
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997              TAG: 9704170051

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NEW YORK                          LENGTH:  297 lines

CARNEGIE HALL DIARY A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE VIRGINIA SYMPHONY AS IT PREPARES FOR ITS CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT AND MAKES A TRIUMPHANT APPEARANCE.

JOANN FALLETTA doesn't really need a name tag, does she?

Would anyone among the 300 guests attending the post-concert reception at the Parker-Meridien hotel not recognize the music director of the Virginia Symphony? If not before Tuesday night's Carnegie Hall debut, then certainly after?

Yet, there it sits - ``JoAnn Falletta, Virginia Symphony'' - unclaimed among two dozen or so others lined up alphabetically on a table at the rear of the reception room.

There's a good reason Falletta isn't wearing it: She's still in the maestro's suite at Carnegie, maybe spending time with her family, maybe unwinding alone.

The Carnegie concert, a two-year investment of energy and emotion, is over. It was an overwhelming success - the 2,100 people in the audience were on their feet with the final note of Edward Elgar's ``Enigma Variations,'' calling her back to the stage four times. Characteristically, she took a spot alongside her musicians for the final bow.

But it's over. Two years of planning, and two days of hectic final touches. Starting with the reception and working backward in time, here's a look at the Symphony's Carnegie sojourn.

10:45 p.m., Tuesday. The penthouse of the Parker-Meridien, where the symphony is throwing its after-concert reception, is jamming. Hundreds of guests are chattering, pausing to wash down tiny crabcakes, sesame chicken, beef wellington and little spinach quiches with wine and Perrier.

It's slow going for the musicians just arriving from Carnegie Hall, a couple of blocks up 57th Street. Family, friends and people they don't know stop them at every turn to congratulate them on the performance. They deserve it.

One guest is no stranger. Peter Mark, general director of Virginia Opera, has been in the pit of the Harrison Opera House with many of them.

``I've heard a lot of orchestras at Carnegie Hall,'' he says. ``I played with the American Symphony there. This concert was one of the best. I'm so proud.''

Making her way along the room-length picture window overlooking Manhattan, principal oboist Sherrie Lake-Aguirre has managed to dodge the crowd.

``I feel like we were here to represent Hampton Roads,'' she says, ``and we did it spectacularly.''

Aguirre was spectacular herself. Her striking, bittersweet solo during the Barber symphony didn't go unnoticed by Falletta. The conductor had her stand for a bow at the conclusion.

``JoAnn and I have this thing about this piece,'' Aguirre says. ``We both know it so well. If you could see her face from my side of the stage, you'd melt. I just want to give this woman everything.''

10 p.m., Tuesday. He's the first one on his feet, leading a chorus of ``Bravas'' for the symphony's performance of Barber's Symphony No. 1. He's on his feet again when Elgar's ``Enigma Variations'' thunders to its climax.

But Dolph Hailstork, maybe the most down-to-earth composer on the planet, doesn't move a muscle during his own Piano Concerto - except when he dashes from the box near the end to take his bows with Falletta and pianist Leon Bates.

The Norfolk State University professor is on stage for a long while. The concerto, commissioned by the symphony, written for Bates and first played in Norfolk five years ago, receives a long standing ovation from the nearly full house.

``I feel just great,'' Hailstork says after the concert. He isn't talking just about the New York debut of his concerto. ``They worked so hard. I'm very proud of our team. We went to New York and we won.''

Gracious to a fault, he delays going to the reception to autograph the programs of concert-goers filling Box 35.

7:50 p.m., Tuesday. Ten minutes before curtain, Betty Edwards, the chairman of the symphony's board of directors, is moving faster than Halle-Bopp through the first-tier boxes at Carnegie Hall.

She stops by to visit with Hailstork, she chats with supporters from Hampton Roads who've filled the pricey seats.

10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .

``It's been an incredible ride,'' Edwards says. ``Looking at the total picture, where we've been and where we're going, this is a beginning, not the end. You get a dream about making things happen, and when that dream happens, it's the most wonderful thing in the world.

``The best thing is that (executive director) Dan Hart, JoAnn and I have become a team. JoAnn's the soft one, I'm the tough one and Dan is somewhere in the middle.''

7:30 p.m., Tuesday. The maestro's suite is positively fragrant. Bouquets of flowers sent by well-wishers fill most of the counter space. Photographs of some of the greats who have conducted at Carnegie Hall - Mahler, Stokowski, Solti, Bernstein - line the walls.

It isn't JoAnn Falletta's first time in this room; she's guest-conducted at Carnegie before. It is, however, the first time with her own orchestra.

So what's she doing talking with three New York City firefighters just 30 minutes before she's due on stage? No cause for alarm. One of the firefighters is Tom Engel, a dear childhood friend from Queens. He was also her principal horn in the Queens Symphony when she was first learning the repertoire. They talk at length about old times. Engel gives her a photo of his daughter; Falletta promises to visit this summer. Then she's off to introduce him to David Wick, the symphony's principal horn.

``It's so impressive to have the fire department come to your concert,'' she says a few minutes later. Falletta is loose. She's also ready.

``Now, I really want to go out there and do it. The nervousness is behind us. We've got a tape. Tonight, we can go for it. Take chances. Take risks. Do the best we can.''

7:15 p.m., Tuesday. Like most of his colleagues backstage in the bustling men's dressing room, principal trumpet Steve Carlson was taking it easy before the show.

``It's a matter of pacing and strength,'' he says. ``Brass players do a large amount of playing on this program, but it's not heavy like Mahler or Wagner. It's all about delicacy, accuracy and nuance.

``Rehearsal was so good today, and the orchestra sounds so wonderful, I'm just looking forward to making good music. JoAnn is so stable. She's very consistent. We all know what to expect. There should be no surprises as long as I concentrate.''

Principal trombonist Scott McElroy agrees.

``What's that Tom Cruise movie where he raced cars? `Days of Thunder.' They never talked about the accidents. It's funny. No one talks about Carnegie. But Rodney (Martell, bass trombone) and I were talking about it this afternoon. Everyone is definitely into keeping their head in the game. Staying focused.''

On stage, Barbara Chapman is fine-tuning her harp, though it's not really necessary.

``How am I feeling? Great,'' she says. ``It's 45 minutes before downbeat and my harp is perfectly in tune. Will it be at 8 o'clock? I don't know.''

An eight-year symphony veteran, Chapman gets the best of both worlds Tuesday night. She's on stage just for the opening piece, Barber's Symphony No. 1. After that, she'll join her husband, Jonathan, in the front row for Hailstork's Piano Concerto and the ``Enigma Variations.''

``As an audience member, it's thrilling,'' she says, making a few more adjustments. ``As a musician, it's humbling when you think about who has passed on this stage before.

``But I'm not nervous. We've really worked hard for this. JoAnn is not going to drag us out there if we're not ready. Once you've reached this goal, you aren't the musician you were before. You keep moving forward.''

1:30 p.m., Tuesday. Even to an untrained ear, the difference in acoustics is remarkable.

Where Chrysler Hall is sharp corners and cannon projection, Carnegie seduces. It is warm, enveloping. And pristine, resonating from the soles of the feet and then, light as a cat treads, up the spine.

The difference isn't apparent only from the floor. That's why the symphony has gathered at 1:30 Tuesday. The afternoon rehearsal - two hours to get used to playing in new environs, an intense session that will be taped for CD - is as important as the evening performance, Falletta says.

``Everyone looks calm and collected. Just being in here, they know the history of this place. They know what they've stepped into.''

Associate conductor Wes Kenney, sitting back in the house to ensure that the orchestra creates a balanced sound, compares the change of venue to taking up a different instrument. Or buying a new car.

``Both will get you from A to B,'' he says, ``but the ride isn't the same.''

This ride is good. Falletta smiles broadly as she leads the symphony through the Piano Concerto. Every instrument sings. Pianist Leon Bates, who knows the concerto well - he was the guest artist for its 1992 Norfolk premiere and played it again last weekend at Chrysler Hall - cuts no corners. Midway through, he breaks a string. An A or G, one in the higher register.

``I didn't know there were chimes in this,'' he says, laughing, backstage. ``I was really bearing down. I want to be totally prepared.''

Falletta has no doubts, about Bates or the orchestra.

``Last night I had butterflies, but today I feel great,'' she says. ``I can sense that the musicians are relaxed. We're going to do it. We're ready. I'm really feeling good about it.''

6:30 a.m., Tuesday. So what's a nice group of musicians doing on a morning like this?

``Get this down,'' says Beverly Kane Baker. ``UNNNNHHHH!''

What the symphony's principal violist is trying to say is: The sun isn't up, the mercury is south of 40 and it's windy. Why am I outside, getting ready to play, when I could be back at the hotel, warm in bed?

Going coast-to-coast.

Fourteen hardy members of the symphony, among them concertmaster Vahn Armstrong, veterans Baker and bassist Tom Reel, and rookies Joanne Meyer (flute) and Sterling Jenkins (violin), have been at Rockefeller Center, home of NBC's ``Today'' show, since 6-ish.

After bagels and coffee in the Green Room (it's actually beige), they file onto 49th Street. In about two hours, they'll play the ``Today'' theme, live, right outside Studio 1A.

``My hair is the wind-speed indicator,'' says Kenney, who will conduct the 90-second performance.

``This is so cool,'' says executive director Dan Hart.

By any definition.

The gig came about when board member Clay Barr was at a party in New York with ``Today'' co-host Katie Couric. Barr talked about the orchestra. Couric was interested. The twains met. Virginia Beach composer Brent Havens scored the music. Kenney picked it up from him Monday at Norfolk International Airport before catching his plane.

Today is a New York spring day. The cold tends to make fingers less nimble. Clothespins and tape are needed to keep the sheet music from swirling through Midtown.

``That's my last vibrato,'' says Armstrong.

``There's not enough resin in the world to make this bass speak when it's this cold,'' says Reel.

Even with all the street noise, the musicians are as crisp and clear as the air.

Show time isn't for 90 minutes, so they warm up with bagels, coffee and symphony sweatshirts, a box of which have just been delivered. Baker calls Virginia Beach to be sure her kids are watching at 8:30. Rachel Paulos, second horn, sacks out on a table. Armstrong stretches out on the floor.

At 8:15, they're back on the street to be greeted by people in KISS makeup, a lady whose hat is a Styrofoam telephone, someone from Idaho, a couple married 25 years and cheering hometown fans in New York for the Carnegie performance.

The temperature just dipped from 41 to 40. Kenney's hair indicates it's still windy.

8:30. Cue. Piece of cake. Afterward, Couric interviews first-year cellist Jane Kang, who uses the opportunity to plug the Carnegie concert and the symphony's first CD. The smart musicians, she adds, are back at the hotel. Warm. In bed.

``I'm a mother of three, so getting up at 5:30 is natural for me,'' says Baker. Watching ``Today'' regularly isn't her only motivation for being out so early. ``You can't turn this down. It gives us a little kickoff for tonight. This is our big moment.''

``This is so cool,'' Hart says again.

2:54 p.m., Monday. Give the orchestra members credit for cool, at least those on USAir Flight 436 out of Norfolk Monday afternoon.

Carnegie Hall? Maybe it's superstition - musicians are prone to that - but no one talks about the next night's debut. Instead they coo over Christoper McElroy, 3-month-old son of principal trombonist Scott McElroy; they laugh when the captain, an ex-trombonist himself, gets on the PA and announces that the winds will be playing Barber, or maybe Frank Zappa, over New Jersey ``I thought it was a battle of the bands,'' he says, ``or a PBS fund-raiser.'' They applaud when he tells them to break a leg.

Carnegie isn't mentioned on the bus ride from LaGuardia into Manhattan, either.

Janet Kriner steadies her cello, which is on the seat in front of her. It also had its own seat on the plane. Principal bassist Scott Harris and principal timpanist John Lindberg discuss union stuff.

All that cool goes right out the window, though, when the bus turns off Sixth Avenue and onto 57th Street.

Carnegie Hall is on the left.

Someone spots a poster.

``There we are! There we are!'' everyone cries, almost in unison.

1:45 p.m., Monday. The genteel ladies of the Symphony League don't need megaphones. Pompons? Possibly. They've just let loose with hip-hips and hoorays that reverberate through the Norfolk International terminal during their surprise send-off of the symphony.

``Hey, you're making me nervous,'' says a laughing Lindberg. The timpanist, in his 31st year with the orchestra, is the first musician to arrive at Gate 1 for Monday's 2:54 p.m. flight out of Norfolk. Dressed in a dark suit and Bogey trench coat, he's an entourage unto himself.

``One of the career decisions I made was to stay (in Hampton Roads) and watch the orchestra grow,'' he says. ``This weekend, one of the older men in the symphony came up to me and said, `John, when you joined in 1966, did you ever think we'd be going to Carnegie?' I turned to him and said, `Yes.' ''

Cellist Jane Kang, 25, came aboard this season. Although she did her undergraduate work at Eastman in Rochester, N.Y., it will be her first trip to The City. OK, the second. The vacation with her parents when she was a kid doesn't count.

``I'm excited, but I feel confident because the orchestra is so well prepared,'' she says. Walking on stage, Kang adds, is ``going to be one of those moments you've always imagined, when you look around and say, `Ahhhh!'

``The one moment I'm looking forward to is when JoAnn (Falletta) has the orchestra stand, face the audience and smile. I'll be standing there with my colleagues. We did it.'' ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTOS BY MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot

The symphony makes its Carnegie Hall debut Tuesday night. It

received a standing ovation from the 2,100 in the audience.

Conductor JoAnn Falletta was called back to the stage four times

after she and the Virginia Symphony finished their Carnegie Hall

performance.

Falletta leads her orchestra in the performance for which they spent

two years preparing and two final hectic days putting on the

finishing touches. Before going on stage, she said: ``Tonight we can

go for it. Take chances. Take risks. Do the best we can.''

Photos

MOTOYA NAKAMURA / The Virginian-Pilot

Arriving by bus from LaGuardia Airport, symphony members cried