CONSIDERED OPINION OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA CONCERT OF 3/13/08

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: The Tempest: Fantasy-Overture, Op. 18. Eino Tamberg: Trumpet Concerto No. 1, Op. 42. Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé—Suites Nos. 1 & 2. (Michael Sachs, tpt.; Ilan Volkov, cond.)

The date was November 7, 1667, and Samuel Pepys decided to reward himself for a morning's hard work with a trip to the theater. "At noon," he wrote in his famous diary, "resolved…to go see The Tempest, an old play of Shakespeare's.... The play no great wit, but yet good, above ordinary plays."

The Tempest that Pepys saw that fall day was not the Shakespeare original, but an extensively rewritten version that incorporated political humor and racy jokes, and that remained a popular standard into the nineteenth century. Indeed, The Tempest has spawned nearly as many adaptations over the years as Romeo and Juliet: from the 1956 sci-fi movie classic Forbidden Planet to an opera by John Eaton featuring instrumental forces that include an orchestra, a jazz trio, a Renaissance ensemble, and electronics.

Tchaikovsky's Fantasy-Overture based on The Tempest hasn't been played by the Cleveland Orchestra since 1934. And there's a reason for the neglect: the work is not one of Tchaikovsky's more distinguished efforts. It was a strange choice to open Thursday's Cleveland debut concert by conductor Ilan Volkov, who labored mightily to make the work appear more substantial than it is. He drew a rather unusual sound from the Orchestra. The ensemble's strings seemed oddly thin, and were often overwhelmed by the winds. Volkov knows how to deliver plenty of dramatic punch when the music invites it. Tchaikovsky's big, brassy climaxes were quite impressive. But the excitement generated was of the same sort you experience watching a Hollywood-movie car chase. It holds your attention while it lasts, but when it's over you find yourself wondering what was the point.

Volkov had better material to work with in Eino Tamberg's First Trumpet Concerto, which featured Cleveland Principal Michael Sachs as soloist. The work's written in a very accessible musical style that clearly owes much to Shostakovich. There are moments when you almost expect the music to launch into the William Tell Overture, in the manner of the Shostakovich Fifteenth Symphony. Thursday evening's performance made less of the Concerto than the recording I've heard: Håkan Hardenberger and Neeme Järvi on BIS Records. Järvi's accompaniment has the clarity and crispness Volkov lacked, and Hardenberger finds greater emotional breadth in the music. Still, Sachs offers some impressive playing-especially in his nicely subtle approach to the outer sections of the second movement.

Thursday's program-concluding performance of Ravel's Daphnis and Chloé Suites was, I suspect, neither seamless enough to satisfy listeners who prefer their Ravel misty and atmospheric, nor lucid enough for those who want to hear every one of those countless 32nd notes in the "Lever du jour" movement. Like the rest of Volkov's program, it was enjoyable without being particularly memorable. As recreational listening, this weekend's concerts will do just fine. Just don't expect the music, to borrow a phrase from The Tempest, to "suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange."

Jerome Crossley for WCLV 104/9.

Considered Opinions is WCLV's program that reviews performances by Cleveland-area music ensembles. Commentator Jerome Crossley offers an informed and witty perspective on performances by groups that include the Cleveland Orchestra, Opera Cleveland, and Red {an orchestra}. Considered Opinions typically airs at 9.45 a.m., 12.20 p.m., and 5.20 p.m. the Friday following a Cleveland Orchestra concert, and it repeats at 9.45 a.m. on Saturday. Other air-times depend on the schedule of the ensembles reviewed.

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