Violinist’s New Job a Dutch Treat

To music lovers everywhere, the name Concertgebouw instantly triggers the image of a fine, Old World orchestra, a great among greats, right up there with the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics.

For Alexander Kerr, it means even more than that.

The 26-year-old violinist--who plays with the Cincinnati Symphony this weekend at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (Saturday as concertmaster and Sunday as soloist for the Mendelssohn Concerto)--remembers watching a video of the Concertgebouw.

“It was 1985, and Caros Kielber, that genius of a conductor, was leading the orchestra. At the time, I told my mother that I’d die if ever given the chance to play with them.”

His moment has come. In August, Kerr will join the revered ranks of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam as co-concertmaster.

It smacks of a Cinderfella story. The Netherlands’ treasured music ensemble is not a place to find an American. Ninety percent of its players are Dutch, and the rest are from other European countries. Indeed, Kerr will be its first co-concertmaster from across the seas.

Looking to fill the slot, music director Riccardo Chailly had called the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, asking for a graduate with “the Philadelphia Orchestra sound.” Kerr’s name was given--unbeknownst to him.

“The call I got to come for an audition,” he recalls, “was out of the blue. The truth is, I took it as a practical joke. A friend of mine always does these things, and that seemed the only possible thing to believe. There was no possibility it could be true.”

When he finally understood that the invitation was real, he was in “shock,” he said. He flew to Amsterdam, auditioned before Chailly and 40 string players and an hour later received word that he had been chosen.

Kerr has been impressing listeners since he graduated from Curtis in 1993 and went straight to the concertmaster’s chair with the Charleston Symphony. Two years later, he traded up to the Cincinnati concertmaster berth. And now (another two years later; “call me a two-year man,” he jokes), he has hit the top.

So why not a solo career? Isn’t there room, among the Vengerovs and Mutters and Midoris, for a Kerr?

“Even at 22,” he answers, “I knew that concertmaster was for me. As much as I love solo playing, the sacrifices--endless touring, life as a loner--are too great for someone who wants stability, a home and a family.”

Kerr--who got married a week before he got the call to audition for the Concertgebouw--also likes the idea of working with Europeans, who take what he sees as “a more civilized approach.”

Their tradition of using co-concertmasters attests to it, he said. Each signs on for a 22-week shift, leaving half the season for chamber work, solo playing and teaching.

“The trouble with American orchestras,” Kerr said, “is they don’t make enough time for their musicians to pursue other goals.”

He thinks he got the job because of his “European sound--smooth, full and meaty, with a round tone and a Romantic bent.” Some violinists, he notes, are flashy technicians.

“But I see technique only as a means to an end. What’s important is to speak through the instrument, not to show off virtuosity.”

* The Cincinnati Symphony plays at 8 p.m. tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. $10-$50. (562) 916-8500.