SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

SEEN AND HEARD NEWS INTERNATIONAL CONCERT REVIEW
 

Haitink’s Chicago Beethoven Cycle -  Symphonies 2 and 3: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, principal conductor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center, Chicago 5.6.2010 (JLZ)

Beethoven: Symphony no. 2 in D major

Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major “Eroica”

 

To conclude his tenure as principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink is collaborating with the organization on a Beethoven Festival, which features all the composer’s symphonies and several other works. Related to the still impressive Dvořák Festival that occurred at the end of the 2008-2009 season (led by Sir Mark Elder), this celebration of Beethoven includes some additional performances of chamber works, and even has some selected panels and discussions as part of the festivities. The focus main remains Beethoven’s Symphonies however, which are performed in various groupings, with the most recent concert comprising the Second and Third.

While most of Beethoven’s symphonies are being performed out of numeric sequence for this Festival, it is fortunate to have the Second and Third on the same program, making it possible hear audible testimony of the shift in style that occurred with Beethoven’s orchestral music in between 1802, when he began the Second and 1805, when the Third was premiered. The shift poses challenges for the conductor and ensemble in moving from the overtly Haydn-influenced idiom of the Second to the contrastingly individual style of the Eroica Symphony, including both its extramusical implications for the composer’s audiences and also the context in which later generations would hear the music. Bernard Haitink was able to convey something of the shift in style, with a more studied sounding Second, which was less emotionally charged than his interpretation of the Third. The introduction to the Second symphony was an opportunity for the conductor to revel in the orchestration, which emerged very clearly, even with the flat setup of the orchestra which lacked the risers usually found on the stage of Symphony Center. Unfortunately, some of the more colorful scorings of the remainder of the first movement were lost to a more monochromatic sound which was dominated by the string texture. This was particularly noticeable in the development section, where some of the woodwind passages that sound like the Harmoniemusik of the period, failed to emerge with the clarity that fits the movement’s style.

In the second movement, the Larghetto, the woodwinds were more audible. Yet overall, the phrasing still felt lacking when it came to conveying the longer lines. In the latter part of the movement however, the sonorities in the low strings stood out nicely, especially in the intense playing provided by principal cellist John Sharp. The Scherzo was livelier, and it served as a useful foil for the Finale in which the Allegro molto received a weighty interpretation, which served to counterbalance the opening movement’s Adagio. The various sections were audibly clearer, and the playing was strong overall. Yet impression that emerged in this performance was of the work being played respectfully, rather than evincing greater engagement with the score.

In contrast, Haitink offered a more dynamic interpretation of Beethoven’s Third Symphony. The first movement was solid, as it should be, with the percussive chords that characterize the exposition placed nicely without sounding overbearing, and serving as a point of departure for the figures that followed. The dynamic levels were nuanced and almost palpable, at exactly the right amounts of volume to reveal Beethoven’s score fully, especially in the transition to the development section. The recapitulation benefited from the pacing Haitink gave it, and while he did not overemphasize the false recapitulation, he allowed the section to gain momentum so that the movement culminated convincingly.

The second movement funeral march, conveyed the dignity of an encomium, rather than mere eulogy. The symphony’s heroic characteristic was integrated into the interpretation of the second movement, fitting the character Haitink achieved in the opening movement very neatly. Sometimes the strings sounded veiled, which may have been intentional, since it seemed to serve as a foil for the expansive sound with which the movement ended. No such veiled sound was part of the Scherzo, which was clear and well articulated throughout. The horn section was particularly effective in its soli passages with a prominent sound that never sounded overly brassy or out of place. This was fully within the style of Romanticism, the kinds of horn writing that would typify the music of Weber and later composers.

In bringing the Eroica to its conclusion, Haitink opened the Finale assertively, with the CSO’s sound ringing memorably in the opening gesture. The assertive quality here distinguished the figure from the more muted theme that followed, and when the opening gesture recurred near the end of the movement, its aggressive character rounded out the work’s structure perfectly, recalling, as it does, the symphony’s opening. While the movement was generally rather quick, the CSO was always true to Haitink’s interpretation and though some balance problems occurred with the contrabasses which were, at times, louder than necessary, this may have been due to the number of instruments used, rather than from over- prominence by any of the players. This balance problem comes to mind because the solo violin passages that concertmaster Robert Chen played were given with great style and expression. Yet it was Haitink’s interpretation that made the movement convincing, as he led the ensemble from one variation to another in a performance conducted from memory. He brought the movement and, with it, the entire Symphony to a very effective conclusion.

One concern at Saturday evening’s concert was the amount of audience noise that occurred sporadically during the first half of the program and throughout the second. The frequent coughing gave the impression of a hospital ward rather than a concert hall, and is all the worse because of the apparent lack of concern on the part of the audience members even to cover or deaden their sounds. A patron near me was clearing his sinuses several times a minute throughout the entire program, and others seemed to have similar problems. While the CSO indicates concert etiquette in the program, perhaps it should also include something about incessant coughing and other personal noise with the announcement at the opening of each program about turning off cell phones. In fact, even that message failed to reach at least one person, whose phone competed with the Finale of the Third Symphony.

At another level however, the content of this concert called to mind other works by Beethoven that would have fit well into the Festival, such as the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. While the piano concertos are wholly absent, it would have been useful to include the Choral Fantasy in one of the programs. Granted, this is not a retrospective on Beethoven, but a Festival like this one is an opportunity to incorporate a few of the less performed works into the programs. In a city like Chicago which is noted for its efforts in vocal and choral music, the oratorio Christus am Ölberg would have been delightful to hear, just as Sir Mark Elder found a way to introduce some less familiar vocal music by Dvořák into last year’s Festival program. But these are minor quibbles with an otherwise fine concert which provided an effective step in this complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies. Within the context of the Festival’s chamber music concerts and some of the related sessions, the concert remains memorable and the weeks ahead include contain others that promise to be equally delightful.

 

James L Zychowicz