SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Mahler and Beethoven: Richard Goode (piano), Marisol Montsalvo (soprano), Christoph Eschenbach (conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra. Royal Festival Hall, London, 28.11.2007 (AO)

This restrained start to Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 heralded what was to be an evening of beautifully intelligent musicianship.  Beethoven knew that minor keys could be as intensely expressive as flashier majors : Eschenbach understands the inner dynamic that makes careful orchestral delineation in the Allegro con brio, for this part is setting out its stating its case, so to speak, with quiet, firm detail.  By the time the pianist does enter, we’ve heard what the orchestra has to say, and can better appreciate what the pianist is doing.   Richard Goode playing is lyrical.  With one hand at the far right of the keyboard, he makes the melody fly off with exuberant freedom.  It’s apposite to the brooding woodwinds and tense blocks of sound in the strings.  Goode’s long solo towards the end of the movement shows the piano in ascendant.  Its warmth and confidence linger on in the much-loved Largo that follows.  Both Goode and the orchestra interacted beautifully, blending lyricism with nostalgia, classical elegance with the new spirit of Romanticism.  In the Rondo, Goode and the orchestra demonstrated just how free and vibrant Beethoven’s vision could be.

Choosing this Beethoven concerto to precede Mahler’s 4th Symphony was a real sign of intelligent musical thinking : this was a pairing of real insight.  Like Beethoven, in this symphony Mahler breaks out of conventional symphonic practice, developing a much sparer, chamber-like work.  It’s a dramatic new departure from the earlier, large-scale symphonies, even though those too are more subtle than is often appreciated. Again, Eschenbach’s restraint and clarity made this a very perceptive performance.  I was impressed by Eschenbach’s understanding of the symphony’s underlying structure.  As James L  Zychowicz, my colleague and mentor,  wrote in his book on this Symphony, Mahler “evokes a ‘timeless   idiom by suggesting the Classical era in the first movement and maintaining classical proportions inn the subsequent movements”.  It matters because it at once makes the final movement stand out more dramatically, yet integrates it firmly within the orchestration.    So often the temptation is for performances to rush towards the finale, without clearly observing the detail and logic that leads up to it. Although Das himmlische Leben exists as a stand alone song it does not perform the role of an aria. It’s not there for its own sake, but was from the start a symphonic idea which used voice like an element of orchestration to amplify the meaning of the symphony.

Again, as in the Beethoven concerto, what Eschenbach emphasised was the tight, almost muscular tension and inner strength in the music.  The role of the first violin, here played by Pieter Schoeman, was therefore given special emphasis.  The part is like a non-verbal “voice”, and in this performance it was so distinctively prominent that it reminded me of the piano’s role in Beethoven.  Eschenbach keeps textures clear, so that the various solo parts shine out clearly. Schoeman was of course exquisite, but so were the other soloists, because Eschenbach made sure that their parts were given room to stand out.  This was a great chance to showcase woodwinds for example, who demonstrated just how critical their role is in this intricately prepared work. Even relatively small touches, like the harp were given the respect they are due in the score.  I also liked the “nostalgic” horn.  Eschenbach knows what t these instruments mean in Mahler’s sound world. Horn, flute and sleigh bells were particularly highlighted because they add an important element of “earthly world” into this symphony, so its heavenly conclusion makes all the more sense.  Eschenbach knows the relationship between the feasting in heaven and the starving child in Das irdische Leben, (and what feast and famine symbolise).  It’s not all that obvious, so all the more credit to Eschenbach for making sure it comes through.

Erwin Stein’s chamber reduction of this symphony was written as an analysis for musicians studying the dynamics in the symphony.  It’s an interesting exercise that raises many ideas, and is worth studying from the score, or from the exceptionally good recording by the Thomas Christian Ensemble.  Stein’s analysis evolves around a piano.  Since Eschenbach is himself a great pianist, I wondered what he’d learned from Stein.  Certainly his approach  to the symphony is very sensitive to the inner relationships in the music, and to why they work together.  It’s closer to the spirit of the score than a relentless “big blast” approach.  Indeed, it made one focus on the “darkness” in the music and its disturbing Freund Hein aspects, so that when the huge “sunrise” passage in the third movement explodes, it’s all the more powerful.

So well defined and realised was the orchestral playing, that it proved the symphony does not stand on the soloist, as is often assumed.  I liked watching Marisol Montalvo, head bent, listening to the third movement thoughtfully, and, bursting into a beatific smile as she started to sing.  She has personality and on stage she must be truly impressive.  It was good, because her strength of personality made her delivery vivid and purposeful.  Voice wise she was not at her finest, but she was enthusiastic, which meant she conveyed meaning even if her diction was imprecise.  Enthusiasm counts for much here, because this is a voice of a happy young woman, sensually enjoying  the simple joys of domestic life that her experience of Heaven offers.  This isn’t Urlicht, it’s not sophisticated or even particularly spiritual.  While I tend to like vulnerable voices in this movement, there is no real basis for that because the text is decidedly red-blooded and robust – in more ways than one.  Montalvo’s “Der Metzger ” came over loud and clear.

Gosh, how I like music making like this!

 

Anne Ozorio

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