Janos Gereben wrote:

>I am not sure how much of the Staatskapelle participates in Dresden opera
>performances - all, part or none - but if what we heard tonight in San
>Francisco is the orchestra in the pit at the Semper Opera, it place should
>be a Mecca for Strauss operas.

It has been for over 60 years!

I attended the orchestra's San Diego concert last Friday (1/19).  One of
the best Beethoven 7ths I've ever witnessed.  Here's my report:

   I've just returned from the Staatskapelle Dresden's San Diego concert
   conducted by Sinopoli.  The program (an unusually short one) consisted
   of Beethoven's 8th symphony followed by the 7th symphony after
   intermission.  This was big band Beethoven with no concessions to
   the HIP movement.  Sinopoli took the 8th at a very spacious tempo
   throughout, but his interpretation was carefully nuanced and phrased.
   Only in the finale, which I though he started at an unusually slow
   tempo, did tension sag a bit, but the gorgeous sound and discipline
   of the orchestra (particularly the string section) more than made up
   for this.

   Sinopoli was at his best in the 7th symphony, which he conducted
   without any repeats.  He took the Allegretto as almost an Adagio,
   but his control and phrasing were impeccable and the movement "worked"
   beautifully (my friend Curtis Croulet, who was sitting by my side may
   surely disagree, however).  The Finale may have been taken just a tad
   more slowly than Beethoven's metronomic markings indicate (certainly
   more slowly than in Abbado's breathtaking new BPO recording), but the
   movement really danced (and Sinopoli along with it, almost a la Lenny
   Bernstein) and the combination of orchestral virtuosity and sonority
   made it one of the most satisfying 7ths I've heard, either live or
   recorded.

   The orchestra ended the night with a rousing rendition of Carl Maria
   von Weber's overture to "Oberon" as an encore.  Those who may be
   attending the Orange County performance get to see Strauss' Heldenleben
   and those farther afield (New Yorkers in particular) may get to see
   Mahler's 6th.

   Impression of the orchestra: I have been in love with the sound of
   the Staatskapelle Dresden from the moment I first encountered them
   through recordings many years ago and was happy to hear that the
   Dresden sound is alive and well.  Gone are the vibrato-rich brass
   players of the old East Germany, and the brass sound is now more
   uniform, but still very distinctive and warm.  The woodwinds are very
   good, especially the principal oboist who gave a stellar performance
   in the Beethoven 7th, but my strongest impression came from the string
   section's warm, almost romantic, but very disciplined sound.  The
   orchestra appears to be relatively young, but with very few female
   members (I counted 7 altogether).

   Impression of Sinopoli: He came across as a dynamic conductor with
   a good head on his shoulders.  His conducting style is certainly not
   detached (as he appears to sound on some recordings), but neither is
   he overly emotional despite his pointed rhythmic cues.  If the rest
   of his concerts on this tour are as consistent as this one was,
   audiences should be very satisfied.

   A real treat to the ears and to the eyes.

Ramon Khalona
Carlsbad, California