SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Beethoven; Symphony in F major, Op. 68, No 6, 'Pastoral'
Debussy; La mer.
Ravel; Daphnis et Chloe - Suite No 2.

This was the first of two concerts in London from the Vienna Philharmonic with Lorin Maazel, who nears his eightieth birthday. It almost goes without saying that throughout the concert there was much beautiful, and stunning orchestral playing, particularly in the Ravel. From where I was sitting in the front stalls however, it was apparent that in full tutti passages especially, the hall’s limited and rather restricted, acoustics interfere with the overall sense of orchestral balance and perspective.

Maazel chose a sensible 'Allegro ma non troppo' for the opening of the 'Pastoral' symphony, but rather than gaining any sense of the 'Awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the country' I had more the impression of chugging along, possibly in a renovated luxury automobile. The long crescendos in the movement’s development section from B flat to the resounding chord of D major were played very well, but I had no sense of them developing from the work’s inner tonal/harmonic structure. And throughout the symphony Maazel introduced quite unnecessary ritenutos at the end of some phrases, or in transitional sections. The second movement’s andante, 'Scene by the brook' didn't flow quite as it should and it all of it seemed to be played on the same homogenous dynamic level, failing to register the enormous diversity and tonal contrast that the movement offers. When Maazel did urge a pp, as in the later modulation from G to E flat, it sounded contrived, as did other  underlined details, detracting from a sense of the whole. Maazel did manage a degree of buoyancy and lilt in the scherzo 'Peasants Merrymaking', even though the peasants seemed peculiarly well behaved in the 2/4 trio section with a very well manicured bassoon. The 'Storm' was well paced, but lacked any real sense of dramatic eruption. Surprisingly too , there was one late timpani entry, and some additional timpani thwacks, at least 'additional' to those in my Eulenberg score. Despite some gorgeously rich playing from horns and strings, the last movement’s ‘Shepherds' Hymn’ didn't really cohere as it should sounding decidedly sectional rather than as integral. Beethoven's 'broad' coda starting in the dominant F, rather than sustaining a note of solemn resolution to the end, for reasons only known by Mr Maazel, simply became slower and slower with the abrubt cut-off of the final chords sounding tonight more like an undecided tonal smudge.

In the two concluding French classics Maazel seemed to concentrate predominantly on lushness and vivid orchestral colour, often at the expense of the more subtle textures and harmonies particularly in  Debussy's La mer. Examples of this were to be heard in the coda of the first movement 'From Dawn to Midday on the Sea', where the blazing chorale climax certainly made its effect, but didn't have the sense of emerging seamlessly from the movement’s harmonic/textural structure. Similarly, the second movement, 'Games of the Waves'  had plenty of thrust, sounding at times more like something out of a score by Richard Strauss, but still lacking that sense of being an intricate filigree of tonal cascades and interweaving melodies heard in performances from Toscanini and Boulez.  The climax and coda of the third movement 'Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea' although impressive in a visceral sense, sounded rather like an extract from a Wagner music drama, and nd to my ears the concluding ostinato rhythms were indistinct, more a wash of lush sound.

The Ravel  Suite No. 2,   not played today as much these days as it once was as an orchestral, concert excerpt from the complete Ballet 'Daphnis et Chloe' received a virtuoso performance, with Maazel extracting every last ounce of tonal colour from the opening dawn, sunrise sequence with its impressionistic birdsong. There were some beautifully full flute intonations in the next section 'Pantomime', depicting Daphnis's pan pipes in the arcadian mise-en-scène of allegorical reconciliation between the two lovers. However, here I did feel that Maazel slowed down unnecessarily, letting the drama sag somewhat.  In the final bacchanale 'Danse générale', Maazel was in his element in unleashing all manner of tonal/textural colours and delights. On one or two occasions I wanted more rhythmic drive and finesse and ultimately I had the impression of Maazel turning this most subtle of ballets into an orchestral showpiece. Even so, arguably this can, and actually did, seem valid in the context of the suite as a detached orchestral concert piece without choir.

The concert concluded with a characteristic encore; Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor. Maazel here overlayed the piece with all manner of rubato and distorted dynamics, which I suppose is justifiable in an encore party piece. The audience loved it.
 

Geoff Diggines