Musicians flock to play with symphony here
Michele Munz, The Post Dispatch, March 13, 2005
Posted: 2005-03-14 11:07:00
Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, conducts
members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and musicians from 14
other U.S. symphony orchestras during a concert Sunday to thank the
St. Louis community for its support during the work stoppage. >
It was something never seen or heard before - musicians from 14 other
symphonies playing along with the St. Louis Symphony under the
internationally famed conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra,
Benjamin Zander.
The special concert was planned while the St. Louis Symphony was on
strike and was supposed to be a concert to benefit the striking
musicians. Then the eight-week-long strike ended more than a week ago.
But the 30 or so visiting musicians still wanted to come, volunteering
their time and paying their way to St. Louis for the free performance.
The concert was Sunday afternoon at the Manchester United Methodist
Church.
Instead of a benefit, it's purpose was to thank the St. Louis
community for support during the strike, for donations to the
musicians' relief fund, attendance at concerts and letters written on
the musicians' behalf.
But the concert turned into so much more. The music lifted the
musicians up after a stressful two months and left an audience in awe.
"It was one of the most thrilling concerts I've ever played," said
Franklin Cohen, the principal clarinet for the Cleveland Orchestra,
where he has been for 29 years, "because of the type of event it was,
and the feeling of commitment and passion between the audience and the
orchestra."
Irene Breslaw, the assistant principal viola with the New York
Philharmonic, also was moved by the experience.
"It's an incredible positive energy going on here," said Breslaw.
"It's just a lot of love."
About 1,300 filled the church with extra chairs placed in the aisles.
People started arriving 45 minutes before the concert to get good
seats. And during the performance, people did not cough, whisper or
fidget. When it ended, the audience leapt to its feet for several
minutes of applause.
"It was fantastic to see such a rare occasion of so many different
musicians coming together," said Tamie Heichelbeck, 38. She made the
trip to the church in west St. Louis County from Highland, Ill., with
her parents, Jan and Casper Heichelbeck. She's been coming to the
symphony with them since she was a little girl.
"We're so glad to have them back in business," she said.
Loris Clifford of Manchester said she had been attending the
symphony's concerts for decades. She called Sunday's performance
"world-class."
"It's a very special thing to hear something so tremendous as this,"
Clifford said.
St. Louis Symphony piccolo player Jan Gippo said such a concert with
musicians from different symphonies playing together had never been
done before. It was an example of the solidarity among musicians
throughout the country, he said. The musicians' union had been
fighting for pay and benefits that would keep the quality of the
symphony.
"When an arrow pierces the heart of an artist, all artists hear it,"
Gippo said. "And today, we are healing that wound."
Zander, the maestro, has been the conductor in Boston since 1979 and
is on the faculty at the New England Conservatory. Unlike most
conductors, he shared the meaning behind each piece that was played
and walked out into the audience after the finale to shake hands.
The pieces, Zander explained, were about bitter conflicts that came
from the depths of the composers' souls: Coriolan Overture by Ludwig
van Beethoven, Romeo and Juliet by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, and
Symphony No. 5 by Dimitri Shostakovich. Their purpose is to show how
music can lift us out of the fray.
"However desperate our struggle," Zander told the audience. "We can
always find our path to triumph."
After the show, Zander said he was amazed by the musicians' passion,
precision and devotion.
"They (musicians) do this because it makes a huge difference in
people's lives," he said. "There is not one person in this room who
left with a single doubt as to why this symphony should exist."
