Friends and Colleagues

I never cease to be amazed at how the Columbus Symphony manages to produce crisp programs with players from around the state and very little practice together. This is a tribute to Del Gobbo of course, but playing together well isn't just a result of good direction. It's discipline, talent, and dedication.

Admittedly, the Symphony was a little rocky in their last performance but they put all that behind them last night in a superbly sharp program with pianist Paavali Jumppanen. Mr. Jumppanen's resume reads like an elder statesman but his debut was in 2001 and he's already played all around the world to rave reviews. His program was Brahms' Piano Concerto No 2 in B-flat Major Op 83. This is no lullaby. The program notes called it "gentle in mood" and suggests that all except the second movement provoke "calm dignity". That may well be in the hands of another pianist but Mr. Jumppanen attacked the Steinway with a passion that invoked anything but gentleness or calmness. In fact, his right foot hit the sustaining pedal with such force as to shake the piano and add a Irish dance sound to the score. At times his foot was raised as much as 6 inches over the pedal before hitting it full force and one patron described all the movement as like an organist.

This is not intended to be a criticism, but rather illustrates how he interpreted the piece. Mr. Jumppanen's touch was gentle where it needed to be and the piano responded to him with a clear and passionate reading.

Once again, the horns were the backbone of the Orchestra, both in the opening piece and in the Schumann piece that closed the night. However, in the third movement of the Brahms, the Cellos came forward and delivered a counterpoint to both the horns and the piano that showed how strong they've become under Andre Gaskins. There's also two solo cello parts in this movement that gave Andre Gaskins an opportunity to show his extraordinary talent.

Unfortunately, the hall was not much more than half full. This Symphony is delivering a first class product but it continues to need an audience.

Sergiu with the Symphony

It was hopping around the River Center on Saturday night. The Springer had the Columbus Ballet on the main stage and a children's production in Foley Hall. The River Center had the Symphony and there was something in the Rankin that I wasn't invited to. There were the usual crowds on Broad Street and First Presbyterian had a huge formal wedding.

All of the activity may have contributed to the sparse crowd at the Symphony or it may have been the threat of rain. Still, having seen crowds thin out at events around town and seeing what was the smallest turn out for the Symphony cannot help but be worrisome.

Musicians are like athletes in that they do their best when the crowd is behind them and that may have been why the symphony seemed a little off. Unlike other reviewers, I'll admit that I heard nothing but compliments from other audience members but that wasn't what I heard. The first piece was Haydn's Symphony No. 22 in E-Flat Major and Del Gobbo had mustered 20 violins across the front of the stage. In the first movement, the violins are supposed to be subservient to the horns but it seemed the reverse to me and the whole piece seemed flat, mechanical, and passionless.

One of the violinists wasn't even wearing a tie and another one dropped his shoulder rest on the floor in front of God and everyone just as the soloist was wrapping up a section. After the intermission, the orchestra took up Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 Op, 56 and, like a horse headed for home, seemed to find its energy and fullness in the last two movements.

Columbus State University's Violin Chair, Sergiu Schwartz was the featured performer. Given his impressive resume which truly recognizes him as one of the "best violists of this generation", one was doubly perplexed at the number of people who turned out. Perhaps he's a "prophet in his own town". His performance was the talk of the audience during intermission and showed great technical skill and superb technique.

The three Phantoms

The Columbus Symphony performed with three tenors, all of whom had performed in the title role of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, last night. Surprisingly, there's been hundreds of men who have done that and my expectations were a little low. But as soon as Cris Groenendall softly sang the opening notes of "Begin the Beguine" I knew we weren't in Columbus any more.

All three tenors were made for Broadway although in different ways. Cris Groenendall has a high, sweet tenor which is clear and must have been perfect for Phantom. Although I didn't know it before the show, I'd actually seen him as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd maybe 30 years ago so he's a pretty seasoned star to have lasted this long.

Ted Keegan reminded me the most of a classic Broadway tenor and Kevin Gray's voice was much darker than the other two. In the first half of the show, Chris and Ted sang two solos and Keven sang one. In the second half, there was a duet with Chris and Ted and Kevin got another solo. The choices they made of these pieces was often questionable. One would have thought that they would choose pieces that particularly showed off their voices but some of the pieces such as Kevin's "Impossible Dream" from Man of LaMancha really didn't work well.

Still, all three were so theatrical that I found myself wishing for nothing so much as context-to see the pieces performed in the context of the musical. Toward the end, each tenor chose a piece that had a major part in launching their careers and this was where the performances soared. Ted Keegan's piece was "On the street where you live" from My Fair Lady and he was obviously perfect for the part. Keven Gray then offered "The American Dream" from the last part of Miss Saigon and it was a knock out performance.

The contrasts between the classic Broadway tenors and the more theatrical Kevin Gray was one of the unexpected treats from this show. Gray, who is the newest member, can be imagined as the stage manager in Chess far more than in a part like Phantom or My Fair Lady.

The Columbus Symphony was far short of full staff and one noticed it particularly in the strings. The horns were quite strong though and one really didn't miss the fullness too much. Some of the music required more flexibility of the players than one usually sees. One bass player had to switch back and forth between a bass and an electric bass guitar, but Janie Bullock was even more challenged. Within a single piece she would switch between the piano and an organ or synthesizer. What's more, some of the pieces had the orchestra going silent just as she came in. Her timing was perfect and the Steinway really sounded good.

Although it was a pop night which wouldn't satisfy many Symphony interests, it was a satisfying night for what it was and I'm glad George Del Gobbo was willing to present it.

This week-end

Columbus State University's theater department opens a new production this week-end and it actually will play on Friday and Saturday of next week-end. I've heard that the cast has been very sick and will be touch and go for Friday but they do have understudies. If you have a choice, you might want to go next week-end since they won't be on top of their game even if they get well.
The Symphony is also presenting a Valentine Day program on Saturday so get off the duff and see something!

One place we're bush

I believe the arts in Columbus compete well with that of any other city in Georgia other than Atlanta and even there we sometimes compete. If a performance can get close, then we have it all over Atlanta since we don't have the traffic and parking problems. I think we get close with the symphony and the museum. We don't have a chance with theater because there's 70 companies in Atlanta and not one totally professional one here. The big show story is mixed-we don't get nearly as many but what we do get is every bit as professional as that at the Fox and we don't have to pay $15 for parking and hope the radio is there when we get back.
One place Columbus is bush league though is in the starting time for every live performance in town. They all start at 7:30 pm which is twixt and between. If you eat ahead of time, you have to start at 5:30 pm, preferably downtown. The River Club opens early on River Center performance nights for that reason. If 5:30 is too early for you and you decide to wait you'll have trouble finding a place open after 10 pm. If you go to Aida next Saturday, you'll be seeing a very long opera which probably won't get out until nearly 11 pm so you won't have much choice except to eat at 5:30.
This probably suits the Spring Harbor crowd who eat at 5 anyway and then board their bus to the venue, but everyone else is inconvenienced. It's simply bush.

To the Planets and Beyond

The Columbus Symphony on Saturday presented two very different programs although they titled the night "To the Planets and Beyond". The title referred to the second program, "The Planets, Op. 32" by British Composer Gustav Holst. Written in 1917, "The Planets" has seven movements describing seven planets.
One of the emerging trends in orchestra presentations is to couple the music with a video that visually describes the music. In this case, a large screen was dropped behind the orchestra and a video of either actual photos or animation of the planet was shown. Listening to the music gives you and idea of where whoever George Lukas got to do his music got their ideas. The first three planets, Mars, Venus, and Mercury depended mostly on actual photos and unfortunately, there's not that much variety in the landscape of any planet. Beginning with Jupiter, the film relied more on animation and was more interesting.
I should say that I think this idea of multi sensory programs is a good one, but the music was a little hard to follow and needed full attention which was hard with planets zooming by.
The first program of the night was the professional premiere of Joseph Packales' "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op 101" with Columbus State University's Andre Gaskins. Packales was a close friend of orchestra Director George Del Gobbo and it was clear that he wanted to do this performance in honor of his friend-not always a good sign. The concerto was clearly written to give the Cello performer a chance to show his/her stuff and Gaskins was equal to the challenge. During the fast parts, Gaskins was aggressive and ripped the notes out, but he was particularly tentative at the beginning of some of the slower parts.
Columbus audiences are notorious for an unwillingness to explore most modern composing-particularly atonal material-but I heard relatively little griping. This Concerto had moments of real excitement but used a number of odd transitions which were disconcerting. Still, it should be given a wider audience particularly since Atlanta has one of the finest Cellists in the country.
Attendance in the orchestra section was spotty, reflecting the cold rainy weather, but the two balcony levels appeared to be full. There were a lot of parents with young children who attended because of the idea of "The Planets and beyond". Many of the children were asleep by the first intermission and missed the planets altogether. Still, the program was satisfying overall for those who were willing to engage themselves in the presentation.

Theater audiences

When the River Center opened it brought it great shows and great crowds for them. It wasn't long, however, before people began to feel like they were going to something every night and they began to drift away. Between the recession and the demands on people's time, audiences have been soft recently.
The exception to that is the Springer which continues to post increases. The Springer has a two pronged strategy that seems to have made them one of the very few theaters in the country to grow their audiences. The first strategy is the Springer Academy which teaches young people theater skills. Those young people then bring their parents to shows and, when they grow older, come themselves.
The second strategy is to give them what they want. This year they're doing two Tunas-shows that are designed for the 12 year old mind-and musicals get a lot of attention. That does pay for an occasional serious piece-the next play is Hamlet.
One should give Troy Heard and the Chattahoochee Shakespeare Company credit for doing some material no one else in town would. Beginning this week-end they're doing "Reefer Madness the Musical" with a pretty large cast at the Liberty. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm not clear, however, about Troy's business model. He did a hilarious Shakespeare last year that ran several week-ends but the show I saw had very few in the audience. "Reefer Madness" gets 11 performances.
If "Reefer" draws good crowds, I might revisit this evaluation of Columbus' audiences, but I'm going to give them a C. Even the Springer doesn't sell out as a rule. There's plenty of tickets available for the Symphony this week-end, and you can get in to see "Aida" on the 31st for $10. How's that for a bargain?

Columbus Symphony

How good is the Columbus Symphony?
When reviewers rank Symphonies around the country, they are always listing symphonies with fully paid orchestras and so the Columbus Symphony will never be listed. However, I am amazed at how the orchestra can draw players from around the state, practice a little bit and put on a stellar performance. And lest you think I'm damning with faint praise, I think they compete with the fully paid orchestras.
The most important reason is George Del Gobbo, the symphony's Music Director for 22 years. George has never taken himself or the music too seriously and his enthusiasm spills over onto the orchestra and the audience. One cannot overemphasize the importance of continuity in putting these programs and players together every year.
Even the Concertmaster, Karren Berz, has been in her position for 12 years. She is a member of Orchestra Nashville and plays with orchestras around the country and yet she returns to Columbus every year. That says a lot about Del Gobbo's leadership.
Truth be told, I'm not qualified to discuss the merits of individual performers but I will say that I've been very impressed with the Principal Cello, Andre Gaskins. The Atlanta Symphony is generally considered to have one of the best Cellists in the country, Christopher Rex, but Gaskins plays as well as I've ever heard Rex play and that's no knock on Rex who truly is the best.

Cherish the Ladies

I saw the Cherish the Ladies Celtic Band with the Columbus Symphony last night. In an environment where even the classical performers are glamorous (Eroica Trio)this group stands out for its lack of glamor. In fact, if you were to meet one of them in another context you would think "bookeeper at the Ford Dealership". Not even dental office receptionist. Their leader, Joanie Madden, is an accomplished flute player and is the only one of the group who has any stage presence at all. The rest sit gloomily as if they were bookeepers living at home with their mothers.
Add to this the fact that something else was going on with them. The program listed six women and their web site lists six, but there were seven of them. The lead singer on stage wasn't listed in the program or web site but the program lead was there and was off stage for all but her 2 songs. There was a chair on the stage for her but she refused to sit on it and she looked as if she was about to cry. One had the feeling that we were watching a Celtic Dream Girls play out.
If you enjoy the Chieftins and Celtic music, Cherish the Ladies presents a competent program. They're at their best when the tempo is up and the dancers are on stage, but the slower music also compels when Joanie Madden's flute is employed. When they get over their angst and start dressing for success they'll be a lot more fun.