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German Masters take stage

With German beer celebrated throughout OTR this Bockfest weekend, perhaps it’s only fitting to honor the German Masters, Wagner and Bruckner, brought to life by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Marek Janowski. As Janowski…

With German beer celebrated throughout OTR this Bockfest weekend, perhaps it’s only fitting to honor the German Masters, Wagner and Bruckner, brought to life by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Marek Janowski. As Janowski is one of the most celebrated interpreters of Wagner, Friday’s CSO audience was in for a delight. This repertoire brought the peace and hope needed at the end of the week, allowing us to begin anew.

And rejuvenate we did. All three works had future laced throughout, but peace began with the first, Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll.” Wagner, who married Franz Liszt’s daughter, Cosima Liszt, had an affair that resulted in their three children, including son Siegfried. The joy of finally being together as a family was brought out in this birthday gift for Cosima when she turned 33. The innocence and hope of love prevailing, called out by the clarinet both at the beginning and end of the piece and its various responses by so many throughout the chamber orchestra, cast by less than 50 instruments, made for an intimate and relaxed experience.

If you hadn’t mellowed out by then, it was time to take in Wagner’s “Prelude and Liebestod” from the opera “Tristan und Isolde.” Cellos and oboes set the stage, with additional oboes, clarinets and flutes responding. As the strings join in, the piece becomes grand, with a wonderful build, sweeping you away. When it finally climaxes, the grandeur is larger than life, putting you at ease, yet equally alert. It makes you feel you could take on the world!

Marek Janowksi conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Photo credit: Lee Snow

After intermission, the CSO tackled Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major, “Romantic.” With such strong pieces in the first half, the Symphony had set the bar high, but they delivered magnificently. We begin with trepidation played out by the strings and a lone French horn who becomes the leader several times during multiple movements. Kettle drums provide another constant that serves to remind us more is planned. There’s a brass undercurrent within the first movement that alerts us of something foreboding, but what? At the same time, it’s celebratory as the French horn ends, signaling that the brass has defined the story.

The second movement has a beautiful cello lead and very dramatic ending, which sounds like everyone is charging forward together, closing with the drums again. The third movement has anticipation set by the brass through a staccato introduction that builds until we have multiple calls and answers provided throughout the entire orchestra. In so many ways, the third movement should’ve been the last, as it’s the grandest of them all. Yet the fourth and final movement provides closure, with half step intervals at least two if not three times, using major-minor transitions to pique curiosity and force our attention. The melody introduced in the midst is engaging. In fact, it’s one you can imagine enjoying through playful and relaxed dancing — a reminder of how atypical such a scene is for a finale. The herald two-thirds through the movement would seem to mark the ending, but it doesn’t. We have to wait for the French horn to arrive once again. The brass chimes in as a response and just when we think it can’t get any bigger, we get the strings showing us their conviction with every muscle a finely-bowed instrument can provide. The music ends with grandeur and nuanced reminders from all four movements flawlessly woven together.

Surely, if Wagner and Bruckner haven’t defined the word “master,” then there is no such meaning. This Music Hall crowd left understanding the beer celebration all around held little significance to the couple hours in which they had been transformed.

Kathy DeBrosse is Vice President, Marketing & Engagement at ArtsWave.