South Florida Classical Review

Daniel Harding conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in an all-English program Friday night at the Arsht Center. Photo: Julian Hargreaves

Some symphonic repertoire requires a conductor who is a specialist, deeply steeped in the music’s idiom. Works by British composers often fall into that category. While routine performances of that literature can fall flat, the music can really soar and provide great pleasure and reward to the listener when played under a musician who understands and believes in the scores. 

That was exactly the case on Friday night when Daniel Harding led the Cleveland Orchestra in an all-English program at the Arsht Center to conclude the Cleveland ensemble’s annual Miami residency. The British-born Harding is principal conductor of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome and has held positions in Paris, Norway and London. Between conducting engagements, he is also a pilot for Air France. Clearly, British music is in his bloodstream and he drew fervent performances and exceptional playing from the Cleveland musicians.

Gustav Holst’s blockbuster showpiece The Planets was the audience draw but Sea Pictures by Edward Elgar, a concert rarity on this side of the pond, proved a wonderful discovery. A setting of texts by five writers composed in 1899, the song cycle is scored for contralto and orchestra. 

In England, the piece is often performed by mezzo-sopranos but Harding had an authentic contralto, Avery Amereau, as his soloist. 

Avery Amereau performed Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Cleveland Orchestra Friday night. Photo: Mary Goldau

Amereau has sung at the Met and leading European houses. The opening “Sea Slumber Song” immediately established the depth of Amereau’s voice. She can descend to the lowest notes while retaining warmth and beauty of tone. “In Heaven (Capri)” to words by Elgar’s wife, falls between art song and British parlor ballad. Amereau sang with such rapturous lyricism that the song was a high point of the cycle. “Sabbath Morning at Sea,” with text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, finds Elgar at his most eloquent. Amereau brought grandeur to Elgar’s spacious vocal writing and her top range rang clear and free through the house. Harding drew lustrous sonorities from the orchestra and perfectly captured Elgar’s mix of 19th-century romanticism and English nationalism. 

Amereau brought a softer touch to “Where Corals Lie,” teasing the winding melody with aristocratic delicacy. After that song’s quiet postlude, fierce orchestral eruptions launched “The Swimmer.” Alternately forceful and mellow, Amereau’s declamation turned almost Wagnerian. Harding gave full value to the rich orchestral palette while never overwhelming the soloist. Cheers and bravos rang out for Amereau and Harding at the final chord.

Earlier this season, the New World Symphony gave a fine performance of The Planets under Xian Zhang. Although that reading was excellent, there is nothing like hearing a world-class ensemble like Cleveland unleash its firepower on Holst’s solar portraits. With the orchestra firing on all musical cylinders and unerring pacing by Harding, the work sounded fresh and replete with subtle contrasts. It is easy to view Holst’s planetary extravaganza as a bombastic orchestral display but Harding’s iteration made one realize anew what a master of orchestration and instrumental color Holst was.

The grim march of “Mars, the Bringer of War” had visceral impact from the solidity of the mass brass and spot-on precision of the strings. Shattering climaxes came close to setting a volume record for the Arsht. Two harps blending with shimmering wind patterns introduced “Venus, the Bringer of Peace.” Concertmaster Liyuan Xie’s lean but sweet tone embellished solo moments. Exquisitely contoured by Harding, the sound of the full string section seemed right out of the lushest Hollywood soundtrack. 

“Mercury, the Winged Messenger,” the score’s scherzo, emerged appropriately deft and sprightly. The tinkling of the celesta stood out in the orchestral fabric. Harding took a brisk tempo for “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” with instrumental details transparent that often are unheard. The famous hymn melody was given broad space amid glistening strings. Harding masterfully built the crescendo of the solemn brass chorale in “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age” before the music dissolves into a magical combination of celesta, chimes, and harps.

The Dukas-like “Uranus, the Magician” were given rhythmic bounce and energy. After that brilliant movement, the initial spare wind motifs in “Neptune, the Mystic” seemed to come from another sphere and realm. The exact and well-coordinated offstage voices of the South Florida Treble Chorus (prepared by Misty Bermudez and Erynn Millard) were integrated into the symphonic patina to ethereal effect. This performance of The Planets, which displayed the work’s originality and many felicities, could hardly be bettered. Harding brought the chorus onstage and acknowledged key players and sections in response to the audience’s well-earned enthusiasm.

The Cleveland Orchestra repeats the program 8 p.m. Saturday at the Arsht Center in Miami. arshtcenter.org

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