Comments on: Romantic and Romantic-er: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore, February 10, 2011

By: Don Ciccio

Don Ciccio — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:02:50 +0000

Wow, did you pick the wrong performance of the Bruckner symphony or what? Most likely your reaction would have been different if you would have been attended Christoph Eschenbach’s reading of the work – his best concert as music director so far, IMO. Where Mena was lethargic, Eschenbach was luminuous. Where Mena was langurous, Eschenbach was vigorous. Eschenbach also did a much better job with rhythms, and his was a much tighter reading.

But I can understand your reaction: if I were new to Bruckner, the performance would not have made me a convert.

Try the recordings of Celibidache or Keilberth. Here’s what Celi can do with the finale of the first part: look at around 5:37 for some of the greatest timpani playing ever:

By: Andrew Lindemann Malone

Andrew Lindemann Malone — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:17:05 +0000

Yeah, if I’ve ever been in an audience that wanted an encore, that was definitely it. I sure wanted one!

By: StarCityFan

StarCityFan — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:02:14 +0000

Thanks for the review. I must confess that I skipped out at intermission, not so much because I dislike Bruckner but because it had been a very tiring week at work, and I’d gotten what I came for.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed the Rachmaninoff, and just about anything else would have been a letdown. Was disappointed by the lack of an encore, though – certainly the audience wanted one.

By: Posts about Baltimore as of February 13, 2011 | baltimorer.com

Posts about Baltimore as of February 13, 2011 | baltimorer.com — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 23:00:35 +0000

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