Latvian-born Mariss Jansons is one of the giants among classical conductors of our time. After pioneering work for the Oslo Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony, he was named chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, one of the oldest and most highly esteemed musical organizations in Europe. In his concerts and recordings, he has distinguished himself with innovative and stylistically sensitive readings, beyond the Russian repertory of his early training (at the Leningrad Conservatory). Last night, he brought his new group to the Kennedy Center for a much-anticipated concert, and DCist was there for you.
Each half of the concert featured only a single work, beginning with Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G Major and the classical core of the Concertgebouw group, reduced numbers of strings and a few winds and percussion players. The first movement was a fairly calm and self-assured rendition of Vivace assai, in which the orchestra responded beautifully to the encouraging conducting of Jansons. His face was often smiling as he offered the players mimetic gestures to evoke smoothness, wonder, or whatever character he wanted. At times, he did not even seem to be giving a real beat, just an expression. The musical response was lush, rhythmically united, uniformly articulated, and infectiously buoyant. There is wit in Haydn, as mentioned in our review of Alfred Brendel’s recital last week, but it does not need to be overemphasized. When we got to the fourth movement, with its sudden loud outburst from the timpani (cued playfully by just one of Jansons’ fingers), we clearly understood why the “Surprise” Symphony got its nickname (not for the unexplained fortissimo blast near the beginning of the slow movement, which is also funny and in this performance much more jarring than the actual “surprise”). The Menuetto third movement became a boisterous beerhall dance in Jansons’ hands, accompanied by a sweet sotto voce Trio. The fourth movement, conducted at a rollicking tempo with very minimal gestures, was a puckish whirlwind.
