Cleveland Orchestra
Pierre Boulez (conductor)
29 April 2005 - Severance Hall, Cleveland
The two weeks of programs that Pierre Boulez has lined up for the 40th
anniversary of his first visit to Cleveland are meant to let this conductor
speak in his distinctive voice, through the musicians of the Cleveland
Orchestra. Friday night's concert at Severance Hall was a remarkable
collaboration between leader and players. The choice of music allowed Boulez, at
80, to continue to open listeners' ears.
It was probably the draw of Stravinsky's complete ballet music for The Firebird, on the second half, that filled the seats. The players earned their standing ovation, with solos that evoked the languid dances and fierce battles among magical firebirds, evil ogres, princes and princesses of the Russian legend.
The Firebird, long a staple of the repertoire, provides thrills that are still beautiful, but well-worn. Boulez's preference for letting the music speak for itself let Stravinsky's wilder touches be heard without exaggeration, free of bombast. Boulez is known for his Stravinsky, and next week he'll conduct a whole program of it. Less popular has been Boulez's taste for music distilled to its essence, whether written by pioneering 12-tone composers or by him. But what a gift it was to hear the orchestra play Webern's Five Movements, Op. 5, in a version for string orchestra, as well as a group of Boulez's own Notations.
No orchestra gets famous by playing Webern; for one thing, there isn't enough repertoire. But make no mistake, Cleveland is a superlative Webern orchestra, especially under Boulez's meticulous and nuanced guidance. These little gems resonated with feeling.
Boulez expanded his Notations for orchestra out of a set he originally wrote for piano. They are for full orchestra, and the colors — especially Boulez's wide percussion palette — bloomed after the more subdued, homogeneous color of Webern's string orchestra pieces. The orchestra played five of them, each replete with compressed expressiveness.
One quality sets Boulez decisively apart from composers who followed Schoenberg and others of the Second Viennese School, and that is the strong rhythms that animate his pieces. The Notation movement titled "Hieratique — Lent" opens with the solemnity of a church chant and then takes on a veiled, mysterious quality. The shifting rhythmic patterns that propel it are subtle, not obvious, and yet their underpinning moves the work along.
Each of the Notations has its own rhythmic character, whether it's outspoken and propulsive ("Rhythmique") or more inclined to work behind the scenes. Through Boulez's precise, methodical hand, rhythm shapes how these enigmatic, beautifully crafted pieces develop. Ever the hard worker, Boulez is taking a sabbatical next year to, among other projects, finish expanding the remaining piano Notations for orchestra. I can't wait to hear how they turn out.
For more news or to subscribe,
please visit
http://www.ohio.com
