YSO Conductor brings his own style

At times, he abandoned traditional conducting patterns.
By TILL M. MEYN
and LAURA S. MEYN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENTS
YOUNGSTOWN -- "Seven human beings are in this room with us tonight," conductor Randall Craig Fleischer told the gathered classical music fans during his preconcert talk Friday at Ford Family Recital Hall.
Fleischer, of course, was talking about the composers behind the pieces featured on the concert, whose music he brought to life with the artistry of the hardworking Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.
Fleischer's concert was the last of three preview conductor concerts that have served as auditions for the three candidates for music director of the YSO.
Before Fleischer's turn at the podium, Jonathan McPhee, music director for Boston Ballet and principal conductor of the Lexington Symphony, among other groups, led the YSO on May 31.
On June 6, Daniel Meyer, resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony and music director of the Asheville Symphony, conducted the orchestra.
His style
Fleischer used his preconcert talk not only to pay homage to the featured composers, but also to give an overview of his career before opening the floor to questions.
Fleischer's quick wit made both his personal anecdotes and his verbal program notes entertaining; during the actual concert, he did not comment between pieces, allowing the music to stand on its own.
Fleischer's conducting style is built on a heaviness of gesture that created dramatic and powerful music in several instances.
In Sibelius' "Finlandia," Fleischer gave the brass free reign with the first powerful utterances and proceeded to shape the rest of the introduction into a building crescendo.
With both Sibelius' "Finlandia" and the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, the sheer volume -- amplified by the surrounding wooden walls -- made it seem as if twice the number of musicians were playing.
Gestures
At times during the Tchaikovsky piece, Fleischer abandoned traditional conducting patterns and instead raised his fists and shook them at the orchestra, or grabbed his baton with both hands and swung for the fences, which raised the dramatic punch of the piece.
He also used his facial expressions to depict great emotional intensity to the players.
The balance Fleischer achieved in Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances was remarkable in that he was able to evoke such steadily present accompaniment while still allowing each soloist (clarinet, piccolo and violin) to beautifully turn each line and be heard quite well.
The weight of his gestures, however, was not a perfect fit for Vivaldi's "La Primavera" from The Four Seasons, where the heaviness combined with the slow tempo made for a less sprightly rendition.
Fleischer's use of tempo broke some traditional expectations. By choosing a relatively quick tempo for Barber's Adagio for Strings, Fleischer brought out the passion of the melodic lines.
The final chords melted away to nothing when Fleischer slowly lowered his hands instead of using a cutoff gesture.
Glinka's Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla and the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 provided energizing bookends to the concert, the cymbal crashes ringing in our ears long after the standing ovation ended.