SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

SEEN AND HEARD UK CONCERT REVIEW

Shostakovich: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Mikhail Urusov & Viachelsav Voynarovskiy (tenors), Sergei Leiferkus (baritone), Vladimir Ognev (bass baritone), Sergey Aleksashkin & Mikhail Petrenko (bass), Irina Brown (Director) Royal Festival Hall, London 24.2.2010 (CR)

The Nose,  Symphony No 1 and The Gamblers

This was a bold all-Shostakovich programme, which proved to be a feast for both the ears and the eyes. Using a relatively small orchestra, the Suite from The Nose features modernist harmonies and bright instrumental colours. The opera uses a Gogol text about a man whose nose has left him, and the light comedic action is well handled through the setting of the text, with some wonderful lines capturing the imagination effectively. Despite the relatively small orchestral forces, Shostakovich uses a vast percussion section, requiring ten players for an extended percussion-only interlude. This is a bold compositional move when one takes into account that Varese’s Ionisation, thought to be the first percussion-only concert work was not performed until 1933, some three years after the first performance of Shostakovich’s opera. The percussion interlude is a dramatic and exciting part of the suite, which was performed impressively this evening.

Throughout the work, Shostakovich captures a dramatic atmosphere through the use of extremes of pitch range (from high piccolo to low double basses), folk elements (including balalaikas) and some occasionally comedic orchestrations. All of this provided a stunning backdrop for the world class singers; Sergei Leiferkus and Mikhail Urusov had me hanging off their every word, delivering the comedy with communicative and musically effective panache.

The Symphony No 1 in F minor was Shostakovich’s graduation piece, which he completed at the age of 19. Using a more standard-sized symphony orchestra, the work has charm, elegance and a lightness of touch, and demonstrates an early instinct for imaginative and highly effective orchestration. Frequently throughout the piece, the influence of film music can be detected (betraying the composer’s early life as a pianist for silent movies). The work provided numerous opportunities for the orchestra to shine, with some more than convincing solos from all sections of the orchestra. Within this work, different aspects of Shostakovich’s musical personality come through, from the expressive, contemplative moments to the shining and energetic fast passages. The orchestra captured the moods impressively, delivering a stunning performance.

The second half began with the leader and the conductor playing cards on one of the tables which had been set out for the opera, allowing a wonderful mood of light-hearted comedy to set the scene for The Gamblers. This was a well-judged move, involving the orchestra in the dramatic action and giving much delight to the audience.

The Gamblers exists only as a fragment, which was started in 1942 but never brought to completion. Gogol’s writing reminds me of Maupassant, in terms of observing the human situation and creating a charming and instantly likable tale. The Gamblers tells of two sets of card players who try to dupe each other. At the point that Shostakovich’s fragment ends, they have realized that they are trying to trick each other and have agreed to join forces and work together (presumably to con other unsuspecting victims) but one has the sense that this, too, may be something of a trick.

In this performance, the action took place with a simple but effective set at the front of the stage, and well-conceived lighting to focus the attention on the action. The orchestral material is mostly dark, low pitched and brooding, setting the tone for the bad behaviour of the main characters. In happier moments, the music becomes higher, more consonant and more melodic. Shostakovich also makes occasional and effective use of unisons and major chords to symbolize a sense of unity (for example, when describing ‘the whole town’, or at the moment when the villains agree to join forces).

Jurowski maintained excellent control throughout, balancing and following the singers with ease, and without distracting from the action itself. The six singers gave a highly characterful performance, with a strong sense of individual personalities coming through. Gogol’s text has a wonderful sense of humour, and these singers captured the essence and the spirit beautifully. Their characters were likeable, despite their wickedness, and all of them delivered remarkable performances which were entertaining and technically flawless.

This was a thoroughly compelling and musically fulfilling evening, which was of a consistently high standard throughout, and left me wanting more from Jurowski and the LPO.

Carla Rees