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Julia Fischer's subtlety with Cleveland Orchestra belies her age. Conductor Andris Nelsons overcomes some timing glitches
By Elaine Guregian
Beacon Journal arts and culture critic
Published on Monday, Jul 21, 2008
Some debuts make you really glad you were there on that special night.
Julia Fischer's first performance with the Cleveland Orchestra, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at Blossom, was one such occasion.
The beauty of tone, the sweep and the physical command of her playing were all remarkable. What's more, the musical instinct that told Fischer, 25, to pull back here or inflect a line a certain way is something no one can teach.
The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is one of those romantic pieces that encourages some players to exaggerate its drama. This performance was notable for the repose that went alongside the excitement. Fischer reeled me in from the start by phrasing the solo lines with an appealing naturalness. At times, Fischer's tone was just a glimmer of sound, a slim bit of hope in the concerto's highly emotional landscape. Understatement works well in this context, and Fischer also had the force to put across the big buildups.
Fischer is moving up fast in the concert world, with a Tanglewood debut earlier this month, Blossom and a booked schedule of European performances coming up. She's the real deal. I hope that she and the Cleveland Orchestra will be together again soon.
Fischer wasn't the only one making a debut on Saturday. She was joined by Andris Nelsons, 28, a Latvian conductor who in the fall will begin his new job as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England. A lot of hype comes with getting a big appointment at such an early age. The CBSO is where a young Simon Rattle got his start, so people are watching closely to see how Nelsons does there.
No doubt, Nelsons is terrific at stirring up excitement from an orchestra in pieces like Night on Bald Mountain, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, all of which lend themselves to showmanship. But he is still learning how to communicate precisely with an orchestra. Some unaccustomed glitches of timing between players and conductor were apparent on Saturday.
Curiously, Nelsons often looked like a micromanager, telegraphing every detail of the score. (His fingers wiggled sympathetically to a piccolo solo in the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. )
On the plus side, Nelsons and the orchestra created a palpable through-line of momentum in the Tchaikovsky symphony, and in the third movement for pizzicato strings, the conductor shaped the dynamics intelligently for a flowing, nuanced line.
This orchestra can always be counted on to give a soloist a good ride, putting the guest first. Nelsons, too, backed Fischer with great sympathy in the Violin Concerto. Conductor and soloist were on the same page, interpretively. The ensemble played well, and details like the dreamy woodwind echoes of the soloist in the second movement were rendered with extraordinary skill. A second appearance by Nelsons with the orchestra on Sunday night promised a more detailed look at his style.
Elaine Guregian can be reached at 330-996-3574 or eguregian@thebeaconjournal.com
Some debuts make you really glad you were there on that special night.
Get the full article here.
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