by Stephanie Manning
For Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida, the idea to perform a recital together came about naturally — starting with making music together simply for the pleasure of it. That natural transition from practice to performance was evident on March 6, when The Cleveland Orchestra presented the tenor and pianist in an afternoon of earnest music making.
Divided evenly into two halves, the first part of the program was dedicated to Beethoven — who composed quite the collection of Lieder in addition to his symphonic works. In the opening “An die Hoffnung,” the up-close acoustic of Reinberger Chamber Hall allowed for every nuance to shine through, with Padmore’s precise diction imbuing each stanza with a different feeling. And even without words of her own, Uchida remained fully engrossed in the emotions and phrasing of the music, often mouthing along with the German lyrics in the expressive “Resignation” and the stirring “Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel.”
British tenor Mark Padmore was getting ready for a Cleveland concert in 2020 — his first visit since 1985 — when the novel coronavirus showed up with other plans. His recital of works by Beethoven and Schubert with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, part of a North American tour, got put on ice and will finally take place in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Music Center on Sunday, March 6 at 3:00 pm.