Photo by Jesse Williams
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra began a two-week Brahms festival last weekend, covering the composer’s four symphonies. As a longtime listener to this orchestra, I found the spirit of this performance different, evolving to some slightly new level. Edo de Waart, a very insistent and technical conductor, sort of let the orchestra play with more freedom.
I’ve written many times of how De Waart has raised the level of the orchestra by making important player changes, as well as building a tight ensemble technique. MSO was certainly a good orchestra before De Waart, but it has become a world-class, top-drawer orchestra with any conductor, with disciplined, balanced and clear playing. The present MSO would be considered excellent in any context, in any city in the world.
In this concert of Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2 by Johannes Brahms, it felt as if De Waart relaxed the rein just a bit, although there was nothing relaxed about the performance. The last time De Waart conducted the Brahms symphonies, everything about the pieces was pristinely clear and resistant to any added schmaltz. That’s how he has generally approached all big Romantic pieces. It has been a revelation. This time around, though, the clarity and balance seemed self-evident characteristics of the orchestra. Something beyond that was happening between conductor and musicians, something more sophisticated and subtle.
I drank in the lovely sound of the first violins as if hearing this section anew. The cello section sounded especially graceful when featured, as in the second movement of Symphony No. 2. Flute, oboe and clarinet are pivotal in these symphonies, and Sonora Slocum, Katherine Steele and Todd Levy played with poetic sensitivity. Matthew Annin’s horn solos were refined and inspired.
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In the age of the instant standing ovation for any performance, it’s sometimes hard to tell much by the audience reaction to a performance. Mediocre to great are greeted the same way. However, it’s the atmosphere of listening during a performance that is a telling factor. The Saturday night audience felt quiet, attentive, taking in something that everyone there knew was beyond good.
