She wasn't very big - I guess I'd been expecting a physical superwoman - dressed in black trousers and a voluminous white shirt, her shoulder-length red hair swirling in the breeze created by her stride. She sort of hopped up to the podium to acknowledge the cheers from the audience, nodded her head once, grinned, then turned around and gave the downbeat. I loved every note. (Note: No matter how long I searched, I've been unable to find a satisfactory link for Ms. Edwards.)
Ms. Edwards returned two years later to conduct the Orchestra in a concert at its summer home, Blossom Music Festival. I nearly broke my hands applauding her that night, too.
When Blossom was new, in the 1970s, Sarah Caldwell once conducted the Orchestra, but for Sian Edwards, it was the main stage first. Nothing new to her, as she was already music director of the English National Opera, based in London, and in addition had her international guest conducting appearances.
And then, the very week when it was time to write this column, the Cleveland Orchestra was again conducted by a woman, albeit this time from the keyboard. Mitsuko Uchida is performing two Mozart concertos, sandwiched around a Divertimento. Ms. Uchida, whose early career was built as a Mozart specialist, certainly demonstrated why this is so, especially in these performances. I wish I could say they would be recorded and made available commercially, but I don't know if they will be or not. I do know that all five concerts were sold out, and everyone present seemed to walk out wearing a smile.
At the other end of the week were performances of the Baroque opera-ballet, Rameau's Les Indes Galantes given by Apollo's Fire, and conducted from the harpsichord by the founder and conductor, Jeanette Sorrell. Apollo's Fire is Cleveland's award-winning Baroque orchestra, which has continually, since its founding in 1992, served up the rare, but well done.
