San Francisco Classical Voice

LISTENERS' BOX

Responses to Recent Issues

Fleming's Flop

Regarding "Soprano Meltdown" in Music News in the Dec. 19 issue: Even my dog was barking as I played Renée's so far over the top that even sending it to the Milky Way is not far enough rendition of "I Could Have Danced All Night." You have made my day, my week, my year.

— Jason Victor Serinus

I think it is rather disgusting for you to have posted the link to Fleming's performance of "I Could Have Danced All Night" in your newsletter out of context, and to have slurred with your tag headline of "Soprano Meltdown." While her performance is indeed completely tasteless, and suggests looming vocal disability, it is the lowest kind of gossip to do what you have done, and I think you should be ashamed and slap yourselves silly for doing it.

No performer deserves that kind of treatment. No one. And, did you notice how the audience lapped it up? Perhaps Renée has merely been attending the Actor's Studio and is applying Strasberg method. You let your journalistic standards drop too low on this one.

— Saul Davis Zlatkovsky

It Sings True

Regarding "Why We Carol" in the Dec. 19 issue: I loved this timely article and since I have heard Michael speak could hear his voice in it. It was a lively, easy-to-read, informative piece.

— Lynn Reese

One-Armed Bolero

Regarding "Out of Time" in the Dec. 19 issue: I read with interest your review of the latest San Francisco Symphony concert(s), as I also read Joshua Kosman's earlier review. You both mentioned Mr. Tortelier's gesturing, but Mr. Kosman was even more explicit by noting the conductor's strange way of conducting the Bolero with one hand, "for no apparent reason" (Mr. Kosman's expression). Well, the reason may not be apparent to the Chronicle's critic, but the reason seemed pretty apparent to me. So here's what I wrote to Mr. Kosman:

Dear Mr. Kosman,
Yesterday morning I read with interest your review of the S.F. Symphony's concert, before going to hear it in person last night (Sat., Dec. 16). When Mr. Tortelier began conducting the Bolero, my wife sitting next to me whispered, "Look, he's conducting with one hand only, just as Mr. Kosman wrote in the paper." So I whispered back, "Yes, but I'm pretty sure that he will use both arms at the very end of the piece."
Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, thereby confirming my reasoning for why he was conducting like a one-armed bandit. Many years ago, I was discussing the art of conducting with a Belgian conductor of my acquaintance and he explained how one of his colleagues had recently completely lost control of his orchestra during a long crescendo: The weather was nice, the musicians were happy and enjoyed the piece, they reached their maximum fortissimo about halfway through the crescendo, and were forced to sputter the rest of the way.
"That's why," he added, "good conductors try to keep a tight rein on the musicians. For example, during long crescendos, Toscanini used to keep his left arm, with clenched fist, tightly clutched to his chest, only letting it out parsimoniously as the crescendo evolved."
No, Yan Pascal Tortelier was not "following through on a bet," as you wrote ("look Ma, one hand!"), but was following through on a time-honored tradition of moderating an orchestra's tendency to overheat. You will surely have noticed also that the amplitude of Tortelier's gestures increased steadily as the piece proceeded.

Of course, I received no reply.

— Didier de Fontaine