Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, under Christian Reif, presents a dynamic 'Rite of Spring'

REVIEW: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by Christian Reif delivers electrifying ‘Rite of Spring’
By Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Business Courier
Oct 1, 2023

There are great performances and there are earth-shattering ones. On the opening night of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season, the orchestra’s performance of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” under Christian Reif was definitely the latter.

The dynamic German conductor returned on Sept. 30 to guest conduct the Cincinnati Symphony in a well-led and ultimately electrifying program. The orchestra, which played magnificently for Reif, likely knows him fairly well by now. Although this was his first planned subscription program, he has visited Cincinnati twice before. Reif stepped in at the 11th hour when John Storgårds was unable to conduct in 2022 and again for Louis Langrée, who had to bow out last April. He is one of 12 guest conductors appearing this season as the orchestra continues its search for Langrée’s successor.

Reif is newly appointed chief conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden and music director of the Lakes Area Music Festival in Minnesota. He has conducted orchestras extensively in Europe and the United States and was formerly resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. He studied conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Juilliard School in New York.

The conductor opened with a magical reading of Manuel de Falla’s Interlude and Spanish Dance from “La vida breve” (“The Brief Life”). The program’s centerpiece was Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor with the superb violinist Clara-Jumi Kang. But it was Reif’s interpretation of “The Rite of Spring,” with its jaw-dropping, primitive power and the orchestra’s split-second precision, that will be remembered as one of the finest performances of that work in Music Hall.

Stravinsky’s ballet for Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes famously evoked a riot at its premiere in Paris in 1913. More than a century later, the score still sounds revolutionary. The scenario (an imagined vision by Stravinsky) consists of elders of pagan Russian tribes who select a young girl to be sacrificed in a dance of death to appease the god of spring.

All of it was vividly portrayed. You could almost see the spring buds emerging from the frozen Russian soil in the opening bars. The sinuous, forlorn bassoon solo of the introduction was wonderfully played by principal bassoonist Christopher Sales. The winds carried on an other-worldly dialogue as the whole orchestra came alive.

Part One, with its “Dance of the Adolescents” and “Spring Rounds,” unfolded with drama and absolute clarity. Reif brought out its dissonances and his tempos were galvanizing. “Dance of the Earth,” which concludes the first part, benefited from the cataclysmic power of the percussion section, particularly principal timpanist Patrick Schleker.

It wasn’t all about power. There were many moments of elegant, refined playing by the orchestra. “The Mystical Circle of the Adolescents” in Part Two was mesmerizing and rich with eerie colors. The buildup to the “Sacrificial Dance” was enthralling. The conclusion, with its searing brass and unrelenting ostinato rhythms, had explosive power.

Reif’s sense of the dramatic was astonishing in this work. He led its complex rhythms and difficult meter changes with ease. His conducting was vivid, and he felt every phrase and note. The orchestra’s musicians, including its soloists, delivered a thrilling performance that was as exciting for its precision as it was for Reif’s interpretation. Listeners barely moved and burst into extended cheers at its conclusion.

In the first half, it was a treat to hear violinist Kang in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. The former prodigy, who made her concerto debut at age 5 with the Hamburg Symphony in Germany, won first prize in the renowned Indianapolis International Violin Competition in 2010.

Prokofiev began his Second Violin Concerto in the West in 1935, just as he was preparing to return to the Soviet Union, where he finished it. You can hear his sense of homesickness in the opening movement. Kang’s opening phrases captured this haunting atmosphere, and she communicated with a big, glorious sound on her “Thunis” Stradivarius violin of 1702.

The violinist easily balanced the concerto’s technical fireworks against moments of sheer poetry. Prokofiev’s bittersweet themes and unexpected harmonic shifts were a reminder that Prokofiev was then working on his ballet score, “Romeo and Juliet,” and had just finished the music for the film, “Lieutenant Kiji.”

The second movement accompanied by pizzicato strings, was even more romantic, with Kang’s sweetly intoned melody soaring above. She displayed superb control and mesmerizing beauty throughout its variations, turning at times to communicate with orchestral soloists. The finale was a vibrant dance, colored by castanets in the percussion. (The piece premiered in Madrid.) The violinist soared through its technical demands with effortless brilliance.

Reif was a fine partner and kept the orchestral texture transparent in this winning collaboration.

The audience insisted on an encore, and Kang complied with a beautifully felt performance of J.S. Bach’s Largo from Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005.

Reif will return on Nov. 30 to conduct his own arrangement of John Adams’ “El Niño” in a CSO Proof concert with the Cincinnati Symphony. His wife, soprano Julia Bullock, will be performing as one of the soloists.

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