SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Prom 40, Janáček : Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano); Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet (soprano); Anna Stéphany (mezzo); Simon O’Neill (tenor); Oeter Fried (bass); Simon Preston (organ); BBC Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Boulez. Royal Albert Hall, 15.8.2008 (CC)


Pierre Boulez, one of the greats of twentieth-century modernism, has not been much linked with the music of Janáček  until relatively recently.  In a Pre-Prom talk with Roger Wright, he mentioned conducting the Sinfonietta with the New York Philharmonic in the 1970s, and he referred to a Vixen in Paris in the mid-1950’s that had a lasting effect on him. Boulez also programmed the first French performance, in Tours, of the Diary of one who disappeared (again in the 1970s). It is late Janáček that fascinates Boulez most, and on this occasion he brought three works from 1926 (the composer died in 1928), most explicitly the composer’s originality of vocabulary.

Boulez‘ take on the Sinfonietta was clearly at odds with the more up-front Mackerras (memories of a performance at  the Festival Hall in June 2006 by the latter conductor are still strong). The opening fanfares (for standing brass) were characterised by agility and light timpani but brute force was deliberately withheld. The Philharmonia’s brass line-up was more accurate.

By taking a slower-than-norm tempo for the second movement (Andante), Boulez made the music appear quirkier, especially when viewed through  the Boulez X-Ray spectacles. One heard aspects of scoring that normally are buried; brass cadences were underplayed, as if to underline Boulez‘ move away from anything sensationalist. The opening of the third movement confirmed this. Often delivered as a string sigh, Boulez instead delivered the gesture shorn of any Romantic undercurrent. Everything was magnificently controlled (the tempo changes of the finale being a case in point). Despite many points that provide plenty of food for thought, this was a rather puzzling Sinfonietta.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, making his Proms debut, was soloist in Janáček’s quirky Capriccio for piano (left-hand), flute/piccolo, two trumpets, euphonium and three trombones. The subdued lighting helped the more intimate feel. Bavouzet and Boulez were clearly in sympathy throughout and provided a reading that surely must have made many friends for this under-rated piece. Here, Bavouzet was happy to find the lyric impulse while invoking an almost jazz-café like atmosphere. Compositionally, it is as if the composer is taking conventions and then undermining them.

The performance was almost exemplary. Perhaps Bavouzet over-compensated in his projection in the second movement, yet here, as elsewhere, contrasts between the lyric and the objective were finely drawn. The third movement brought Poulenc to mind (it includes a deceptively sunny tune); Bavouzet’s pedaling in the finale was simply wonderful. A revelation, purely and simply.

The last time Boulez performed the Glagolitic Mass was in 2003. Here, Paul Wingfield’s edition was used, an edition which seeks to reconstruct the original version and, in doing so, to return the original wildness to the piece. Mackerras has recorded the Wingfield edition twice. Interesting that, in taking this edition, Boulez sought to emphasise the more brazen aspects of the scoring (in contrast to some aspects of the Sinfonietta performance of the first part of the concert). The brass of the Intrada sounded like they were playing on natural instruments, before Boulez brought a lyric grandeur that did not preclude tenderness to the Úvod (Introduction, not to be confused with the Intrada). The earthy tone of the Kyrie (Gospodi pomiluj) seemed spot-on, with the chorus being expertly balanced. Throughout, the chorus was exemplary, particularly effective in the many choral repetitions of Věruju (I believe).

The soloists were well-matched, in general. Carbonnet’s soprano was strong and clear, with Simon O’Neill’s tenor partnering her beautifully in the Sanctus. Anna Stéphany, who has impressed in the past, did so again in the Agnus Dei. Peter Fried, who recently appeared with Boulez in Schoenberg’s Glückliche Hand and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle at the Barbican, was in fine, powerful voice. Simon Preston, no less, showcased the RAH organ in the penultimate movement, delivering his part with panache.

The performance was more than the sum of its parts, however, no matter how excellent those parts may have been. Boulez revealed the score in all its brazen glory. And, despite all this, it will be the Capriccio that will live longest in my memory.

Colin Clarke


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