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SYMPHONY REVIEW
Power and Brilliance February 17, 2002
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By Heuwell Tircuit
Whereas most of the world is aware of the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, relatively few people are aware of the glories of Germany's many excellent radio orchestras. Almost every sizable German city sponsors one, yet besides the Bavarian and Berlin radio orchestras, few of these have garnered much fame.
Sunday evening in Davies Hall, conductor Semyon Bychkov took one major step toward correcting that situation as he led the impressive WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne in long, virtuoso performance of Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and as an encore, Dvorak. The two-piano team of Matielle and Katia Labeque opened with the 14-year old Mendelssohn's first concerto for two pianos, the one in E Major. Bychkov conducted Shostakovich's cantankerous Eleventh Symphony, Op. 103, subtitled "The Year 1905." After many bows, Bychkov offered as encore Dvorak's tenth Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 2.
The Labeque sisters have long been recognized as the world's leading two-piano team, and with good cause. Like a fine red wine, time has brought them even greater depth and richness of pallet. Precision of ensemble proved exceptional, and the timbre was always right on the button. They alternated lyrical dignity with glitter or the big power runs, with equal aplomb. They slipped seamlessly amid such contrasting extremes and with remarkably-matched tone. This was superb pianism that Bychkov supported flawlessly. Indeed, the quality and elegance of the orchestra proved an uncanny match for the Labeques' artistry.
It's a commonplace to praise Mozart's youthful accomplishments to the echo, and indeed they were impressive. On the other hand, the young Mendelssohn, Schubert and Rossini all wrote music of greater worth than Mozart's during his early years. For but one example, Rossini's six popular sonatas for strings were dashed off over a rainy weekend when he was just 13, while Mendelssohn's teen efforts included such masterpieces as the string octet and the Overture to "A Midsummer's Night Dream." None of Mendelssohn's three double concertos reached that height. (There are two for duo-pianists, and one for violin and piano with strings.) On the other hand, all are perfectly respectable, enjoyable works of considerable individuality. Mendelssohn found his own vocabulary early on, then spent the remainder of his short life polishing it to a fine point. The finale of Sunday's concerto, for example, is a match for his best fairy-scherzo style. True, there are naive, rather meaningless forays into fugal imitation here and there, of the "See, I know how to do that" variety. Even so, in so limited a repertoire as two-piano concertos, Mendelssohn's deserve their place at table. Shostakovich's Eleventh, like Strauss' Sinfonia Domestica, is one of those odd works which hold more appeal for conductors than for most listeners. The Eleventh is very long, weak in material, ridiculously repetitious and over-scored. Passages of full onslaught make even the "1812" Overture sound demure by comparison. There are four movements played without pause, largely repeating one shallow tune, accompanied by this or that militaristic figuration. For the better part of an hour and a quarter! So in a sense the end result might be dubbed Socialist Minimalistic Crossover Realism, aimed at flattering the low intellectual level of his political masters. Each movement has its subtitle and is divided into a total of 35 play-by-play headings. (The printed program mercifully spared us those.)
Throughout his life, Shostakovich suffered torments of apprehension from the Soviet government. As a result, his catalog was compiled on the basis of one for art and three for Uncle Joe. Masterpieces like the Ninth and Tenth symphonies thus stand cheek by jowl with insipid trash like the Eleventh and Twelfth. The latter stand even lower than his early brace of sycophant symphonies, the Second and Third. There's been a curious effort to beatify Shostakovich as a kind of poster boy for those who suffered Soviet repression. Other artists suffered as much and many had worse fates. He was not, after all, sent to prison or a labor camp, or shot. Many others were. The simple truth is that he often sold out his talent. The Soviet composer who maintained his standards with minimal compromise was Prokofiev, who even had the guts to mouth off "I've heard all this before" while being raked over the coals. He's still being downgraded for that in some quarters. Those who want to honor Shostakovich would be well advised to program his best music and leave Uncle Joe's pieces to their obscurity.
The orchestra played the symphony full out, in true Russian style. With its impressive strength, the WDR's string sections managed to maintain its warmth even when brought up to maximum volume levels. Percussion tended to dominate, but that was likely due to lack of familiarity with the acoustics of the hall. Good brass playing and fine woodwinds completed an exceptional portrait, especially in a splendidly stylish performance of the Dvorak. That was a presentation which even my adored Czech Philharmonic might envy. This concert was part of the orchestra's first American tour. What took them so long? And indeed there are at least a half dozen other German radio orchestras which ought to be playing for us once in a while. Hamburg's is a major orchestra, for instance, and in times past I've experienced simply amazing performances by the Baden-Baden and Saarbruecken radio orchestras. There's much musical gold in those German hills and dales yet to be discovered by the greater American public. (Heuwell Tircuit, composer, performer and writer, was chief writer for Gramophone Japan and for 21 years a music reviewer for the SF Chronicle, previously for the Chicago American and Asahi Evening News.) ©2002 Heuwell Tircuit, all rights reserved |
