Cathedral concert showed Toledo Symphony at its finest
The Toledo Symphony is a hard-working orchestra. Its 100 musicians perform hundreds of events each year, from the marquee Classics Series concerts on weekend nights in the Peristyle to lively, interactive performances in schools, churches, and other informal venues.
But of all the concerts the symphony presented in 2007, the most memorable - among many notable performances - took place on May 13, Mother's Day.
Not only was it a peak event for the TS, but it outshines every other concert, big or small, I was privileged to hear.
Those in attendance - and the turnout was way too low for such a marvelous opportunity - enjoyed the privilege of listening as Stefan Sanderling, principal conductor, and an enhanced orchestra brought Anton Bruckner's immense and profound Symphony No. 8 to life in the sacred space of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral.
With its soaring nave and polished wood, stone, and metal surfaces, the cathedral magnified the effect of melodies and harmonic progressions poured out by strings, brass, winds, and percussion. Moreover, the warmly lit Plataresque architecture and decoration enhanced the overall sensory effect.
Seated high up in the small balcony beneath the rose window, at the opposite end of the nave from the altar where the musicians performed, I felt literally and emotionally wrapped in sound. It was a transporting experience, a challenge for a reviewer who is expected to maintain some critical distance from the emotional impact of the music.
Still, it was a fair tradeoff, for from the first moments of the long work, I sensed that this would be an experience of extraordinary quality and meaning.
Following Bruckner's various themes and signature harmonics from movement to movement, section to section, was a musical voyage both deeply gratifying and spiritually satisfying. I felt, and still feel, a debt of gratitude to Sanderling and the orchestra for bringing this difficult, beautiful work to our Toledo ears.
Other highlights of the 2007 classical concert season reveal the variety of fine musical opportunities available in Toledo and the region. For a metropolitan area of barely half a million, the array of choices is equal to that of many much more populous regions.
In March, the Toledo Symphony and its farm team, the Toledo Youth Orchestra, regaled a Peristyle audience with a light but satisfying program of classics led by resident conductor Chelsea Tipton II and new TYO leaders Elizabeth Hammaker and David Heath. If anything offered hope for a continuation of fine music in Toledo, it was this concert, with high schoolers and professionals sharing stands, tuning, and passion.
From faraway Latvia (well, actually, from a South American tour) came violinist Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica to the Peristyle on April 16, an assemblage of young and talented string players who share Kremer's passion for eclectic music including exotic tango-inspired works by the late Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, programmatic music by Joseph Korngold, and reconfigured Beethoven.
Earlier that month Apollo's Fire, a dedicated early music ensemble from Cleveland, had lit the Peristyle with a stunning performance of J.S. Bach's St. John Passion.
Other highlights not to be forgotten this year included the Bowling Green State University Festival of New Music and Art, with Chinese-American composer Chen Yi in residence; the return of Toledoan Dennis Russell Davies to the Midwest - though sadly, not a Toledo stage - to conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts; the launch of Chamber Music Toledo, a new performing arts group based at the Maumee Indoor Theater, and clarinet master David Shifrin's appearance in town for a chamber concert.
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Contact Sally Vallongo at svallongo@theblade.com.
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