Britten and Stravinsky at Severance

 

A source informed me there were only about 800 tickets sold to last night’s concert at Severance Hall, but that did not prevent a hearty wave of applause when guest conductor Thomas Søndergård and violinist Stefan Jackiw walked onstage to begin the performance.

The concert began with Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto, completed in 1940 but not performed in Cleveland for the first time until 2014.  This is significant because the Cleveland Orchestra has long been known for championing newer music.  Despite the occasional haunting melody, the simple truth is the work has not been performed more often because it is neither appealing nor particularly interesting – it lacks the dramatic unity of Britten’s better works like the War Requiem, Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, or even the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.  It dates from a time when the composer and his partner, Peter Pears - both pacifists - fled to North America as World War II loomed on the horizon in Europe.  The work’s limitations did not prevent soloist Stefan Jackiw from turning in some bewitching playing that featured striking nuances and vibrato. 

Following intermission Søndergård returned to the stage for a complete performance of Stravinsky’s ballet score to The Firebird in the original orchestration.  While appropriately thrilling and colorful, the performance was largely stripped of the cheap effects one often hears in over-engineered recordings.  For example, the violin upper-register glissandi were not highlighted but kept in sotto voce perspective.  Even the famous Infernal dance of King Kashchei, which featured spectacular xylophone playing from the Cleveland percussion, was kept under tight control – but was pretty exciting for all that.