Today we went to observe an open rehearsal of the Seattle Symphony. Guest conductor Xian Zhang worked with the orchestra on the first two movements of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, which is being performed on Thursday and Saturday this week in the concerts featuring Hilary Hahn performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto.
The invitation stated that they would be rehearsing Beethoven and Sibelius, and I assumed the Sibelius referred to the Karelia overture which will open the concert. However, Zhang was pleased with the orchestra after an hour of Beethoven rehearsal, and let them go early.
It was open-house seating on the main floor only, which meant we had to choose between close/bad-viewing-angle/bad acoustics, medium/good-viewing-angle/bad acoustics, and far/great-viewing-angle/good acoustics. This is why I always sit in the tier when I can. We sat in what are considered the "prime" orchestra seats, about fifteen or sixteen rows in on the isle. The view is decent (though too far for my taste), but it's a bit like there's a wall of styrofoam blocking the sound from fully getting to you.
Before she even began the first movement with them, Zhang noted to the trumpets that she had changed their notes in a couple places, moving them down an octave. Sorry Zhang. You can't change Beethoven.
The orchestra sounded wonderful throughout the first movement. Very beautiful, professional playing. Zhang did some technical work with them in a few places, mostly on issues of ensemble and togetherness. She didn't say anything remotely deep, philosophical or engaging about the music though; she merely did some technical tweaking, very similar to what a sophisticated computer might have been able to do.
I was very pleased again with the orchestra's performance in the famous second movement. The lower strings began with a rather short stroke, which Zhang lengthened fortunately, and as the music built up, the strings displayed engaging expressiveness and a tight ensemble. Beethoven's other-worldy music spoke clearly from the stage. Zhang did some important work with them in this movement, tightening the ensemble in the fugue-like section in the middle of the movement where the strings are very exposed, leading back into the explosive recap of the main theme.
Overall, it was very enjoyable to see them in rehearsal, however I was disappointed with Zhang's lack of depth as a leader. The way she interacted with the orchestra was no different than many memories I have of sitting in youth orchestras. There were no revelations or insights of any kind brought forth from her. Just purely technical work.
Thursday evening we attend the concert!
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