SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Dvořák:  Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano); London Symphony Orchestra/Michał Dworzyński. Barbican Hall, London, 11.10. 2007 (CC)

Last minute cancellations are surely the dreams of every aspiring conductor. To make one’s mark on the international scene because of an indisposition is an opportunity not to be wasted. The 28 year old Polish conductor, Michał Dworzyński, stepped in for Daniel Harding at the eleventh hour for an all-Dvořák programme. This could have been the stuff fairy tales are made of …

“Could have” being the operative phrase.

The young Dworzyński won the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2006; part of the prize was an Assistant Conductorship of the LSO. His big break even came with a gift-wrapped top-flight soloist in tow. In the end, the evening was a rather lacklustre affair. Still, good to hear Dvořák’s Othello Overture of 1891/2. Dvořák’s tone poems are substantial enough and inspired enough to warrant regular performances, but somehow they do not have seemed to have attained the popularity of the Slavonic Dances (the Op. 72 set was originally programmed as the second half of this concert). At just under a quarter of an hour, Othello is a relatively terse affair that was actually the highlight of the concert. From the tender string phrasing of the opening through to much affectionate playing later on, there was much to admire. A sloppy brass attack was a shame, but there was much to admire in Dworzyński’s highlighting of the gestural. The delicious orchestration was duly relished, and the very Wagnerian progression towards the end led to a passage of real darkness. Dworzyński’s beat is clear, his body movements similarly so, but often rather studied. Strange, as spontaneity, after all, is what the occasion seemed to demand.

Aimard has recorded the Dvořák Piano Concerto, a reading (on Teldec) that I have never really warmed to, perhaps because of the contribution of Harnoncourt there. On this occasion, Aimard chose, surprisingly, to use a score; another surprise was his over-projected right-hand, initially at least. His interpretative stance seemed at first rather objective, although perhaps a digital alarm going off as he began to play distracted him! Later he warmed in to the music somewhat but he never attained the grand sweep of Richter (I think of the Bavarian performance with Kleiber, currently on an EMI GROC). Aside from one superfluous gesture to the timpani, Dworzyński showed himself a fine accompanist. If the orchestral opening of the slow movement was rather literal (Aimard was far more tender), it set the pace for this movement - the orchestra simply could not sustain Aimard’s concentration, a problem also in the finale, which tended to meander rather. Aimard’s big, almost Brahmsian statement towards the end was not enough to redeem a performance of a work that deserves all the championing at the highest level it can get.

The Eighth Symphony is quite an interpretative challenge. Dworzyński imparted a nice feeling of breadth to the famous opening before giving rather too much frenzy later on. The slow movement had me wondering whether Dworzyński really should use a score. He spent too much time looking down, not enough engaging with his players. Perhaps as a result, drama was on the low side and the LSO sounded distinctly under par. Subtlety was generally lacking, as was any off-the-cuff magic, the latter a fault particularly evident in the third movement, with its forced-sounding string portamenti. The finale, at least, was a success, broadly-speaking. Horn trills were nicely non-elephantine, climaxes were given their due and it was clear that Dworzyński was trying to be alive to the wide-ranging emotions of this movement. There is hope, it seems, but I cannot say I will be first in line for his next concert.

Colin Clarke