I should note that after Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah is one of our most performed works.

Q. Really?

A. In fact, this is the third time we are doing it since I became Music Director in 1973.

Q. Tell me about the piece. When did Mendelssohn compose it?

A. Mendelssohn finished composing Elijah in 1846, just a year before he died. So it was the culmination of his lifelong musical efforts. He conducted the first performance of the work in August of that year in Birmingham, England. Mendelssohn was exceedingly popular in England where the choral tradition was in full flower.

Q. A year before he died? What do you think inspired him to write it at that time?

A. I can only guess. I do know that Mendelssohn, who was born Jewish and converted to Christianity, was attracted to the story of the prophet. In a letter in 1838 to his friend Schubring, who provided the libretto, he wrote, "I imagined Elijah as a real prophet through and through, of the kind we could really do with today: Strong, zealous and yes, even bad-tempered, angry and brooding -- in contrast to the riff-raff, whether of the court or of the
people, and indeed at odds with almost the whole world -- and yet borne aloft as if on angels' wings."

Q. How was it received?

A. The reception of the new work was rapturous -- the London Times said, "Never was there a more complete triumph -- never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art." Mendelssohn himself said that he'd never known such a triumph as the first performance. At the time, applause was frowned on at oratorios, but here the applause was so insistent that eight numbers had to be encored.

Q. Why do you think it was such an instant hit?

A. While the reception was well-deserved based simply on the work itself, at the time, the English were having a full-blown love affair with oratorios, which had begun with Handel.

Q. You, and many others, have called it one of the most dramatic oratorios ever composed. Why?

A. Mendelssohn was obviously moved greatly by the text he was setting, and he set it vividly, and very much more emotionally than his usual style. Elijah is one of Mendelssohn's most emotional compositions.  The essence of the music highlights the profound drama of the text.  The dramatic nature of the music was dictated by the selected text.  And clearly Mendelssohn paid attention to it as he set the text.

Q. What is it that attracts you to the work?

A. The beautiful music, vivid writing for the soloists and chorus, and masterful orchestral writing. I identify personally with the inherent drama and find it immensely moving and exciting.

Q. Having conducted the work 8 times, how do you keep it fresh each time?

A. I really start from scratch with preparation, trying as best to look at this work with fresh eyes.  I think there are many variations in tempo, phrasing and over-all concept in this performance as opposed to my previous performances.

Q. Interestingly, there is a 12 measure recitative before the overture. Why is that?

A. I can only guess that it is a dramatic device. It works superbly.

Q. Mendelssohn's inaugural performance lasted three and a half hours. Modern performances last considerably less, with this one expected to run under two and a half hours. Why this difference?

A. Maybe their clock was wrong.

Q. This may be one of the few times you ever get asked this question. In this initial performance, Mendelssohn used an amateur chorus of 270 voices. Is OSNY too small for this piece?

A. In fact, I've never been asked that question about a performance by OSNY. I think our size of about 185 is really quite right for a performance at Carnegie Hall.  Numbers aren't critical.  If we are able to get Mendelssohn's point across, then the numbers are right.

Q. Any points that an active listener might want to take special note of in the performance?

A. Mendelssohn's own favorite was supposed to the be chorus: "Behold, God the Lord Passed By."

Q. Can you give me any of your favorites?

A. Elijah's aria "It Is Enough" is a wonderfully moving aria, with a terrific melody; note the balance in the piece.  There is also very colorful orchestration there.  In the choral movement, "Behold, God the Lord", listen for the intense musical description of the storm, followed by the just as intense, yet piano setting, of "a still small voice"  at the end of that passage.  "He Watching Over Israel" is an absolute gem of expressivity and mood painting.  The music in the widow's duet with Elijah vividly highlights the dialogue between them.

Q. For the choral music fan, how will this upcoming performance differ from other performances they might have heard?

A. Obviously, the difference is that it will be my interpretation.  No two people do any one section the same much less an entire work as large as this.  I don't even do it the same way twice!

I will change things from what I had intended even during the performance.  Depending upon the way the is piece progressing, I may see the next movement in a whole new light, and change my approach to it.

Q. Speaking of special things about this upcoming performance, you have a wonderful group of soloists slated. Tell me about them.

A. Brenda Harris, Soprano, whom I should note is a past winner of the OSNY Solo Competition, is enjoying a successful career in opera in the US and Europe. She is on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera and will sing the lead soprano part in the new Handel production next season at City Opera. She has a silvery soprano and sings very expressively in this role which supposedly was written with Jenny Lind in mind.

Maria Zifchak, Mezzo Soprano, is a favorite of ours, appearing with OSNY for the fourth time in two seasons. She has just scored a huge success recently with Opera Orchestra of NY in Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer. She is also on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera.  She has a warm and exciting voice; and is a very dramatic singer.

Daniel Weeks, Tenor, made his Carnegie Hall debut with us in our last concert, the Bach Magnificat. He is beginning a career which promises much.  He is a very complete artist and an exciting performer, with a musical voice.  He has been sponsored by the Marilyn Horne Foundation in their program of sponsoring recitals by promising young singers.

James Courtney, Bass-Baritone, has just scored a triumph in Lulu at the Metropolitan Opera and has been with that company for many years. He has appeared frequently with OSNY, most recently in our last Verdi Requiem. I am sure that his dramatic presence and commanding voice will be outstanding in this role.

Q. Mendelssohn himself dictated how the solo portions should not be sung in criticizing his opening night soprano soloist; "It was all so pretty, so elegant, at the same time so flat, so heartless, so unintelligent, so soulless that the music acquired a sort of amiable expression". What have you told the soloists?

A. We have been working together to try to present a dramatic interpretation of the work.  I have tried to convey to them that I need to feel this drama is being expressed.  Yet they are all first-rate performers, and really need no instruction about how Elijah should be performed.

Q. Do you have any special musical goals for the concert?

A. Aside from the usual desire for as great a mastery of the score as possible, I hope that we can achieve a moving realization of this masterpiece.

Q. What do you hope people take away from the concert?

A. I would hope that the audience will have a greater appreciation of the music and dramatic gifts of Mendelssohn.

Thank you, Maestro.