DCist Goes to the Symphony
Pianist Emanuel Ax (photo courtesy Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Ax, whose classic recordings of Beethoven have focused mostly on the chamber music, has still got it. Much about the performance was understated, and pleasantly so, with the first movement being more amiable than the Allegro con brio marking might indicate. Ax's solo entrance had a gentlemanly flair, and the cadenza (the one created by Beethoven himself) was more professorial than virtuosic, with thick pedaling that blurred much of the harmony. The second movement was similarly well played, but not over-mannered, with its dreamy closing played in a hushed and unpretentious way. The high point, though, was a brisk and playful third movement, with that dancing melody always light, the attack crisp but not pointed. It was a veteran interpretation of a work one might take for granted: not straining to make the concerto sound more daring than it is, but comfortable in its skin.
Conductor Michael Stern
Perhaps the most popular of Sibelius's symphonies, the second, had not been heard from the NSO since 2002, when it was conducted by Osmo Vänskä, the Finn who is likely the leading interpreter of Sibelius. Taking a long pause before the opening, to allow the hall to settle into silence, Stern led a gorgeous, expansive performance that at times seethed volcanically. A gently pulsating urgency rippled through the first movement, with all the pieces of the puzzle in place, from the swell of horns to the wall of violin sound, tightly unified pizzicato sections, and gloomy wind solos. The second movement was similarly tense, broad in scope from the mist-filled, meandering bassoon solo to the heraldic brass statements. The buzzing triplets of the third movement's fast section contrasted with the more relaxed trio, while nothing was dragged out in the finale, not even the work's most famous theme.
Next week's concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra are just as promising (January 21 to 23), with Principal Conductor Iván Fischer leading a performance of Mahler's symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde, with mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and tenor Stig Andersen.