Other Links

Editorial Board

Google Site Search

SEEN AND HEARD CONCERT REVIEW

Brahms and Shostakovitch:  Piotr Anderszewski – piano , Philharmonia Orchestra / Gustavo Dudamel (conductor)  Symphony Hall, Birmingham 3.6. 2008 (CT)

 

Brahms – Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor OP. 15

Shostakovich – Symphony No. 5 Op.47

 

For those regular CBSO concert-goers present for this Birmingham International Concert Season appearance by the Philharmonia, there might have been a touch of déjà-vu when the conducting sensation of the moment, the Venezuelan prodigy Gustavo Dudamel took to the stage. At just twenty seven years of age, Dudamel is still two years older than Simon Rattle was when he took the reins as the CBSO’s Principal Conductor in 1980, yet the comparisons do not stop at the mop of black curls (now greying in Rattle’s case) sported by both conductors' heads.

 

Slim, almost slight in physical stature,  Dudamel looked positively short beside the equally lean yet taller frame of Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski, the much anticipated soloist in Brahms’ epic Piano Concerto No. 1. The somewhat deliberate tempo of the opening Maestoso might have taken some by surprise but there was no shortage of drama as Dudamel drew compelling dark power from the orchestra in the long introduction. Curiously, that same sense of drama seemed lacking in Anderszewski’s early responses. He demonstrated a wonderfully rich tone, which for all its Brahmsian colour, felt somewhat lacking in emotional depth through the  passages of dramatic turbulence marking the first movement's  progress. By contrast the central Adagio brought out the the soloist's best, with playing of the utmost sensitivity and delicacy. The Philharmonia's strings  might lack the sheer depth of tone that Sakari Oramo obtains from the CBSO, yet the soloist was aided by wonderfully hushed orchestral sounds, directed with notable control from the podium, and  Anderszewski’s dynamic control and contrast at the piano was a joy to behold for the duration of the movement. His restraint in the opening Maestose was also further  dispelled by the vigorous opening of the final Rondo which found soloist and conductor completely united in their dynamic responses to the music, with Anderszewski delivering a cadenza full of both panache and pathos.

 

As if sensing that the audience had been most captivated by the Adagio of the Concerto, the soloist responded to the enthusiastic  applause with an encore -   the  Sarabande from Bach's  Partita No. 1 in B flat, music that seemed perfectly suited to his strengths. Beautiful in every detail and subtle nuance, Anderszewski cast a spell here that fell over Symphony Hall like a softly descending gauze. His deftness of touch  was quite exceptional and while the interpretation was very much his own, one could only marvel as he demonstrated why his recording of this  Partita (along with numbers 3 and 6) was nominated for a Grammy award.

 

In his relatively brief career to date, Gustavo Dudamel has already previously displayed an affinity with Shostakovich and his direction of the Fifth at Symphony Hall conveyed a maturity beyond his still youthful years. Conducting without a score, his sense of pace and measured control, essential for any performance of  epic Shostakovich, became the hallmark of a reading combining immense power with measured restraint. From the opening bars, where the strings initially proved reluctant to move with him, Dudamel could be clearly heard digging out the dotted rhythm of the violins, and there was no doubting the commitment of the orchestra to his cause as the movement progressed. The earthy, biting wit of the ensuing Allegretto was captured with a suitably ironic edge and was marked by a fabulous contribution from the horns as well as the continued electricity generated from the podium. That vital sense of pace was most openly on display in the Largo, culminating in a climax of shattering proportions whilst the wall of sound that opened the Allegro non troppo, proved to be the  precursor to a finale of awesome spectacle, underpinned by playing of the highest order from  the whole orchestra. 

 

In 2009 Dudamel will take up the position of Music Director at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, further evidence if it were needed that there are truly great things ahead for this  charismatic young conductor. It was quite clear from the briefest glance around the Symphony Hall audience that Dudamel  was the  reason for the  attendance of  the large numbers of  young people present.  If that’s a feat he can reproduce elsewhere, we will have ample reason indeed to take off our hats to him.

Christopher Thomas                                               


Back to Top                                                    Cumulative Index Page