Brahms Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Liszt Les Préludes
Janacek Taras Bulba
Under Kurt Masur’s authoritative and assured conducting
the London Philharmonic Orchestra adapted its style of playing for each
of the composers represented in this concert; they produced playing
of versatility, magnetism and great musicianship. Increasingly, this
is proving the most exciting musical partnership in London.
Brahms’ Variations on the St Anthony Chorale was
given a ‘classical’ and noble reading by Masur with Klemperer-like measured
tempi. Masur’s reading remained largely sombre and subdued until the
last variation which seemed suddenly to burst into celebratory life
and light. This performance was noteworthy for subtle conducting and
chamber-like playing, encouraging the audience to listen to the work
afresh.
Mstislav Rostropovich, the veteran cellist and conductor
played with all his customary passion but paradoxically lacked presence:
almost as if a shroud had been draped over him, the ‘cellist a ghost
of his former self. Rostropovich’s somewhat detached and agile playing
seemed veiled and distant, especially in the quieter passages in the
Adagio and Finale where his sounds slipped into near-nothingness. Yet,
these intimations of mortality seemed to work: Rostropovich’s very fragility
and sensitivity gave the score a more tragic and vulnerable sound-world.
The opening three minutes of the Allegro was
played with such vigour that when the ‘cellist made his entry it seemed
like an anti-climax. It was Masur’s sensitive accompaniment and the
powerful playing of the LPO which seemed to submerge Rostropovich into
the depths of the orchestra; not so much swamping him as surpassing
him in sheer force and style. Under Masur’s highly-charged baton this
concerto took on a more dramatic feeling than is usually the case, bringing
out the darker dissonances in the score, notably the menacing-sounding,
punctuating trombones in the Adagio. The often subdued and opaque
playing of Rostropovich was so minimalist that it was barely audible
- yet this somehow created a tension and darkness in the work. One felt
that the tremendous applause for Rostropovich was more for a life dedicated
to music and past glories rather than this present or (rather absent)
performance. A great artist, but alas, a fading star.
Liszt’s Les Preludes often sounds crude, bombastic
and banal under lesser conductors but thanks to Maestro Masur’s refined
and tasteful direction this second rate music sounded like a masterpiece.
This performance had an extraordinary combination of sauvity and swagger,
a kind of devilish grandeur. Only the timpanist seemed out of focus
and lacking in the essential attack and incisiveness the score demands
in the closing passages.
The Janacek Taras Bulba was played not only
with great precision and panache – but with a gutteral Czech accent;
a deep, grainy, metallic, almost brittle, sound. Here Masur gave a nerve-shattering
account of this much underrated score. In The Death of Ostap
and The Prophecy and Death of Taras Bulba the LPO violins took
on a razor-sharp cutting edge while the trombones had a raucus sound
which had great impact. The timpanist seemed to come alive here and
had real weight and style, so lacking in Les Preludes. The organ
part was played with sombre, brooding intensity in the The Death
of Andri, and the coda with timpanist, tubular bells and orchestra
ended this great work with exhilarating affirmation. Taras Bulba
is one of Janacek’s most inspired, inventive and imaginative scores
and sadly neglected in the concert halls today. On this occasion, it
proved to be the highlight of the evening.
By way of an encore the superb organist Catherine Edwards
played the last of the Brahms’ Haydn Variations: a performance of great
gusto and passion. An evening to remember.
Alex Russell
Return to:
Music on the Web