BSO gives Beethoven the CSI treatment
In the perpetual effort to enliven the classical music world, just about anything is fair game. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra music director Marin Alsop (above) figured out a way to combine her interest in CSI TV shows with the BSO's Beethoven-filled season, resulting in a program that fuses medical diagnoses, theatrical impersonation, slide projections and, oh yeah, some music, too.
The idea is to probe into the lingering mysteries of the composer's tragic deafness and questions about the cause or causes of his death, bringing the iconic genius and his longtime suffering closer to home. Part I of CSI: Beethoven, given last night at Meyehoff Symphony Hall (Part II is tonight), certainly revealed plenty of thoughtful planning, not to mention dashes of welcome humor.
And, except, ironically enough, for faulty captioning equipment that was onstage to assist the hearing-impaired, the presentation moved along smoothly. But it seemed rather padded to me, often covering the same ground (several times, the long list of Beethoven's ailments was put up on the screen). And there was no mistaking the effort to hook folks into coming back tonight to get the answers to all the posited theories. I kept thinking it would have been more fun to do a little compression, throw in an intermission (Part I ran about 90 minutes without one), and get it all over with in a single tight night.
Still, a lot of interesting ground was covered, and engagingly (hard to imagine that anyone ever thought that applying almond oil and horseradish would help faulty ears). The medical personnel, Drs. Charles Limb and Philip A. Mackowiak, discussed the evidence, including Beethoven's autopsy report, in straightforward, non-dry fashion.
Beethoven specialist William Meredith added a light touch in his informative remarks. And Alsop served as the protagonist/host with her usual aplomb and wit. Although almost everything was scripted (a lot of off-the-cuffness could have been deadly), writer Didi Balle avoided stiff or forced dialogue, with a few exceptions. Her most colorful lines were for Beethoven himself, on leave from the spirit world and portrayed with terrific flair by Baltimore actor Tony Tsendeas. It was a gimmick that might have backfired into tacky-land, but didn't. (My favorite bit: Alsop telling Beethoven the medical examination would begin as soon he took a seat and filled out some forms.)
The excerpts from Beethoven's symphonies, a movement from each of the first four and a portion of the fifth, weren't as neatly and meaningfully integrated into the package as I had expected. And there wasn't much distinction in Alsop's approaches to those segments (the first movements of Symphony No. 1 and No. 3, in particular, needed more punch and drive), or in the orchestra's playing of them (brass and woodwinds encountered several bumps). Then again, this wasn't meant to be a concert, and, as entertainment, it measured up. The responsive audience (nearly filling the main floor seating -- the balconies were closed off) seemed to be quite pleased.
Part II of CSI: Beethoven, which promises lots of answers to the questions raised last night, is at 7:30 p.m. today at Meyerhoff Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $20. Call 410-783-8000 or go to bsomusic.org.
