Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

What a way for @louislangree to close out a spectacular 11-year tenure as music director of @cincysymphony this evening! Opening with a dramatic, yet joyful performance of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 2, the orchestra showed off its mastery of a composer whose music Langrée has made an integral part of his tenure.
Soprano Latonia Moore (@lamoooore) joined for the world premiere of Broken in Parts, a new song cycle by contemporary African-American composer Anthony Davis. Setting an extended poem by Quincy Troupe first published in the collection CHORUSES across four movements, Moore’s performance was light and ebullient, even if most of the work sat fairly low in her vocal range. Musically, Davis seemed to stitch together a pastiche of influences, including east-coast jazz and rhythm and blues, American romanticism (ie. Aaron Copland) and atonality associated with composers such as Alban Berg and Anton Webern.
The second half of tonight’s concert presented two popular crowd-pleasers in music by Paul Dukas and Maurice Ravel. Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice has become synonymous with Walt Disney, thanks to its imaginative use in his 1940 animated film Fantasia. Langrée’s interpretation was perhaps even more so, thanks to a visceral biting sound provided by bassoons, trumpets and percussion.
Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloė Suite No. 2 was probably the most moving and exciting performance of the evening, as it has been an important part of Langrée’s repertoire as a conductor for years. From the haunting opening from flutes and harps to the delirious General Dance, it was impossible to not get swept up in its sheer musical power and emotional weight. On a personal level, tears were definitely shed knowing this would be the last work Louis would conduct as music director. Tonight was certainly one of the finest performances of Ravel’s music heard in Cincinnati in years.
As an added surprise, the orchestra encored with the theme from the TV and film series Mission Impossible, fulfilling a fantasy of sorts for Langrée. Certainly the best way I can think of to close out the 2023-24 season with a bang!