Last week we were treated to a special experience, the opportunity to attend an open rehearsal of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO), an opportunity made available occasionally to long-time patrons. We have been season ticket subscribers for nearly sixty years (initially in combination with two other families). Beth, Mike, Rachael, and I enthusiastically accepted the offer and showed up at the Heinz Hall stage door on Penn Avenue promptly on time. Camilla Pearce, one of the senior members from Development, welcomed us, gave us visitor passes, and led us backstage into the Garden Plaza. She had to keep encouraging me to hurry up; I have always been curious to see what goes on behind the stage and where the musicians go between sets.
The Garden Plaza is a delightful oasis, smack dab in the middle of the Golden Triangle, accessible only from inside Heinz Hall. It is tastefully landscaped with shade trees and small tables, a perfectly outdoor café environment featuring two impressive water sculptures, a large waterfall on the side of the building and a captivating mobile structure in a fountain. We immediately found a table and began to partake of hors d’oeuvres. At this point we were greeted by first violinist Jennifer Orchard, our designated hostess. She has been a special favorite of mine for twenty-five years, dating back to her first concert with the orchestra, when her parents happened to be sitting next to my wife and me. Her mother and Nan struck up a conversation, and we learned that they had come from Canada to celebrate her debut. We were delighted to find that she is a lovely person, in addition to being a fine musician, indeed a perfect ambassador for the Symphony.
Much too soon Jennifer had to leave us for the rehearsal. We were given the choice of seats – on the stage behind the brass section, down front in the first row, or in the balcony boxes. Our decision to select the boxes turned out to be a good one. After a circuitous trip to get there, we found ourselves directly above the first violins. Directly below us, in addition to Jennifer, were two familiar faces, Chris Wu and Irene Cheng. Chris was a close friend of the director of the Quaker Valley Middle School Orchestra when Rachael was part of it. He regularly participated in their fund-raising events, event bringing a string quartet with which Rachael was able to play. Irene was Rachael’s final violin teacher and became a dear friend of the family. During intermission she came up to our box to visit with us.
It was a treat to see so many of our favorites in such an informal environment. For me the center of gravity of the orchestra is principal cellist Anne Martindale Williams. She is about to retire after fifty years with the PSO; replacing her will be a monumental task. Assistant principal French horn Zachary Smith lives in our neighborhood and walks his dog in the park across the street from our house. We met him at a memorable presentation at our local library. We were pleased to see four world-class principals close-up – clarinetist Michael Rusinek, oboist Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, French horn player William Caballero, and trumpeter Micah Wilkinson. We have enjoyed seeing Wilkinson in the role of principal trumpet in the Chautauqua Symphony the last several summers.
The orchestra was rehearsing for their European tour, where they will give thirteen concerts in nine cities in six countries. Typically, a concert begins with a short piece followed by a concerto for solo instrument, and then a full symphony. This rehearsal was for two such short pieces. The first was Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s “Concert Overture in E Major”. Written in 1904 and obviously influenced by Richard Strauss this overture is particularly appropriate for the upcoming tour. Conductor Manfred Honeck had the orchestra play it through (about fifteen minutes) once, then proceeded to dissect it into brief snippets, prior to each of which he gave instructions for minor changes. Immediately after each replay the musicians scribbled notes on their sheet music. According to Rachael, these were primarily related to volume.
The second work rehearsed was quite interesting. Jennifer Orchard is also a member of the Clarion String Quartet. Organized by four PSO string musicians, the quartet specializes in “Entartete Musik”, works that were termed “degenerate” and banned by the Nazi regime. One of these is “Five Pieces for String Quartet”, an integration of neoclassical elements, jazz, and dance rhythms by Erwin Schulhoff. The composer, born in Prague of Jewish ancestry, was a child prodigy encouraged by Antonin Dvorak and Claude Debussy. He died in the Wulzburg prison camp in 1942. A few years ago, Maestro Honeck and Tomas Ille orchestrated “Five Pieces” and included it on the PSO recording of Tschaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. The result is a very satisfying short piece (also fifteen minutes duration) that is equally appropriate for this year’s tour.
For the four of us, watching and listening to the orchestra from the box seats was a different experience. I certainly enjoyed being able to observe the musicians “close up”. Since I lack the musical background of the rest of the family, I am never immediately certain which instruments are producing a specific sound; I rely on opera glasses to make that determination. Hence the box was attractive for me. Nonetheless we were all convinced that our second balcony Family Circle seats are much better acoustically. Oddly, I couldn’t hear the harp from the box seat; in our regular seats I can hear each note distinctly.
The overall experience made for one more red-letter day in a very memorable summer. The Pittsburgh Symphony is an outstanding organization composed of magnificent musicians with a truly exceptional Music Director. Observing them rehearsing in an informal atmosphere was a rare treat for a “tin-ear” fan like me.