Brahms and Blomstedt at Severance

If members of the Cleveland Orchestra felt any undue stress due to the suspension of concertmaster William Preucil, it wasn’t in evidence at Severance Hall Friday evening.  In fact, Preucil was not scheduled to play that night and his duties were carried out by first associate concertmaster Peter Otto.

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is among my five favorite symphonies (the others being Mozart 41, Beethoven 7, Schubert 9, Rachmaninoff 2).  I consider myself blessed to have heard Blomstedt's Brahms 4.

Blomstedt, still sprightly at 91, genially mounted the podium and declined the use of a conductor’s baton. While expressive, there was nothing showy about his conducting technique – everything was directed toward the orchestra and the music.  I’ve heard at least 25 renditions the Brahms 4, both live and on recordings, and studied the score.  If there were one word I would apply to Blomstedt’s interpretation, that word would be “ideal”.  Musical interpretation is a dangerous business, for a skilled interpreter knows every choice he makes comes at the expense of an alternative choice.  One can stretch this phrase, but it comes at the expense of linear continuity.  One can emphasize this group of players, but other players will be submerged.  Blomstedt chose wisely.  The opening movement was presented as one unbroken line, with the subtlest inflections of tempo.  While the second movement sang with nobility, the third movement was rollicking joy – percussionist Marc Damoulakis obviously enjoying his turn with the triangle.  The finale, a passacaglia, was unrelenting and almost unbearably bleak as it marched with inevitably toward a tragic end.    Throughout the symphony, sections were immaculately balanced so that the listener clearly heard every strand of orchestration – not an easy accomplishment in Brahms.  I wish this ideal performance had been recorded – but I’ll carry the memory of this Brahms for as long as I’m blessed with memory.

There were scatterings of applause between each movement, an indicator of both the audience’s enthusiasm as well as the many newbies present (a group of teenaged girls sitting two rows in front of me spent several minutes taking selfies, and there’s undoubtedly a photo of me somewhere on social media glaring at them).  But don’t confuse a lack of traditional concert etiquette with an inattentive audience - nary a cough was to be heard during the concert.