by Peter Feher
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Richard Strauss must have suspected that he would always be mistaken for another composer. How else do you explain Also Sprach Zarathustra— the piece that contains his most famous minute-and-a-half of music, plus an extended homage to Johann Strauss Jr.?
The Cleveland Orchestra is playing up the Strauss connection this weekend with an extravagant concert program that borrows a bit from the style of the Waltz King. Although nothing by Johann Strauss Jr. is officially on the bill, his presence and flair are felt in Also Sprach Zarathustra and in the intoxicating sweep of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse.
The Orchestra’s performance on Friday, February 7, at Severance Music Center started strong and ended with real panache. Guest conductor Thomas Guggeis, the 31-year-old general music director of Oper Frankfurt — here making his U.S. orchestral debut — led sharp, highly stylized interpretations that would be equally at home on the continent or in Cleveland.