CONCERT REVIEW - Sanderling and TSO send spirits soaring
By SALLY VALLONGO
BLADE STAFF WRITER
New Year's revelry may seem ages ago - instead of a mere 12 days - but, thanks to Stefan Sanderling and the Toledo Symphony, the good times were bubbling last night in the Peristyle.
The fourth Classics Concert became a Viennese New Year celebration with beloved works by Mozart, Haydn, and Johann Strauss, Jr., uplifting the spirit the way champagne tickles the nose. As a bonus, there was a thrilling Mendelssohn work for two clarinets and orchestra as well as the local premiere of a chestnut so familiar it's hard to believe this orchestra has never performed it.
That work is Franz von Suppe's Light Cavalry Overture, a standard of cartoon scoring so well known it could easily be tuned out. Except this time, the principal conductor and his band showed the work the respect it deserves - a crisp, articulate reading that lifted it to jewel box status. With solid brass and winds and fluid strings, the work was reborn.
Sanderling's tempos for the Haydn Symphony No. 88 in G Major were a study in contrasts, from the spirited first movement Allegro to an almost syrupy Andante and then, a Minuet taken so fast even the listeners felt breathless. With syncopated accents and delicate dynamics from start to finish, the Haydn was effervescent.
During the first of two intermissions, Symphony-sponsored sweets were passed out - Mozartkugeln, layers of chocolate and marzipan from Austria - and orchestra players circulated through the hall. The effect heightened the already warm atmosphere.
Percussionist Bob Bell was particularly effective during the second section as he put a new set of tympany through their paces in the Strauss "Thunder and Lightning Polka." Then came the delicious Emperor Waltzes, a string of marvelous melodies that had many swaying onstage and off. Cellist Martha Reikow provided several elegantly limned solos.
Georg Klaas and Jocelyn Langworthy, symphony clarinetists, led the orchestra on a merry chase through Mendelssohn's Concert Piece in D Minor for Two Clarinets. With exceptional virtuosity, they clearly inspired the orchestra. An encore demanded by the standing ovation was the Rondo movement from Franz Kommer's Concerto for 2 Clarinets.
Following the second intermission came Mozart's familiar Eine klein Nachtmusik, a seeming musical bauble that belies the complexity inherent in it. Although the playing here was not as crisp and edgy, Sanderling continued his quest for inner voices, making plain complementary lines that often are shrouded by more familiar themes.
Finally, after a personal New Year's wish from the maestro, who dedicated this concert to longtime patron Rita Kern, the orchestra delivered a convincing reading of Strauss' "On the Beautiful Blue Danube."
The concert will repeat at 8 tonight in the Peristyle. Single tickets are $22-46 at the box office.
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Contact Sally Vallongo at svallongo@theblade.com.
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