San Francisco Classical Voice

FEATURE February 2, 1999

The Fabulous Philadelphians--Redux?

By Stuart Canin

The large question in Philadelphia these days is how to resurrect the Ormandy years without Eugene Ormandy. What is happening in the land of the Liberty Bell? The Philadelphians, bell-wether orchestra of the U.S. music scene for so many years and a non-stop recording machine which supplied turntables with music as far as the ear could hear, have lost their recording contracts, had bitter labor disputes, and had short-term conductorships. The Sterns, Serkins, and everyone else used to want to record under the Philadelphia umbrella, and their records sold. Now, no longer do the top-name soloists record every concerto in sight with the Philadelphians.

With Muti gone and Sawallisch going, who will take up the baton and bring back the former glory? These questions took up a rather large space in my head as I sat in a well-placed seat in Carnegie Hall last Sunday. I heard a concert by the "Fabulous Phildelphians," performing the Fifth Symphony of Sibelius and the second act of Janacek's opera "Jenufa."

There was a reasonably young Englishman, Simon Rattle, on the podium. Sir Simon, to be exact, showing a head of greying hair, although why he should have worries enough to cause grey hair is open to conjecture. Certainly he does not have musical worries. He handled the Sibelius in as fine a fashion as I have ever heard. Shimmering tremolo string playing, a dynamic range from A to Z. Gorgeous solos by the estimable bassoonist Bernard Garfeld and oboist Richard Woodhams helped Sir Simon give what I felt was a definitive performance of this musically elusive work. Rattle is an impressive musician, possessing a beautifully mature baton style that is devoid of crouching, leaping, and stabbing batons at mature musicians who can certainly be counted on to count the rest measures before their next solo entrances.

The "Jenufa" segment was also marvelously performed by the orchestra, but hampered by the two main singers, Roberta Alexandra as Jenufa and Anja Silja, as Kostelnicka. The tenors Clifton Forbes and Gordon Gietz sang the small roles of Laca and Steva, the brothers who battle over Jenufa. Silja had the major work for the evening's concert. Her voice, powerfully dramatic, was at first overwhelmingly rough, but eventually her command of the role overcame one's resistance, such is her power as a singing actress. Miss Alexander was like weak tea, singing reasonably well but in a definitely underwhelming performance.

Now, back to Sir Simon. I had heard through sources, which, according to present-day journalism practice, must remain unidentified, that the Philadelphians are seeking a conductor to replace the retiring Wolfgang Sawallisch. Having performed under Stokowski as a member of "Leopold Stokowski and His Orchestra" in many recordings made in the late 40s, and having been back in Philadelphia in the 60s as concertmaster of the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia during Ormandy's tenure with the Philadelphia, I have always felt a kinship with this great orchestra. The orchestra is still wonderful, and Rattle obviously is a man to be reckoned with, but times do change. The Madison Avenue luster of the Stokowski-Ormandy years is not there.

There have been concertmaster changes within a few years, and rumor has it that the San Francisco Symphony and the Philadelphia are both interested in the same person as concertmaster. In former years this would not have been a contest that San Francisco could have won. Today, it might, and perhaps not just because of the weather.

The world is changing, and perhaps those in charge in Philadelphia have not been agile enough to respond to the vast musical and communication changes that have been wrought. Orchestras, political parties, and corporations all can lose their cachets, without having basically been changed. The rest of the world moves on, and the above institutions had better respond to these changes as the dinosaurs did not.

I feel optimistic about Simon Rattle. Although this concert might have been a first date, I believe I see a wedding in the future. The partners are both top-class, and I can already envision a world in which the Philadelphia Orchestra and Sir Simon bring back the good old times.

(Stuart Canin, is former Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony and of Hollywood film orchestras, and currently Music Director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra.)