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SEEN AND HEARD CONCERT REVIEW

 

Brahms and Shostakovich: Piotr Anderszewski (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel. Royal Festival Hall, London, 5.6.2008 (BBr)

Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, op.15 (1859)
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.5 in D minor, op.47 (1937)


From the very first moment,  it was obvious that this performance of the Brahms Concerto was going to be in the large scale, heroic, mould. Fantastic! Dudamel drew full bodied playing from the orchestra in the opening tutti and they made a wonderful sound, filling the hall and creating a superb background for the soloist. On his first entry, Anderszewski simply slipped into the texture and was instantly commanding. His was a well thought out and intelligent interpretation; his simple playing of the second theme was straightforward and magical but he had power enough and tension to terrify us when the recapitulation crashes in with the piano in the wrong key (what a coup for old Brahms!) The slow movement, with its feeling of things ecclesiastical, was beautiful, Dudamel created the most gorgeous prelude,and apart from two small climaxes, this music seemed to be privately made for me by Anderszewski, so rapt and intent was his playing. The gypsy rondo finale has always felt like a stumbling block to me and although this performance didn’t entirely dispel my worries (poor Brahms – he writes two magnificent movements how can he possibly follow them?) it went a long way to convincing me that perhaps he was on the right lines after all. This performance was full of fun and jokes and there was a lightness about it. A great performance, also full of fire and passion. To bring us back to earth, the next time Anderszewski sat at the keyboard it was to give us some Bach – as pure, perfect and refreshing as a glass of water.

Now. Let’s discuss proportions. One of the things we musicians live by is the written note. We rely on the composer to give us the tools and we’ll do what we can to realize the music for our audience. In the first movement of the Shostakovich Symphony the composer gives us a slow opening section with a magisterial introduction then a theme which he immediately develops. This is balanced by a second theme, more delicate and long breathed. It is repeated and also undergoes some development. These two sections balance one another perfectly. Shostakovich then starts to screw up the tension and the tempo increases until he unleashes a wild march. A climax is reached which culminates in a unison recitative for full orchestra and includes a recap of the introduction. A restrained restatement of the second theme and a coda bring the movement to a peaceful close. All five sections are created to be in proportion to one another so that the  work creates a satisfying whole.

I think it’s obvious that Shostakovich knew what he was doing, so why did Maestro Dudamel, after creating a wonderful atmosphere with the first two sections race through the next two at such breakneck speed?  All sense of proportion was lost and we were left with little more than a cheap thrill before the lovely recap of the second theme and coda.  The second movement was gloriously comic and the slow movement incandescent. Then we arrived at the finale. What Shostakovich gives us is a fast movement where, over the course of the first part he builds eight (I am writing from memory here) increases of tempo so that by the climax,  the music is teetering on the edge of madness. Maestro Dudamel ignored these increases, arrived at the fastest tempo almost immediately and proceeded to get faster. The orchestra responded with splendid virtuosity, but the climax was almost mangled at this speed. The coda, which Shostakovich likened to a man banging his head against a wall, was very well handled, with that feeling to the fore.

Why Maestro Dudamel chose to interpret this work the way he did, contrary to the score, is a mystery to me. His performance was wild, insane, out of control, banal, vulgar, glorious, intense, funny, deeply felt, exciting and I loved every minute of it – but I never want to hear Shostakovich’s 5^th Symphony like this again!

Bob Briggs


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