Rare gift at any time of life is to find a new friend. Rarer still, in mid-life, is to find a friend like Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya, with whom one connects at many points. Admirer of friends past, like the late great artistic director of the Dallas Opera, Nicola Rescigno, conductor of many of Maria Callas’ finest recital recordings and Valery Gergiev, possibly the greatest living conductor, whom I was fortunate to meet on his first New York, Kirov tour in 1992, and for whom Harth-Bedoya was assistant conductor.
The Fort Worth Symphony has to share the energetic, Peruvian born, Julliard educated, music director with Oslo, where he is chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and, well, the rest of the world’s music capitals. Harth-Bedoya also holds a position as Distinguished Guest Professor of Conducting at Texas Christian University.
Spirited and sentimental dinner prattle last week led to a generous invite to the opening of the Fort Worth Symphony season. And if you wonder why our real estate in Fort Worth is so audacious, well, just get yourself a seat at one of our symphonies.
The program? Tafelspitz and Erdapfeln. Viennese meat and potatoes staples. On the surface, basic fare, but in the hands of a master chef oh, so rich and layered, and oh, so satisfying. The program began with Haydn Symphony No.96. In the first traunche of London Symphonies, it premiered at the Hanover Square Rooms, also known as the Queens Concert Rooms, once the principle music venue in London, with decorative painting by Gainsborough, sadly demolished in 1900.
Maestro Miguel gave an interpretation which was robust and buoyant. The music seemed less driven, than given space to take shape. Passages of ravishing beauty from horns and woodwinds, particularly in the second movement, still haunt me.
Written in the same year as Haydn’s 96th symphony the Mozart Clarinet Concerto which followed, will be familiar to those who remember Out of Africa. “It’s the last composition of Mozart before the Requiem”, observes the maestro. “Its lyricism resembles his operatic work.” Soloist, Ana Victoria Luperi, former principle clarinet for Fort Worth, returned to deliver a performance of technically dazzling precision. Maestro Harth-Bedoya and Luperi manipulated the dynamics of the music to achieve a deeply poignant and romantic interpretation. The well known adagio was, indeed like a plaintive aria.
The second half of the program began with Beethoven’s Overture to Fidelio. Premiering in 1803 at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, the opera went through several revisions reaching its final incarnation in 1814. The overture dates from the 1814 performance version. Maestro Miguel set the orchestra on fire while maintaining tight discipline.
The program finished with Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 known as the “Farewell”. Haydn’s patron Prince Esterhazy had overstayed his retreat to his summer palace and Haydn and his orchestra were eager to return to Vienna. In the final movement, one by one the musicians left the stage blowing out the candles at their music stands in a not so subtle hint to their patron. Here again the music was played with such authoritative finesse and brio that the two hundred and forty year old final joke which ends the work was fresh as paint. The opening weekend, a sort of mini-festival, ambitiously features three different programs from the same three composers. “We do this every year”, chirps Harth-Bedoya. “One year we did three Mahler symphonies.” Still trying to wrap my head around that, I eagerly await his interpretation of Bruckner’s majestic 7th Symphony in November.
Eric Prokesh is an interior designer whose work has appeared on HGTV, and in books and publications including D Home, Southern Accents, House Beautiful, and House and Garden. In January 2005, HG named Eric one of the 50 tastemakers in America and D Home has included him as one of Dallas’ Best Designers for 10 years. Having lived most of his life in Dallas, he now calls Fort Worth home and is one of our experts on beautiful Fort Worth Dirt
