Wednesday 31 May 2017

Concentus Musicus Wien farewell the Brahmsaal

Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 59 in A Major "Fire"
Piano Concerto in D
Violin Concerto in C
Symphony No. 45 in F sharp minor "Farewell"

Concentus Musicus Wien
Erich Hobarth, violin
Stefan Gottfried, piano

Musikverein Brahmsaal, Vienna, 28 May 2017.
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On the strength of this concert Concentus Musicus Wien remains in rude health, despite the absence of its legendary late music director Nikolaus Harnoncourt.  Its harpsichordist Stefan Gottfried is the current music director and the ensemble has great quality across the board.

This was well illustrated by the superb musicianship of both Mr Gottfried and Erich Hobarth, who stepped up from the ensemble to give their accounts of two well known Haydn concerti. Impeccable, expressive and (as one might expect) beautifully in-tune to the orchestra around them. 

The musical highlight was the Fire Symphony, surely one of Haydn's best.  Concentus Music attacked from the word go, the period strings' gutsy tone added to the taut drama as did the horns terse interjections.  The flow and fun of the finale was quite ideal.  Irresistable.
The Brahmsaal, Musikverein
For the final work, the Haydn Farewell Symphony was given. At the famous premiere, Haydn's Esterhazy orchestra each walked off stage as they concluded their parts in a protest at how long they were being kept from their families.  This bit of theatre was here repeated.

Before the performance, Mr Gottfried spoke.  Concentus Musicus had long felt that it should again be performing in the Great "Golden" Hall of the Musikverein.  Its next season would again be in the Goldener Saal, so here was their farewell to the more intimate Brahmsaal.  On the strength of this performance, richly deserved.
The Musikverein facade, Vienna



Monday 15 May 2017

Respighi from the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia

Rossini: Overture, The Siege of Corinth
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1
Respighi: Fountains of Rome; Pines of Rome 
Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Rome
Sir Antonio Pappano conductor
Yuja Wang piano
Royal Festival Hall, London, 11 May 2017
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Antonio Pappano's Santa Cecilia orchestra has been making its mark on the international scene in recent years, but the orchestra's history goes back over a century to 1908.  Its string sound is on the lean side but with plenty of texture; a natural platform for an outstanding set of woodwind soloists.  The repertoire was focused on Italy, with a Rossini overture to start (always welcome) and the better two of the Roman Tryptich of Respighi.  This orchestra has special claims to these pieces having premiered them both in the early twentieth century.  It is highly pictorial music, from its depictions of flowing water to the moods of dawn and dusk.  There was no doubting the sensitivity of Pappano's approach and the superb contributions of his woodwind.  For the ground-pounding conclusion with the Roman Legions marching in triumph into Rome, Pappano stationed the brass high around the hall for extra surround sound effect.  A cinematic touch for the music that launched a thousand movie soundtracks.
 
Antonio Pappano conducts the Santa Cecilia Orchestra

A wonderfully withdrawn Valse Triste of Sibelius led into Rossini concluding the evening with the second encore of the William Tell overture.

Earlier, Yuja Wang had displayed all her supersonic piano technique in the Tchaikovsky piano concerto.  Tchaikovsky wrote a notoriously episodic concerto, and Pappano and Wang did nothing to fix that particular problem.  All moments were given their full indulgence, whether rapt reflection or thunderous attack.  Anything resembling an onward musical flow was lost, from which the big loser was the conclusion of the first movement which was stripped of all majesty and became yet another moment of display.  As so often the second movement fared well and Wang was genuinely thrilling in the finale.  The encores were memorable: a very fine Schubert/Liszt Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, and then the jazzed up hyper-virtuoso version of Mozart's Rondo all Turca was a show stopper for which an inevitable ovation followed.

Sunday 7 May 2017

Santtu-Matias Rouvali on the rise

Smetana Vltava from Má Vlast
Elgar Cello Concerto
Holst The Planets

Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Alban Gerhardt cello
Leicester University Chamber Choir
Leicester Bach Choir

23 April 2017, Royal Festival Hall, London
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Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Santtu-Matias Rouvali was a new name for me, but most certainly one to watch.  The Finnish conductor is about to take up the directorship of the Gothenburg Symphony and here gave plenty of reasons to understand why.

He has a great shock of blond hair and a very demonstrative conducting style with arms high and expressive.  He has an excellent ear for orchestral balance and the evening was littered with fine interpetative moments which showed careful preparation.  One such was during the great tune from Jupiter in The Planets when he scaled back the strings to bring out a woodwind chorale.  Vltava also benefited from a genuine interpretative vision, sounding as fresh as the day of its premiere in Rouvali's hands.