Laura Griffiths

John Nakamatsu

George Cleve

Midsummer Mozart Festival / Laura Griffiths / Jon Nakamatsu / George Cleve

Majors and Minors

By Heuwell Tircuit July 18, 2008

Two major masterpieces dominated Friday’s opening of the annual Midsummer Mozart Festival as George Cleve conducted his merry band with two important soloists in Herbst Theatre. Each piece was a prelude to a somewhat lesser Mozartian work, but all of it was so well-presented that this hardly mattered.

Cleve opened with the Divertimento No. 7 in D Major, K. 205, and the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488, with the impeccable Jon Nakamatsu as soloist. Following intermission, we heard the concocted Oboe Concerto in C Major, K. 271k, with Laura Griffiths as soloist and then the sensational Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504, the “Prague” Symphony. But hold on: The program wasn’t entirely devoted to Mozart. As both of the opening two works are relatively short, Cleve allowed Nakamatsu time for a solo encore: Mendelssohn’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccio, Op. 14 — which turned the evening into a kind of M & M experience.

Brightest jewel of the event was Nakamatsu’s performance of the Concerto — and, for that matter, the Mendelssohn encore. The thing is, he plays with his brain, as well as his fingers. Every little detail was perfectly in place, yet with the occasional bit of inventive touch. Minor episodes of upper-keyboard wit would suddenly drop in dynamics for a few seconds, with a bit of French staccato humor thrown in. Such hints of playfulness struck me as ideal for Mozart’s essentially pastoral Concerto. After all, Mozart loved practical jokes.

Yet when the tragic F-sharp minor Adagio movement came along, Nakamatsu probed the depths of despair in Mozart’s darkest concerto movement. This he accomplished without distorting the normal tempo or dynamic markings. Rather, it was his seemingly endless variety of keyboard coloration and his astoundingly clean legato playing that dug so deeply into that emotion-drenched movement. I can’t remember hearing a performance quite so perfect in all its parts.

A movement has been afoot to garner more Mozart works than actually exist in pristine form. It seems to be an outcropping of the academic publish-or-perish syndrome, causing those musicologists who are afflicted to take one work or composition, edit it heavily or transpose it, then claim it as a discovery. But in truth, those pieces — like the symphony numbered past the official 41 — are largely a combination of wishful thinking and musicological fooling around. We have a right to our cynicism where such creations are concerned.

It’s known that Mozart wrote a full Oboe Concerto and left fragments of a second. The truth, however, is that the real oboe concerto has not been found. Instead, what passes for Mozart’s Oboe Concerto these days is a transposed and mildly rewritten version of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 314. We can be sympathetic with the effort, especially since the composers of the world have given us so very few oboe concertos of major worth. But this transcribed Flute Concerto fails to convince — at least, not me.

Silvery-toned Oboeist

Griffiths came to the role with an enormously impressive history. Currently she is principal of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, acting principal of the S.F. Opera Orchestra, and acting associate principal of the S.F. Symphony, previously having played principal with the Cleveland Orchestra and others.

Needless to say, she has a silvery tone that shone throughout the hall like a rainbow. Technical demands seemed effortless for her, even in extremely high registers. But at the same time, she tended to be quite literal in her phrasing. She plays very well indeed, but I had the sensation that she was more interested in playing her oboe than playing Mozart.

Mozart wrote his Divertimento No. 7 while still in his teens — probably in 1773. Laid out in the basic five-movement form, it consists of the basic four movements of a symphony, but with two minuets, each flanking the slow movement.

There are also oddities for a divertimento, like opening with a Largo introduction in the hymn style. That almost hinted at some of the music in his opera The Magic Flute. Largo, normally the slowest musical tempo, is rare in Mozart’s work. Beginning a divertimento with an introduction is also most unusual. Normally, such pieces dive right into their first Allegro. Then too, the second Minuet (”Menuetto” if you must) contains a trio that’s a real trio for the three winds: two horns and a bassoon. In each case, Mozart seems to be looking over his shoulder a bit at Baroque traditions.

Cleve reduced his string sections for the Divertimento, which were seated in classical style: first violins to his left, seconds to his right. Bravo for both concepts, for they lent a fine visual as well as sonic clarity to the score. He also took rather lively tempos for the first and last movements. That, too, turned out be effective, perhaps making the Divertimento sound finer than it actually is. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s quite a nice piece, but it falls a tad short of Mozart at his very best.

Whiz-Bang Presto

For that we could turn to the sensational “Prague” Symphony, one of his most complex as well as most endearing symphonic creations. The contrapuntal passages are miraculous, like a textbook model free of pedantries while glittering with exuberance. Conducting from memory, Cleve seemed to revel in it, including the observance of both the first movement and the finale’s long repeats. A generally fine performance filled with glamour was knocked only slightly off kilter when the finale whizzed by at a 19th-century-type presto. True, that’s the tempo marking, but at Cleve’s very fast presto we listeners missed some of the intricacy in Mozart’s textures.

Prague was, and remains, the most musically sophisticated of European cities, so Mozart could really let his wig down and give full reign to his imagination when writing for its music lovers. After all, besides the Symphony, Prague had gone gaga for The Marriage of Figaro following its disappointing Viennese run. Then Prague audiences had Don Giovanni written especially for them. The wonder is that Mozart failed to move there.

Playing a solo encore within an orchestral program is certainly unusual, but Nakamura had created such audience enthusiasm in the Concerto that he almost had to play one. His performance of the Mendelssohn was in fact so utterly superb that I think the audience would have welcomed a second and a third. He revealed himself yet again to be one of the major pianists on the world scene today.

Heuwell Tircuit is a composer, performer, and writer who was chief writer for Gramophone Japan and for 21 years a music reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. He wrote previously for Chicago’s American and the Asahi Evening News.

Cleve ignites Mozart festival opening concert

By Georgia Rowe
for the Mercury News

Article Launched: 07/20/2008 12:07:42 PM PDT

Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D major, "Prague," has prompted critics to reach for superlatives since its inaugural performance. Franz Niemetschek, the composer's first biographer, was so moved by the work's 1787 premiere, he declared it "a real masterpiece of instrumental composition . . . played with great élan and fire, so that the very soul is carried to sublime heights."

Those words from more than two centuries ago might just as well have described Thursday's opening concert of this year's Midsummer Mozart Festival.

Festival founder and music director George Cleve capped a winning program at Mission Santa Clara with a dynamic performance of the "Prague" symphony, one suffused with the spirit and insight that have made him one of the music world's most celebrated Mozart conductors. If there's a secret to the success of this annual all-Mozart bash - now in its 34th season - it's Cleve's ability to bring to life not just the music, but the wit and vibrant humanity of its composer.

Thursday's program, which repeats Sunday night in Berkeley, also included fine performances of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, the Oboe Concerto in C major and the Divertimento in D major.

Yet it was "Prague" that clearly demonstrated why Cleve and his orchestra continue to set the gold standard for Mozart performances among Bay Area orchestras. From the great chords that introduce the first movement, to the gripping tutti passages of the finale, Cleve mined the score

for vast reserves of color and drama. The conductor, who spends much of the year leading opera performances, elicited sound that was massive, cohesive and, yes, operatic.

Which is not to say that the performance overlooked nuance. Every detail was in place: The sharply etched figures for violins, the soaring parts for woodwinds and bold contributions from the brass.

But Cleve knows how to mold the score into something greater than the sum of its parts, and that was the effect here - monumental and deeply profound. It certainly was not the polite, decorative Mozart of garden parties and shopping malls.

With pianist Jon Nakamatsu as soloist, Cleve also achieved excellent results in the Piano Concerto No. 23. This is one of Mozart's most frequently performed concertos, but the conductor and his soloist made it sound newly minted. Nakamatsu approached the opening allegro with his customary blend of agility and flair, dashing off even the most difficult passagework with elegant precision, while the orchestra lent the movement its essentially sunny hue.

Things turn darker in the slow central movement, where Mozart plunges into the key of F-sharp minor; the soloist introduces a pensive theme echoed by woodwinds, offset by horns and strings. Cleve conducted with authority, and Nakamatsu played with exquisite poise. The finale, buoyed by Cleve's urgent direction, sounded especially vivacious.

The Oboe Concerto featured Laura Griffiths, principal oboist of the San Francisco Ballet and former principal of the Cleveland Orchestra. She's a confident player, and she gave an outstanding performance, spinning out Mozart's long, lyrical solo lines with beautifully placed emphasis (and seemingly endless supplies of breath).

The outer movements were cheerful and sprightly. But it was the central adagio - led with great delicacy by Cleve and played with glowing tenderness by Griffiths - that made this performance memorable.

The program opened with a luminous, luxuriant reading of the Divertimento. Here, as with the longer works, Cleve demonstrated why Mozart still matters.

The Midsummer Mozart Festival continues through Aug. 3.

Nikolai Demidenko

Noteworthy Serenade

By Anatole Leikin July 24, 2008

The second installment of this season’s Midsummer Mozart Festival took off on Thursday at Mission Santa Clara. Unlike the first program, this concert featured only two works — and for good reason. The Serenade for 12 wind instruments and a double bass, K. 361, lasts for almost an hour, longer than any of Mozart’s large symphonies scored for a full orchestra.

Unlike symphonies or concertos, the serenades, divertimenti, cassations, and other utilitarian pieces were written to accompany special occasions, usually outdoors: weddings, birthdays, coronations, and the like. There is quite a controversy regarding the date of composition of this seven-movement Serenade and, consequently, the occasion it was intended for. One theory maintains that Mozart composed it in 1782 as a wedding gift to his dear wife, Constanze. Another theory states that Mozart wrote it two years later for an entirely different event. Strong arguments go back and forth, but I personally root for the former. It’s so sweet …

In any case, it is always gratifying to hear the Serenade live, since it is rarely performed in regular symphony or chamber concerts. Its span is too large for an introductory piece at the beginning of a symphony concert, and its instrumentation is too sparse to fill up an entire half of an orchestra program. On the other hand, 12 wind instruments (including four French horns) are not a typical chamber music setting. That is why, while often recorded, this Serenade can rarely be heard live outside of Mozart festivals. This program was, therefore, a special treat. It also gave the listeners a chance to hear and see the basset horns — an uncommon variety of the tenor clarinet. The two basset horns rested daintily on floor spikes and produced a melting, richly colored, and irresistibly appealing tone.

The complexity of this score, combined with an unmitigated exposure of every instrumental part, turns the Serenade into a virtuosic undertaking, but the members of the group passed the test with flying colors. Led by the music director of the festival, conductor George Cleve, they captured the essence of Mozart’s elegant, warm, and jovial writing and presented a vigorous and involved account of the piece.

The third movement, Adagio, was simply stunning: Breathtakingly beautiful solos of the oboe (Laura Griffiths), the clarinet (Mark Brandenburg), and the basset horn (Janet Averett) flowed with operatic eloquence. Another magical moment occurred at the end of the sixth movement in the slow variation, when an exquisitely shaped oboe solo (Griffiths again) was soaring above a gently quivering accompaniment.

Powerful Brahms Cadenza

The rest of the evening featured the pianist Nikolai Demidenko (who is becoming more and more familiar to Bay Area audiences) in Mozart’s C-minor Concerto, K. 491. When Mozart played his piano concertos, he did not need to write down the cadenzas in advance — he simply improvised them on the spot. As a result, we have his own cadenzas for only those concertos that he gave to other pianists to play. In these cases, Mozart often supplied written cadenzas along with the score.

Unfortunately, no pianists at the time asked him to jot down a cadenza for this particular concerto, so it was left to later performers and composers to fill in the void. Many composers stepped up, among them Mozart’s pupil Hummel, as well as Fauré, Smetana, and Schnittke.

Demidenko chose a cadenza by Brahms. This fascinating addition to Mozart’s score begins innocently enough, but then it moves, gradually and inexorably, toward a colossal explosion in the end. Demidenko played the Concerto on a Fazioli, an extravagantly expensive instrument from a boutique Italian company. The pianist is currently enamored of the Fazioli pianos and would not play on anything else. Indeed, the massive sound produced by this piano is awe-inspiring. Some might even say that the Brahms cadenza, amplified by Fazioli, was rather over the top.

In my opinion, however, the powerful cadenza perfectly suited Demidenko’s approach to the Concerto. Serious and intense, the pianist created a high drama that only intermittently became less gripping. Even the slower than usual tempo of the finale thickened the atmosphere of looming tragedy. George Cleve went along with this reading, supporting the soloist with admirable sensitivity and confidence.

The dark mood of the Concerto spilled over onto Demidenko’s first encore and turned Chopin’s stylishly nostalgic mazurka into a smoldering miniballade. The second encore, Scarlatti’s D-major Sonata, ended the spell; Demidenko delivered it with a dazzling and droll flourish.

Anatole Leikin is professor of music at UC Santa Cruz. His articles have appeared in various musicological journals and essay collections. He has recorded piano music of Chopin and Scriabin. Professor Leikin also serves as an editor for The Complete Chopin — A New Critical Edition (Peters Edition, London) and is writing a book on Scriabin’s performing style for Ashgate Publishing.

Music review: Brahms shakes up Mozart festival

Joshua Kosman, Chronicle Music Critic

Saturday, July 26, 2008

For more than 30 years, George Cleve and the Midsummer Mozart Festival have made it a point of pride to present all Mozart, all the time. But they're not above slipping the occasional ringer in through a side door.

The guest of honor during Thursday's elegant and enjoyable concert at the Mission Santa Clara was, of all people, Johannes Brahms. The Romantic master put in a brief but attention-grabbing appearance during Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491, thanks to the efforts of soloist Nikolai Demidenko, and offered a handy reminder of the virtues of a little variety.

It turns out that Brahms, not content with writing his own two towering piano concertos, also left cadenzas for a handful of concertos by his predecessors, including Mozart's C-Minor. They're rarely done - what would be the occasion? - but this one, at least, is a little masterpiece of passive-aggressive overshadowing.

It begins in more or less traditional form, with a riff on the concerto's main themes done with Brahms' distinctive arsenal of rippling keyboard accompaniments and parallel sixths. But soon it expands and balloons, and within scarcely a minute Brahms is commanding the stage, having elbowed poor old Mozart into the wings.

Demidenko, a pianist equally at home in the Classical and Romantic repertoire, straddled both sides of this display beautifully. He delivered the opening strains of the cadenza with delicate grace, then gave the conclusion a full helping of triumphalism.

And that was only the highlight of a generally persuasive rendition, one that mixed communicative tenderness with dark dramatic power. Even before Brahms came on the scene, the first movement sounded muscular and arresting, with Demidenko and Cleve sharing an aptly tempestuous view of the music.

The elegantly balanced phrases of the slow movement kept their limpid clarity, even as the performers rounded the edges off just enough to avoid a sense of sterility. And if the final Allegretto went by at a peculiarly slow tempo, there was enough detail to make the choice seem apt.

In its 34th season, the festival is pursuing some new directions - next week's concluding offering is a semistaged performance of "The Abduction From the Seraglio," the first operatic undertaking in its history. But in the meantime, the orchestral programming is in a traditional vein.

The evening's first half was devoted to a robust and shapely account of the "Gran Partita," K. 361, the voluminous serenade for six pairs of wind instruments with double bass. It's a tricky instrumental combination for the reverberant acoustics of the Mission, but Cleve succeeded in thinning out the textures enough to let Mozart's melodic invention shine through. Principal oboist Laura Griffiths, serving as a sort of woodwind concertmaster, provided an eloquent solo turn in the third movement.

Midsummer Mozart Festival: The program repeats at 6:30 p.m. today at the Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma and at 7:30 p.m. Sun. in Berkeley's First Congregational Church. Tickets: $30-$60. Call (415) 392-4400 or go to www.midsummermozart.org.

E-mail Joshua Kosman at jkosman@sfchronicle.com .

This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Conductor Cleve continues to surprise, please with his Midsummer Mozart offerings

By Rich Scheinin
Media News

Article Launched: 07/25/2008 11:04:06 AM PDT

It's the 34th year that conductor George Cleve has brought his Midsummer Mozart Festival to the Bay Area, and the surprises keep coming. They really do. Somehow it's always surprising to come under Mozart's deep spell as Cleve conducts his favorite music with absolutely no fuss, just fondness and understanding. And then there are the soloists he recruits, year after year, who aren't necessarily famous, but, like Cleve, seem emotionally engineered to perform this music.

Thursday night at the Santa Clara Mission, where Cleve and the Midsummer orchestra performed the festival's second program, it was pianist Nikolai Demidenko, a Russian living in Spain, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor. This guy is a poet: balance, clarity, a feathery touch — but with a bite, the sign (or sigh) of worldly experience. Thoughtful, confident beauty permeated his performance; Demidenko even bowed beautifully.

The first movement, the Allegro, opened with the massed, dramatic sound of the orchestra, followed by Demidenko's pearly lines, tumbling about. He seemed to be nesting inside the orchestra's silk pillow, ice skating with his right hand, dropping staccato attacks into his left, elegantly assembling the magic jigsaw of Mozart's music, and then rising, with the orchestra, to a pitched attack.

Then, the cadenza: Demidenko played it in blockbuster fashion, with huge, clean gestures: a big surprise and a little off-the-wall; this was the

cadenza written by Brahms for the concerto. Cleve turned around to watch, smiling and eating it up.

A moment later, Demidenko brought a sense of solace to the Larghetto: a man lost in reflection. In the Allegretto, the finale, he slew the set of six variations on the theme, a march, playing with pared-back Baroque austerity, then delineating the score's thick, gleaming counterpoint. Among the voices leaping out of the orchestra were those of Maria Tamburrino, principal flute, and Laura Griffiths, principal oboe; a super performance, all around.

Enjoying himself, Demidenko sat back down and played a couple of encores: first, a Chopin mazurka, emerging as a rich reverie, then a Scarlatti sonata, conveyed with butylene-torch focus.

Earlier in the program, Cleve conducted Mozart's Serenade in B-flat, K. 361, for small wind orchestra and double-bass. Infrequently performed and nearly an hour long, it's a friendly bear of a piece, with hints of raucousness in all those closely massed wind instruments: two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, two bassoons, and four horns (a pair in F and a pair in B-flat).

Nicknamed the "Gran Partita" — a grand suite, in seven movements — it's regal and reflective, but not overly so. You can imagine it being played a couple of centuries ago as a backdrop to libations in a Viennese beer garden.

Thursday's performance was pretty rough-hewn, especially early on. But Cleve gradually brought his players around, coaxing a cozy performance, warm and affable: comfort food. Best was the sixth movement, in which the ensemble set up a slow, droning flutter-coo, with Griffiths, a sensational player, soaring on the breezes with butterfly wings.

Contact Richard Scheinin at rscheinin@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5069.