Kurt Masur Makes His Welcome Debut at Benaroya Hall

By R.M. Campbell

Even though the Seattle Symphony Orchestra is in another uneasy period with troubled labor negotiations, the imminent departure of its chief executive and a long-standing deficit, it made splendid music to open the New Year Thursday night at Benaroya Hall.

The galvanizing force was Kurt Masur in his local debut. While the German conductor is in his early 80’s and suffers from Parkinson’s, he was a dynamic force on the podium, revealing his utter command over Mozart and Bruckner. SSO musicians responded with vigor and insight. The entire concert was a revelation and, for once, the cheers and standing ovation were justified.

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Is the “Great Recession” over for orchestras?

The Saint Louis Symphony released encouraging news on the health and revenue of Saint Louis’ orchestra.  As reported in the Saint Louis Business Journal, tickets sales at the midpoint of the 2009/2010 season are up 20% from $4.34 million to $5.19 million this year.  The article also acknowledges a modest increase in contributions.  Are ticket sale jumps and contribution increases in St. Louis an anomaly, unique to the city or do they represent a broader rebound for arts organizations and symphony orchestras in general?

Everyone is striking these days

The Seattle Symphony musicians aren’t the only ones contemplating a strike.  Out in Ohio, the musicians have terminated their month-to-month agreement with management and may go on strike.  The situation is similar to the one shaping up in Seattle.

The musicians, in response, released their own statement — their first on the matter — noting a willingness to bargain but also expressing reservations about the administration’s demands, which they said stand to diminish the orchestra’s stature and jeopardize the ability to attract and retain the best players.

And.

Currently, the Cleveland Orchestra is ranked seventh in the nation in terms of musician compensation, behind the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. A cut of 10 percent would put Cleveland behind Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh.

Finally.

But from the management perspective, the problem is clear. Highlighted in the orchestra’s announcement were several figures from the 2009 annual report, including a 20 percent decline in giving, a 5 percent decline in ticket sales and a $27 million loss to the value of the endowment.

Read Zach Lewis’ story in the Plain Dealer.

Beethoven’s Ninth: an occasion in itself

There is perhaps no ninth symphony as famous as Beethoven’s Ninth – the Ninth.  It is the summit every composer after him sought to reach but none surpassed.  Johannes Brahms’ crafted his own first symphony in the shadow of Beethoven, paying homage to the great composer through musical references.  Bruckner, another great symphonist, reached his own ninth but died before it was completed.  Stricken by self-doubt through his life, never sure of his own talents, it is ironically Bruckner’s own ninth which many consider his best.  Then there is Mahler, who was so intimidated by Beethoven’s symphonic opus that he renumbered his own symphonies to avoid the magic number “9.”

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Are SSO contract negotiations a canary in the coal mine?

Is the Seattle Symphony heading toward a civic calamity?

The changing economics of the arts industry has left many orchestras on the brink of catastrophe. The Philadelphia Orchestra is the highest profile example. A large deficit, no permanent music director, and general disdain for the musicians is jeopardizing the future of this Big Five orchestra. Other orchestras are suffering too. The future of the Everett Symphony is uncertain, while the Bellevue Philharmonic is still on shaky ground after a leadership brawl last year. And not long ago, the Columbus Symphony, the professional orchestra for Ohio’s largest city, disappeared entirely for a period of time.

Continue reading Are SSO contract negotiations a canary in the coal mine?

A Choral Arts Christmas

Choir

On Saturday, December 19th, Choral Arts gave a wonderful Christmas Concert at the Trinity Parish Church in Seattle. Led by Robert Bode, and accompanied by Libby Watrous, the Choral Arts choir sang Christmas songs and carols from multiple cultures. The concert was divided up into four parts: Seeking Sanctuary, Inviting Mystery, Mother and Child, and Love Came Down. Every piece had its strong points, and among the many wonderful carols that were sung, I was very impressed with three in particular.

When the Choral Arts choir sang The Road Home from “Southern Harmony”

, arranged by Stephen Paulus, I was engulfed in the story of the song. I believed them as they sang. The sincerity that they sung with cannot be taught. In order to be that believable when you’re performing you have to perform with true intention, from a meaningful place deep inside yourself that can only be sung out in song. The vocalises before each stanza were especially poignant. The arrangement was also beautiful. The traditional treatment of the harmonies complimented the choir’s timbre.  There were no individuals, only the choir as a whole. And, with the delicate pronunciation of the words, the audience wasn’t hit over the head with syllabic singing.

My favorite German piece of the program was Komm, Heil’ger Geist

by Georg Schumann. The intent behind the singing was also wonderful in this piece. That sincerity coupled with the effectiveness of their dynamic contrast and the modulation in the middle of the piece heightened the auditory response and made the performance even more powerful. Right before the modulation the sopranos were singing in octaves with the altos and the effect was heavenly. The sopranos were able to sit on top of the harmony without overpowering the choir, while enhancing the harmonics of the chord. It was an excellent way to lead the audience into the dramatic key change.

Venez, Mes Enfants

, arranged by  Donald Patriquin, was also wonderful. The carol itself is very playful and light, and the mood created by the choir with their bubbling voices and delicate pronunciation emulated the phrase, “C’est La Vie.” The call and response section between the men and the women was especially enjoyable. The Choral Arts women had a strong core sound that resonated into the highest arches of the church and the men’s voices were just as powerful. My favorite part of the piece was the ending. The coordinated release at the end of the last verse was breathtaking. It made the silence following the piece all the more deafening. Overall, the performance was fantastic and I would highly recommend seeing them when they come back to Seattle. Their next concert is going to be at St. James Cathedral on Saturday, March 20th at 8PM.

Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saens’s Christmas Oratorio: an unusual holiday pairing

Adding to the odd mix of pieces, the youthful Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saens welcomed a leaner audience (many of the families with young children left) after the intermission. Saint-Saens music is remembered and enjoyed because it tends toward the beautiful as opposed to the innovative – not that innovative has to be ugly.

Saint-Saens, at the ripe age of twenty three, wrote the Christmas Oratorio in eleven days. The work’s placid harmonies and swooping melodies radiated from the orchestra and the chamber singers. Solos for soprano (Linda Tsatsanis), mezzo-soprano (Melissa Plagemann), alto (Tessa Studebaker), tenor (Stephen Wall) and bass (Brian Box) were delightfully shaped by the afternoon’s soloists.

I am confident that no other orchestra, choral ensemble, or chamber group performing a holiday concert this year featured a program of Prokofiev, Bozza/Kechley, or Saint-Saens. Like oil and water, these composers and the piece’s chosen for Orchestra Seattle’s holiday concert, don’t mix. This is precisely what Shangrow wants and what OSSCS observers expect. Days after the concert, I am still not sure how I feel about the collective impact of the choices. Making sense of it all, trying to deduce a purpose for the program has been maddening. Making sense of a concert, however, isn’t as important when you have a community orchestra that plays and a chorus that sings as well as OSSCS.