First portion of Pittsburgh symphony's tour concludes
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra completed the German portion of their eight-day European tour on Wednesday night at the Beethoven Hall in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven's hometown.
The musicians, who arrived in Europe on Sunday, had Monday off. While some went to see the famous Cologne Cathedral, which inspired the fourth movement of Robert Schumann's "Rhenish" Symphony, and other points of interest, others used the day off for rest. Principal horn William Caballero said he wasn't the only one who slept until noon or later on Monday.
The musicians used Cologne, Germany, as their hub, taking buses to their concerts Tuesday evening in Essen and the next evening in Bonn.
Principal bass Jeff Turner said he thought the concert in Essen went great. "I sincerely think the orchestra is playing better than it has in years, our best playing in a long time. The chemistry with the new maestro is very good. I'm very happy."
The Essen program included Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, performed at Heinz Hall last fall, and Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs," which is tour-only repertoire.
The singer for the Strauss was Christine Schaefer, described by Turner as having "a very light voice, but the carrying power it has is unbelievable. The way it comes alive in a room is just remarkable."
Rehearsals preceded both concerts. Caballero said Honeck spent his rehearsal time on two things — balancing the orchestra and concentrating on creating a sustaining line.
"He really wants connection, even if there is a rest. He wants us to play into it or think through it to make sure we're always thinking forward. You can see that with his left-hand conducting technique, while the right hand shows the beat pattern. His left hand is not quite waxing a car, but he wants it horizontally continuous," Caballero said.
The concert in Bonn featured Beethoven's Violin Concerto, with Viktoria Mullova as soloist. The collaboration between Mullova and Honeck looked curious on paper because she can be an emotionally cold player while the conductor's music making is warm-hearted.
"It was not a match made in heaven," admitted principal oboist Cynthia DeAlmeida after the concert. She reported that Mullova had issues with the "A," the note to which the symphony tunes and which is given by the oboe. European orchestras tune a little higher than Pittsburgh, while period instrument musicians tune considerably lower. Mullova plays with both.
The Wednesday rehearsal at the Beethoven Hall was tense, said De Almeida. Part of the problem was that Mullova and the Pittsburgh team had only one rehearsal on the day of the concert. Frank Peter Zimmermann was the soloist for performances of the concerto last season at Heinz Hall.
"There are things you have to work out. I guess we all assume that with great performers it's all smooth." De Almedia said. "She needed time for her to tell us what she wants to do. She's entitled to — it's her interpretation."
DeAlmeida added that in the face of the tension, "To his credit, Manfred never got heated. No wonder. He's the perfect guy to have six children.
"There's a lot more to being music director than conducting and interpretation. There's also the personalities and etiquette of his position. He turned the situation around. A person with a hotter head or bigger ego might not have been able to. I think he really came up in our eyes, even more if that's possible, today," she said Wednesday night after the concert.
The orchestra plays in Switzerland today and Saturday, giving the final concerts of the 2009 Lucerne Festival.
