughout the Symphony). Conlon drew a silken sound from the strings in Adagio slow movement, where Beethoven’s decorative writing emerged with the utmost clarity. The opening of the finale was fittingly boisterous, and the cellos and basses were eloquent on their recitative-like introduction and the first statement of the principal (“Ode to Joy”) theme.
Bass Sigmundsson displayed a warm, inviting voice on his expository “O Freunde” (“O friends, no more these sounds”), with the Chorus full and expressive in response. Tenor Dixon was a standout with his one-of-a-kind gleaming timbre on “Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen”(“Gladly, like the heavenly bodies”). The quartet were as-one on “Freude, Tochter aus Elysium” (“Joy, daughter of Elysium”) where soprano Wall touched her climactic high note with just the right emphasis. The Chorus was indisputably the star of the show throughout the finale, leading the combined forces to an exhilarating, roof-raising end.
As per May Festival tradition, tiny flower girls presented bouquets to the soloists, and Conlon led performers and audience alike in the encore, Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus.
The festival concludes with Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at 8 p.m. tonight at Music Hall and in an encore performance of the Beethoven-Tchaikovsky program at 2 p.m. Sunday, also at Music Hall. Tickets begin at $25, available by calling (513) 381-3300, or visit www.mayfestival.com/festival.html.