JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic made a very favourable
impression with their rattling good Respighi – review
– the conductor also leading the LSO in a first-rate recording
of works by Kenneth Fuchs (review).
As a band the Buffalonians strike me as a gutsy ensemble perfectly
capable of giving showpieces the kick they need to succeed.
That said, the LSO – in their classic Gershwin concerto with
André Previn – can just as easily show the world how it should
be done. That disc has been a long-time favourite of mine, and
I’d urge EMI to remaster it as part of their new premium Signature
series.
The young pianist Orion Weiss is new to me, so I visited his
‘Wacky, Witty, Worldly, never Woebegone Website’ to find out
more. No shortage of chutzpah there, so I hoped some
of it would rub off on the concerto. First impressions are good,
the orchestra sounding warm and detailed from the outset, Weiss’s
first entry a delightful doodle that promises much. But does
he deliver? Not consistently, is the equivocal answer; yes,
he’s very assured, but his performance has far less sparkle
and wit than Previn’s. That said, his prominent and weighty
piano is perhaps preferable to EMI’s more recessed one.
The Naxos recording is surprisingly variable too, clear and
well focused in quieter passages but prone to raggedness in
the tuttis. The second movement turns the tables, with a perfect
bluesy intro that, if were sustained, would make this the performance
to beat. Weiss strikes sparks in parts but top billing goes
to the orchestra at this point. Previn creates a better balance
between orchestra and soloist – think of it as an evolving dialogues
rather than series of non sequiturs – making the work
seem much more like the ‘proper concerto’ Damrosch was looking
for.
The ebullient third movement begins well enough – I have to
admire Weiss’s quickfire delivery – but adroitness alone isn’t
enough to keep this music motoring. Indeed, for all its felicities
this performance is just too fitful for my tastes; it’s Previn
who finds that elusive coherence and builds tension most effectively,
the LSO playing as if to the manner born. I’ve not heard his
recording with André Kostelanetz – the top choice in a recent
edition of BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library – but if
it’s half as good as his EMI one it must be very special indeed.
So, a valiant effort by Weiss and Falletta in the concerto,
but in a strong field it’s just not in the first rank. What
about the fillers? The Rhapsody, which grew from a movie interlude
showing Manhattan skyscrapers under construction – finds Weiss
and the band in fizzing form. This is a bracing work, inventive
and irrepressible, and Weiss seems more relaxed here than he
is in the concerto. Those big Broadway tunes are just thrilling
and Falletta keeps everyone on their toes. As for the I
Got Rhythm Variations – from Gershwin’s hit show, Girl
Crazy – it makes for a toe-tapping coda. And Weiss just
seems to get better and better, bringing plenty of soul and
swagger to this catchiest of numbers.
Hey, two out of three ain’t bad, and if it weren’t for such
strong competition I’d be happy to recommend this version of
the concerto. The real star though is the band, who play with
great gusto throughout. True, they may seem a little splashy
under pressure, but that matters less when the music-making
is as infectious as this. Ideally the recording could be more
refined in the climaxes; that said, a degree of roughness is
forgivable in such roisterous company.
A decent concerto, but the fillers steal the show.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
see reviews by John
Whitmore and Brian
Reinhart
Orion Weiss (piano)