Sunday, September 23, 2007

9/22 Sev Hall

I sat next to someone with the worst case of restless leg syndrome that you can imagine. Someone near us had a cell phone that went off during one of the quiet portions of the Tschaikovsky piece. The cell phone had sort of a salsa theme.

This is what comes to mind first after reading the handbill. The Mozart piece, one of his first, was written when Mozart was around 17. In contrast, the Tschaikovsky piece was his last. The Pintscher piece is also known as funforchestralsthucken (enjoythatsacha!), or as my sense of humor tells me fiveorchestralpieces, hehe! I kept imagining Pintscher writing the piece in his current home, Frankfurt, thinking, ha!, I was just there. :-)

During the Pathetique many (to my surprise) people clapped spontaneously and enthusiastically after the third (of the four) movements. I thought it was nice to hear this appreciation, though isn't this a faux pas? Or, is this a trend? I wonder if the orchestra found this distracting. My take is that they found it pleasant, this enthusiasm. I wonder.

Severance Hall

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6

The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Mozart: Symphony No. 28, K. 200
Pintscher: Five Orchestral Pieces - U.S. Premiere
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique")

Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra open the 2007-08 Severance Hall season with Tchaikovsky’s final work, the compelling Sixth Symphony, premiered just nine days before the composer’s sudden and mysterious death. Nicknamed the “Pathétique” by Tchaikovsky’s brother, this final masterpiece is filled with lyrical warmth and brooding, soulful melodies. The concert begins with a spirited symphony by the young Mozart juxtaposed with the American premiere of a passionate newer work by German composer Matthias Pintscher.

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