I rarely attend orchestra concerts. Usually I’m the one conducting, and if I’m not then it’s probably my turn to look after the kids. Today was a rare exception.
I had the opportunity to hear the Minnesota Orchestra today. It was propitious for a number of reasons. My wife was playing with them, it’s our anniversary (9 years the poor girl has put up with me), and I got to hear a world premiere. But first some background –
I have history with the M.O. since I was on the conducting staff from 1992-97. It was a wonderful time for me and I learned a lot from my colleagues in the band. The M.O. is an excellent ensemble which plays in a pretty decent hall, and it amuses me to no end to realize that I still know 90% of the band/administration. Osmo Vänskä is the Music Director and he has been making good press for his Beethoven symphony series, as well as his interpretation of the music of the Northern European tradition (Sibelius, Nielsen, etc.).
It had been a while since I had heard the M.O. live but it was immediately evident that this orchestra still plays at an extremely high level. The first piece (the piece my wife was playing in) was the Mendelssohn Overture for Winds, a young piece that he rewrote later in life. It’s cute, charming, and fairly useless, but it did show off the wonderful musicians in the woodwinds and brass section. It’s not a piece that’s going to have a large rotation for another reason – too many clarinets. There were 4 regular ones and 2 Basset Hounds on stage simultaneously. Yikes.
Following was the Bruch Serenade on Swedish Folk Melodies for strings. I wouldn’t call this the greatest piece ever either but it was a true showpiece for the strings. The most noticeable was that Osmo has abandoned the Stokowski approach and split the violins. The warmer string sound was immediately obvious. There is a raging debate out in Orchestra Land as to which orchestra setup is the best. My take is this: if you want your string section dominated by violin sound then by all means keep the violins together. If you want a warmer, more cohesive sound then go ahead and split them. There are other considerations but that’s the big one. Whatever your opinion I found the M.O. strings in great form.
The highlight for me was the premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Concerto for Oboe. This was actually written 5 years ago but only premiered today (please don’t ask why). The solo part was played by the Co-Principal of the M.O., Basil Reeve. For some reason the M.O. has a tradition of tremendous wind playing and Basil is one of the best oboists around. In my previous post I lamented that the Clarinet concerto rep is pretty slim, and the Oboe concerto rep is pretty much in the same boat. I am pleased to announce that oboist have a major concerto now added to their lives. But a warning – it’s HARD!!! If you’re thinking about playing it then you will have your work cut out for you, but it is a fabulous piece!
Rouse is a very inventive orchestrator and his use of the Alto Flute and muted Trombones throughout the work is wonderful. As always the orchestral parts are quite difficult. This is not a piece for community orchestras or for oboist not at the very top of their profession. None-the-less I think it will, and should, enter the repertoire. BTW, I talked to Chris after the premiere and if you’re in Aspen this summer you might have a chance to hear it live since it will be played there. He also said that he made a “high altitude” version of the solo part so that the poor oboist has a chance of making it through the work.
After intermission was the Pathetique of Tchaikovsky. I wish I could tell you something about this performance but, honestly, I bailed. I did mention it was our anniversary, so I took my wife out to lunch. But from what I heard in the first half I’m sure it was a dynamic performance. The M.O. sounds great these days and I am honored to have been a (small) part of their history.