REVIEW: electrifying ‘Rite of Spring’ with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

There are great performances and there are earth-shattering ones. On opening night of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season, the orchestra’s performance of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” under Christian Reif was definitely the latter.

The dynamic German conductor returned Sept. 30 to guest conduct the Cincinnati Symphony in a well-led and ultimately electrifying program. The orchestra, which played magnificently for Reif, likely knows him fairly well by now. Although this was his first planned subscription program, he has visited Cincinnati twice before. Reif stepped in at the 11th hour when John Storgårds was unable to conduct in 2022 and again for Louis Langrée, who had to bow out last April. He is one of 12 guest conductors appearing this season as the orchestra continues its search for Langrée’s successor.

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The conductor opened with a magical reading of Manuel de Falla’s Interlude and Spanish Dance from “La vida breve” (“The Brief Life”). The program’s centerpiece was Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor with the superb violinist Clara-Jumi Kang. But it was Reif’s interpretation of “The Rite of Spring,” with its jaw-dropping, primitive power and the orchestra’s split-second precision, that will be remembered as one of the finest performances of that work in Music Hall.

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Reif’s sense for the dramatic was astonishing in this work. He led its complex rhythms and difficult meter changes with ease. His conducting was vivid, and he felt every phrase and note. The orchestra’s musicians, including its soloists, delivered a thrilling performance that was as exciting for its precision as it was for Reif’s interpretation. Listeners barely moved and burst into extended cheers at its conclusion.

By Janelle Gelfand

Full review here