What
made this beautifully balanced programme a
truly ‘musical’ evening was the sensitive
and stylish direction of conductor Vladimir
Jurowski. This was not a mere run-through
as many RFH concerts seem to be these days
but an evening of truly great conducting and
orchestral playing of international standard
- and it was being taped for the LPO’s archives.
Igor
Stravinsky’s Divertimento –
(Suite from Le baiser de la fée)
was given a refreshingly angular, tough and
grainy performance with Jurowski teasing out
the rugged nature of the outer movements with
the horns and trombones playing with crisp
precision. The conductor brought out the post-romantic
pastiche elements in the Danses suisses
with warm, full-bodied playing from the LPO
strings.
Lang
Lang’s pristine playing of Beethoven’s 1st
Piano Concerto in C, Op.15 was
perfect – eerily perfect and totally lacking
in personality. This was the problem: all
three movements sounded soulless and monochromatic
with no distinctive difference in mood, pitch
and dynamism. What was so depressing about
this monotonously ‘perfectly played’ account
was that it lacked any trace of instinctive
feeling; - it all felt as if the pianist was
simply not there. I had the immediate impression
of a Microsoft Computer sitting on the pianist’s
stool.
Getting
the notes right will never be a problem for
someone possessed of Lang Lang’s exemplary
technique but making music is not merely about
getting the notes right. In his case, the
occasional wrong note would be a small price
to pay for endearing spontaneity.
What
distinguishes a great musician from a mere
virtuoso is interpretative insight. With a
great artist there is always an element of
risk and danger but not with Lang Lang. He
came across as a computerised automaton plugged
into the piano: every gesture was that of
a well-rehearsed poseur. Without meaning to
sound culturist – subjective feeling seems
alien to many Chinese musicians today, who
play with a regimented precision but seem
not to understand or, more importantly perhaps,
love the music.
Among
Lang Lang’s most irritating and affected mannerisms
were the conducting-type gestures of his raised
left hand which some members of the audience
found amusing or distracting. What saved Lang
Lang’s ‘non-performance’ from total oblivion
was the dynamic conducting of Jurowski and
the deeply expressive playing of the LPO.
Lang Lang’s encore was Träumerei from
Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen but
his over-acting merely produced turgid and
mannered playing. This was not Lang Lang’s
concert.
The
RFH audience was drastically reduced after
the Lang Lang contingent left and missed the
highlight of the evening: a magnetic performance
of Sergei Prokofiev’s underrated and rarely
performed Fourth Symphony, Opus 112 (revised
version).
The
Andante-Allegro eroico was conducted
with great swagger with Jurowski securing
dark and brooding playing from the LPO; again
the superb horns and trombones shone through
while the strings had warmth and weight. The
Andante tranquillo - based on the ballet
scene of the Prodigal’s Son’s homecoming –
sounded like a ghostly fox trot while the
Allegro risoluto had a graceful swaggering
lilt.
The
Allegro risoluto echoes the first movement
in its energetic march rhythms with appropriately
brutish playing from the brass and bass drum
having intense impact and again Jurowski brought
out the powerful throbbing energy of the score
giving the sensation of industrial machinery.
The symphony concluded with a torrent of wild
energy.
Vladimir
Jurowski is a very refined and mature conductor
who has total rapport with his players, so
one expects great things from his time as
Principal Guest Conductor with the LPO.
Alex
Russell
Further
Listening:
Ludwig
van Beethoven
Piano Concertos 1-5; Pierre-Laurent
Aimard
(pf); Chamber
Orchestra of Europe,
Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor); 3 CDs: Teldec:
47334.
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