by Kevin McLaughlin | Cleveland Classical
Originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ballet scores may be the most evocative music. Play Ravel’s Mother Goose on a concert stage without dancers or scenery, and you will still imagine the dancing in your mind. On its own, as conducted by George Benjamin and played by The Cleveland Orchestra on Thursday, February 15, it was as full of vivid imagery as if we had spent a night in the theater.
Benjamin, who has described himself as “a composer who conducts,” showed to a nearly full house at Severance Music Center that he can do both equally well. In a challenging program including his own Dream of the Song, and scores by Dieter Ammann, Oliver Knussen, and Maurice Ravel, he also showed the ability to realize each composer’s imagination.
Making their Cleveland debut on Monday, January 29 in Rocky River Chamber Music Society’s already highlight-filled season, the Busch Trio showed itself to be an astonishing young ensemble. They brought youth and energy, yes (all are still in their twenties), but they also brought a fearlessness to their program — trios of Mozart, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky — and a level of musicianship and precision that made this reviewer’s jaw drop.
The pantheon of jazz saxophone gods surely must look down with approval whenever Joshua Redman performs. With a formidable technique and a saxophone voice that glows with innate lyricism, Redman appeals to listeners of every stripe — those with the flame of tradition in mind and those who couldn’t care less about that.
Maybe it was the time of year, the familial ties of the visiting conductor and pianists, the anticipation of a new work, or maybe all of it, but somehow a rosy glow enveloped the Cleveland Orchestra concert on Thursday, December 7.