An enjoyable evening with Leon Botstein and the JSO

[pizza]

Last Thursday evening I attended an excellent concert given by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein. The program was Alexander Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony and Richard Strauss' Sinfonia Domestica. They were given as part of a series of concerts of works rarely played. I had never before heard the Zemlinsky live and found that unlike the recording I have -- Gielen/SWR -- the two soloists and the orchestra must be carefully balanced in such a way as to make them audible. Microphone placement alone won't do the trick. Botstein did a fine job of it and the soloists blended well with the orchestra. It's a gorgeous, late romantic (1923) Viennese work after poems of R. Tagore, and was most enjoyable.

The Strauss was literally a blast. It requires a huge orchestra and the players weren't the least bit bashful about showing off their wares. The brass was magnificent and slightly overpowering for the rather modest sized theater, but all in all, the evening was most enjoyable and the JSO is a pleasure to hear. I'm looking forward to the next concert in the series, end of February, when they're doing the Gliere 3rd, Ilya Mouremetz.

Botstein precedes each concert with a half-hour talk on the music and takes a few questions from the audience. He's quite an interesting character and has a wonderful sense of humor.

[Ralph]

I've heard him conduct both of those works at Avery Fisher Hall with his American Symphony Orchestra. I assume you heard the concert in Israel.

Botstein is a true Renaissance man. He's probably the longest serving college president in the U.S.

Botstein has a series at Columbia University's Miller Theatre where one symphony is the subject of a lecture by him with musical illustrations. Then the full work is presented followed by a Q&A session. I've learned a lot at those events.