SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Greig - Bell Ringing

Prokofiev - Piano Concerto no. 3

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 5

I turned on the radio a while back and heard a pianist giving Beethoven an impressive thumping. I judged it to be one of those Russian virtuosi of the Steinway bashing school. It turned out to be Freddie Kempf.

Thus, my fears for the Sage's Steinway were duly confirmed when a string broke during Freddie’s assault on the first movement of the Prokofiev. At the pause before the second movement, while the pianist, head buried under the piano lid, tried to disentangle the unfortunate string, American conductor Andrew Litton turned to the audience and said, "You can't take him anywhere".

Well I'm glad he brought him to The Sage because the performance of the fiendish Prokofiev concerto was given a stunning rendering. Not only was this a demonstration of virtuosity and power from the soloist, but the partnership with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and their Music Director delivered an all-round performance of immaculate ensemble. This well rehearsed interpretation has already been recorded on CD and is being toured.

British pianist Freddie Kempf is, indeed, very popular in Russia where, in 1998 at the age of twenty, he notoriously came third in the premier piano competition, The Tchaikovsky. Russian public and press all ganged up on the judges who were given a very hard time as Freddie was elevated to hero status by public and critics alike, who unofficially awarded him first place as being "head and shoulders" above the other contestants.

The Third Piano Concerto is the most popular of Prokofiev's five and is a relentless show piece that can be entertaining to watch as well as hear. There is probably more spectacular hand-crossing in this work than in any other, and simply watching Freddie Kempf was exhausting. Ironically, there is extant film of Prokofiev playing the concerto but without any soundtrack! More importantly, he made a recording of the work in London in 1932 which is bound to carry authoritative benchmark status. Many virtuosi have recorded the piece but few reach Prokofiev's startling tempi in the fast music. The composer was a virtuoso in his own right and to my knowledge, no one else reaches his speed in the last movement. This applied also to Freddie Kempf at this concert. Whether this is because the pianists think it should not go that fast, or they do not want to risk it, I cannot tell.

A witness to a Prokofiev performance of the concerto in1927 described his playing as "austere, laconic and very simple", and, "there was no unnecessary noise in the playing". That could not be applied to Freddie Kempf. In his recording, Prokofiev manages to render some of the most tempestuous passages with a degree of delicacy that few others attain. Nevertheless, as the 1927 witness said, Prokofiev's playing had, "remarkable forcefulness and rhythmical fervour", and Kempf certainly provided that.

There is no reason why a composer’s own interpretation should be copied and Kempf's performance was perfectly legitimate. What he did do was to dwell more on the rare restrained music with lingering expression, (something Prokofiev does not do) and that helped to offset the hair raising force of his playing.

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony was given a fine performance, balancing clarity of texture with power. The Bergen strings make a clean sound that can carry heft when required. This is a well drilled orchestra, with impressive ensemble and intonation. Andrew Litton conducted the work with authority which may partly derive from the fact that he cut his conducting teeth as an assistant to Shostakovich's friend, Mstislav Rostropovich, at the Washington based National Symphony Orchestra.

A powerful concert of Russian music to which conductor and soloist alike brought some Russian credentials.

John Leeman