Shostakovich, Dvorák, Bartók: Leonidas Kavakos (violin); London Symphony
Orchestra/Andrey Boreyko, Barbican Hall, 6.10.2005 (CC)
Andrey Boreyko's biography reassures us he is 'one
of the most exciting and dynamic conductors to emerge from
Eastern Europe in recent years' – later there follows an impressive
list of orchestras he has stood in front of, including the
Royal Concertgebouw and the Berliner Philharmoniker. For the
most part, though, it sounded as if the LSO was less than
impressed. Shostakovich's First Symphony (what a graduation
piece!) had its moments thanks to some excellent solo contributions,
but overall flopped badly. A prime example of this was right
at the beginning, when a buffoon-like clarinet spoke after
a completely non-descript opening. Ensemble in strings was
frequently less than perfect, and the whole piece sounded
rather more diffuse than usual. Boreyko, interestingly, seemed
to make certain passages sound like Ives – and it sounded
like a deliberate ploy. The high jinks of the Scherzo, though,
were blunted.
Boreyko went batonless for the slow movement. Solos
from both oboe and cello failed to reach the outstanding mark,
although as the movement progressed one did, at last, get
the feeling that Boreyko understood the work and he paced
the climax perfectly. The filmic opening of the finale provided
good contrast, but jagged edges of ensemble reared up again.
Disappointing, and we were out for the interval by 810pm.
Back to a performance of the Dvorák Violin Concerto
that may have done more harm than good for this wonderful
work's reputation. Both Suk and Suwanai have, in their different
ways, recorded superb accounts. Kavakos, a technician if ever
there was one, seemed to set out to 'wow' the audience – surely
this is not the piece for that. There was a stand-and-deliver
element to his performance at times, too, but what really
spoiled the whole affair was a near-complete absence of that
echt- Dvorákian nostalgic yearning.
Touches of literalism marred the slow movement, a
movement that only on the positive side boasted some fine
horn playing (from both Principal and third players). No surprise
then that the finale lost some of its dance-like quality (the
orchestra was more celebrational, although ensemble was not
100% tight always). Like this, the finale seemed to last a
very long time.
At last the LSO seemed galvanized for the Miraculous
Mandarin Suite. The ballet score has long been associated
with Pierre Boulez (AR was astounded by a performance in 2002
with this orchestra in this venue). I, too, have heard Boulez
on several occasions make the single most convincing case
for Bartók's music. In comparison with this modern master,
Boreyko was a notch or two lower, but there was real rawness
of emotion here. The bite of the opening second violins, the
aggressive, pounding rhythms and the almost frightening tuttis
led to a vivid experience – to make a visual analogy, it was
as if the rest of the programme had been in black-and-white
and suddenly we were in colour. Excellent clarinet cadenzas,
a brass section clearly having a ball and a real sense of
theatre (one could hear the girl's mounting desperation and
fear at various points) all left a strong impression, if not
strong enough to erase the feelings of disappointment encountered
earlier in the evening.
Colin Clarke
