Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

Oh what a joyous day it is to officially welcome maestro Cristian Măcelaru (@cristian.macelaru) into Cincinnati’s classical music community as the newest music director designate of @cincysymphony with a program of music old and new, popular and obscure headlined by Antonin Dvořák’s New World Symphony.
The concert opened with a vibrant performance of the fourth movement, Southwestern Shakedown, from the Blues Symphony by New Orleans-based jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer Winton Marsalis. This is a work Mǎcelaru has ardently championed in recent years, which gave the orchestra great opportunities to show off their jazzy side with hints of a country twang and sly references to Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite.
Prizewinning violinist Randall Goosby (@itsgooz) then made a welcome return to Cincinnati playing two works considered gems of the violin-orchestra repertoire. Ernest Chausson’s Poème of 1896 was given a rapturous performance, a musical marriage of the sound world of Beethoven and Brahms with Wagnerian influences. There followed an exuberant reading of the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Florence Price (1952). Only rediscovered in 2009, it is a work which is enjoying more frequent performances and recordings, an excellent showcase for the soloist and spiritual and jazz influences which permeated much of her music. Goosby encored with his own arrangement of Price’s Adoration (originally for solo organ) for.violin and strings.
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 has long been considered the most popular of his orchestral works, no doubt thanks to its tuneful melodies and its distinctly American undertones (written in Spillville, Iowa and inspired by Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha and African-American spirituals). Mǎcelaru’s leadership was wonderfully communicative without being dramatic or flashy and possessing a joyful and invigorating podium presence. Looking forward immensely to the years of wonderful music making to come when he officially starts as Music Director in the fall.