Review

CityMusic Cleveland at Fairmount Church (December 7)

By Daniel Hathaway

The strings of CityMusic Cleveland — plus a few winds — made an impressive showing in the first of five concerts by the itinerant orchestra last Wednesday at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. In music by Corelli and Dvorak conducted by CIM president Joel Smirnoff, the twenty-three string players (divided 7-6-4-4-2) achieved a remarkable blend and a sense of ensemble worthy of groups that play together day in and day out. As orchestral partners to violin soloist Joan Kwuon, they joined with pairs of flutes, oboes and horns in a pristine performance of a Mozart concerto, and reduced to one on a part, they turned in an excellent, conductorless account of a Bach Brandenburg Concerto.

Prefaced by greetings from Fairmount's music director, Robert Moncrief and a fundraising appeal by president Ronald Strauss — but no speeches from the podium — Smirnoff led a thoroughly engaging performance of Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso op. 6, no. 8, dubbed the “Christmas” concerto because of its final Pastorale. One or two of the fast movements were taken just a bit too quickly to make sense in Fairmount's acoustics, or perhaps it was because we were hearing two versions at once — one coming from the orchestra, the other from the speaker overhead because a microphone was temporarily left open. Peter Bennett provided sparkling continuo from the harpsichord.

Mozart's “Strassburger” or third Violin Concerto, K. 216, proved to be a lovely vehicle for demonstrating Joan Kwuon's stylish and elegant playing. She shaped lines beautifully both in her solo passages with orchestra and in her cadenzas, though her strength of tone seemed to taper off in higher registers. Even with a conductor present (which wouldn't have happened in Mozart's time) it would be fun to hear the soloist collegially play along with the violins in the tutti's. K. 216 is remarkable for its use of flutes only in the second movement (most likely the oboists switched over for the occasion); the effect against muted strings was lovely. The Rondo with its surprise ending by oboes and horns was delightful.

Oh-oh, we thought after intermission when soloists began Bach's third Brandenburg Concerto at a really brisk clip: let's see if they can keep this up. Happily they did just that, both in the first and third movements — and the latter was even faster. Peter Bennet cleverly expanded the two-chord bridge that links the allegro movements with a little harpsichord cadenza.

Dvorak's Serenade for Strings brought the program to a satisfying conclusion. The CityMusic strings dug in and produced a big, rich, well-balanced sound with finely delineated inner voices. Joel Smirnoff — himself a string player — set agreeable tempos and drew precise, colorful playing from the strings. If the second movement waltz was a bit square, the scherzo bristled with energy, the Larghetto was appealingly sentimental and the finale was fiery and festive.

CityMusic repeats this program at St. Colman's, Cleveland, St. Noel's, Willoughby Hills, the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus, Cleveland, and at Elyria United Methodist Church from Thursday through Sunday afternoon. The next series of performances between March 14 and 18 will feature conductor Sean Newhouse and violinist Dylana Jenson in the Brahms violin concerto, Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Mozart's “Posthorn” Serenade, K. 320.

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Published on ClevelandClassical.com December 13, 2011.

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