Dale Clevenger to retire from CSO this June; let the speculation begin about who could possibly fill his shoes

February 19, 2013 5 Comments

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced this morning that Dale Clevenger, their renowned Principal Horn since 1966, will be retiring from the orchestra on June 30 of this year (read the official CSO press release HERE). This comes right on the heels of Indiana University announcing that he will join the Jacobs School of Music as “professor of practice” beginning this fall.

Dale ClevengerMr. Clevenger, together with Adolph “Bud” Herseth (Principal Trumpet, 1948-2001) and Jay Friedman (Principal Trombone, 1962-current), has helped to create the iconic brass sound for which the CSO has become world-famous.  For most of his career, he has been known for playing with a rare combination of  power, warmth, and precision.

For the past few seasons, however, he has been the subject of increased scrutiny for refusing to step down despite recurring instances of what many critics described as sub-par playing — sub-par not just for Mr. Clevenger, but for any principal horn.  As recently as this past December, reports emerged about potential behind-the-scenes activities at the CSO to get him to step down.

Now that this announcement has been made, the orchestra can spend the rest of the season preparing appropriate tributes to him to honor his distinguished tenure instead of allowing all of the lingering negativity to fester.  Despite the very legitimate criticism about his playing of late, Mr. Clevenger certainly deserves the boatload of praise that will be coming his way.

Of course, with this announcement will also come speculation about who may potentially be able and willing to take his place.  Just for proverbial grins, let me be among the first to toss a name out for your consideration:  William Caballero.

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Andrew Bain and Dale Clevenger: two Principal Horns in very different situations

December 15, 2012 8 Comments

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One of the many quotes from my recent interview with Danny Rothmuller, retired Associate Principal Cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, that didn’t make it into my original posts (Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE) was the following observation:

“French Horn is the only fallible instrument in the orchestra.  Any other instrument, if you play a wrong note, it’s your own fault.  But if a horn player misses and hits a clam, you can’t always blame them, and you kind of feel for them when it happens.” (Daniel Rothmuller)

So assuming that tolerance for horn miscues (even at the world-class level) is higher than it would be for other instruments, when does it cross the line from misfortune to malpractice?  Wherever that line is, an increasing number of people feel that the Chicago Symphony’s Dale Clevenger is getting there — if he hasn’t crossed it already.

Lisa Hirsch’s most recent post on Iron Tongue of Midnight mentions the latest online article chronicling  the list of grievences of the CSO’s legendary Principal Horn, and Lisa points out extra-musical issues which complicate the situation.

For my part, I sympathize with those hoping that such a well-regarded musician would step down gracefully and either take an emeritus position or retire outright.  At the same time, I’ve actually heard the sub-par playing about which the critics are talking.  In my review of the CSO’s appearance at Segerstrom Concert Hall earlier this year, I wrote:

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Chicago Symphony barrels its way through Orange County

February 22, 2012 1 Comment

Last Friday, Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony made their long-awaited visit to the Southland with a one-night stop at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.  The whole affair had a “take it or leave it” feel,  beginning with the curiously obscure program of works by Honegger, Mason Bates, and Franck, and ending with Mr. Muti giving a compact “bye-bye” wave from the podium before the orchestra walked off the stage mid-applause without playing an encore.  There were smiles on many  of the musicians faces, including the maestro, but they seemed to reflect merely  polite contentment, without much indication that anyone on stage was having much fun.  It all seemed to coincide with Mr. Muti’s declarations that orchestral performances are art, NOT entertainment — as if they cannot be both.

Thankfully, the music-making itself was uniformly excellent.  If the three pieces being performed weren’t familiar, they were accessible.  More importantly, they provided the CSO an opportunity to flex their muscles, and the orchestra responded by playing with the power and panache for which they are famous.  You’d probably expect this from the brass, but it was present throughout the ensemble, most especially in the unanimity of the strings from top to bottom.  This was orchestra as monolith, and even if that meant individual sections or players lacked their own personality,  one still couldn’t help but be impressed with the sound.

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Filed under All Reviews, Music (News & Reviews), Other classical music concerts and recitals (in So Cal and beyond), Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Reviews 2011/2012 Tagged with , , , , ,

Muti on conducting new music and conducting in general; reviews from CSO’s concerts in SF

February 17, 2012 3 Comments

Mason Bates: Composer - DJ

Tonight, the Chicago Symphony arrives in Southern California after too long an absence.  The antici . . . pation is finally coming to an end.  You’ve downloaded your free MP3 of Franck’s Symphony in d minor, listened to it intently, and now you’re ready for the real thing.  A few last minute bits of fun:

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Chicago Symphony coming to California; download free MP3 of Franck symphony to celebrate

February 10, 2012 1 Comment

Riccardo Muti and Cesar Franck

The mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra is coming to California next week, their first West Coast visit in decades.  The impetus for their visit is to help the San Francisco Symphony celebrate their centennial, and since they made it this far, they’re making additional stops in Costa Mesa, Palm Desert, and San Diego.  The CSO Brass will also be appearing at the University of Redlands.

Where they won’t be visiting is Walt Disney Concert Hall, despite the fact that the LA Phil is away in Venezuela and the hall is vacant more than usual during that week; if one were to believe in the existence of a rivalry between the two orchestras, perhaps this is one more example of it.  Of course, the orchestra is not appearing anywhere else in Los Angeles County (e.g. Royce Hall, Ambassador Auditorium, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts), so perhaps the Chicagoans just don’t like LA — go figure.

Tim Mangan interviewed the orchestra’s Music Director, Riccardo Muti, for the Orange County Register (read it HERE, and be sure to click through the slideshow).  Brian Lauritzen’s own interview with maestro Muti aired on KUSC-FM last Saturday, Feb 4, and has been archived online (click HERE to listen to the audio stream).

The CSO will be bringing two different programs on tour:  in San Diego and Palm Desert, they’ll be performing Schubert (music from Rosamunde plus the Symphony No. 9) and a new work by Anna Clyne, while Pacfic 231 by Honegger,  a new work by Mason Bates, and the lone symphony of Cesar Franck will be done in Orange County; San Francisco gets both programs (with an additional Honegger work for good measure).

In honor of their visit, or perhaps to get yourself ready for their visit, take a few minutes to download a free — FREE! — mp3 of a live recording of the Symphony in d minor by Cesar Franck, done by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons:

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More 2012/2013 season announcements from Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, and Nashville

February 7, 2012 9 Comments

When not playing Beethoven, Muti is quirky, Robertson is contemporary

The symphony orchestras of both Chicago (HERE) and St. Louis (HERE) announced their respective 2012/2013 seasons. Each was interesting and noteworthy, but in very different ways.

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