San Francisco Classical Voice

Berkeley and the East Bay were in for an exhilarating experience on Thursday with the performance of Andras Schiff and the Budapest Festival Orchestra in U.C.'s Zellerbach Hall. This Hungarian orchestra with its conductor and founder, Ivan Fisher, and Mr. Schiff appeared on the Cal Performances schedule as only one of its three dates on this U.S. tour.

The orchestra opened with Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements." The first, Overture-Allegro, did not give the orchestra enough time to warm up, so that a certain focus was missing from the playing. Rather, there was a sense of uncertainty, as if the orchestra were feeling its way, lacking conciseness and, in many measures, clean attacks and releases. The first movement sounded rather bland as a result. When it should have ended with brilliant chords, it failed to, in spite of Mr. Fischer's vigorous conducting. The second movement, Andante, needed more definition and shaping of the notes; the beauty of this music could have turned the middle section into a delightful pas de deux.

As the orchestra moved to the third movement, Con moto, it at last showed real vitality. The string tone became brighter and fuller; there was some really impressive "digging in." The dialog in the middle section between piano and orchestra was a charming, intimate, low-key conversation, beautifully played. The orchestra handled the movement's rhythmic difficulties with the needed drive and precision.

Warm applause greeted pianist Andras Schiff, who, though the score was placed on the piano, played the Bartok Piano Concerto No. 1.This concerto is rarely played, I suspect because of its demanding technical challenges. The first movement gave the orchestra the chance it needed to come to life. It opened with tympani and percussion in precise unison, with the piano joining them in very marked rhythmic octaves to set drive and tempo for the rest of the movement. From this moment on, Mr. Schiff was in control of the entire work.

The vitality of his splendid technique, whether in runs of double notes or fast scales, repeated notes or cross rhythms showed him as always the master. In spite of some weak playing in the winds, unmatching responses between various instruments, and lagging behind the soloist's tempi, the brilliance of the music propelled everyone along.

The Andante movement began quietly with just piano and percussion, creating an atmosphere of mystery interspersed with magical silences. Mr. Schiff has a palette of colors of great beauty and variety. His tone created a shimmer of sounds. His legato was smooth and velvety. A monotonous ostinato followed, which built into a huge dramatic climax, the winds and percussion finally dying away into the distance. The third movement, Allegro molto, begins with an explosion of sound, the piano joining the kettle drums and percussion with fierce scales in octaves. As the movement progresses, long, lyrical melodic lines appear and intermingle with heavily accented chords and strains of the Magyar folk-like tunes that are typical of Bartok's three piano concerti. Schiff was in control, while Mr. Fischer conducted vigorously as a sympathetic accompanist.

Bartok's most lyrical and beloved piano concerto, the Third, began the second half of the concert. The graceful opening, Allegretto, begins in the orchestra with wave-like figures, here rather feebly played. The piano joins in with limpid, elegant phrases in the Magyar folk style, with its jagged accents. Schiff's tone was refined and graceful, as befits this charming theme. Even as he continued more vigorously, his sound was never so harsh as to disburb the grandeur of the work. Meanwhile, his powerful rhythmic sense galvanized the orchestra into some forceful playing, with color and variety. It became apparent, finally, that when inspired, the orchestra could rise to the occasion for some fine playing.

In some of the broad, melodic second themes Mr. Schiff could have taken more liberty, responding to the wide arpeggios that covered the whole keyboard. A delicate dialog between soloist and orchestra closes the first movement. The second movement, Adagio religioso, contains some of Bartok's most beautiful music. The close harmonies in the brass create a hushed atmosphere that sets the introduction for the piano, with its soft octaves and serene chords. One wished that the strings could have matched the tonal beauty of the piano and brasses. A quiet dialogue between piano and orchestra develops, leading to a series of bird calls, twirping sounds from the piccolo and flutes. It is indeed enchanting, reminiscent of works by Messiaen, Ravel and Vivaldi.

Finally, the Allegro vivace movement began with a vigorous, joyous folk dance with short, strong beats, setting the mood and preparing for the fugal development. Mr. Schiff played the great wide rolling arpeggios and notes brilliantly. Here the orchestra hit its stride, strongly supporting Mr.Schiff with cross-rhythms of bite and vitality. A simple fughetta appears amidst the tempestuous drive of a folk dance. The coda of this rondo builds into crashing ascending chromatic octaves that end the piece in a sonorous outburst. Caught up in the electrifying atmosphere, the audience responded with a standing ovation.

The program's finale was Stravinsky's Suite from "The Firebird." Though the eerie, wonderful introduction by the basses was not loud enough to be heard, as the work progressed, the orchestra became more assertive. I suspect the musicinas could have better and stronger-toned instruments. The suite seemed better rehearsed than the Stravinsky Symphony and the Bartok First Piano Concerto. The poignant Berceuse featured fine solos by the first oboe and bassoon. The music, highly descriptive of the ballet's story is a perfect portrait of the dancing itself, making it easy to imagine the ballet. The Budapest Festival Orchestra finally rose to the height of expressiveness in this performance of some of Stravinsky's most sumptuous and beautiful music.

(Reah Sadowsky is a concert pianist, teacher and lecturer who resides in Berkeley)

©1998 Reah Sadowsky, all rights reserved