SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Mahler and Mozart : François-Frédéric Guy (piano) Philippe Jordan (conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London 13.3.2008 (AO)

Mahler : Symphony No 5

Mozart : Piano Concerto No 21 in C

Philippe Jordan - Picture © J Ifkovits

Pay attention to the pairings on a programme because they aren’t there just by chance.  Things are paired for a purpose, so understanding the musical logic tells something about the performance. Pairings are even more critical in the case of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, which lends itself to different approaches. It’s a perennial crowd-pleaser, and many popular performances play to the assumption that noise equals “excitement”. But Mahler is not quite so simple.

By starting with Mozart’s Piano Concerto no 21, Philippe Jordan makes a distinct statement.  It’s an elegantly crafted piece where clarity is essential.

François-Frédéric Guy’s fluid technique allowed it to sparkle, his notes rippling across the keyboard, lucid and expressive.  When the orchestra joined in, the melodic line surged sensuously. Guy’s long cadenzas were written specially for him by Marc Monnet. They make the most of his swift, flowing style, at once delicate and assertive, and full of vivacity.

François-Frédéric Guy -  Picture © Guy Vivien
 

Jordan’s approach to Mahler is equally lucid. The Fifth Symphony may start with the trumpet but that’s perhaps one of Mahler’s quirky ironies.  He writes in lots of brass, but it’s deceptive. This symphony is not all blast and fanfare.  Indeed, he had it premiered in Vienna’s Kleinen Musikvereinsaal, to emphasize its “Kammermusikton”. Thus Jordan concentrates on the symphony’s chamber-like qualities.  Just as Mozart embedded sub-groups (particularly strings) into his concerto, Mahler embeds within his symphony different units which function like miniature chamber ensembles.  There are interlocking dialogues, between trumpet and horn, between horn and flute, solo violin and strings. The trumpet part is important, but it weaves in and out throughout, leading and tantalizing, much in the way the piano acts in Mozart. There are even parallels in thematic material.  Mozart incorporates a slow, ceremonial pace lends stylized classicism, just as Mahler’s use of march themes underpins more lively outbursts.  This certainly doesn’t mean that Mozart influenced Mahler or anything quite as simplistic as that : but listening to the way these pieces were performed together was illuminating, each enhancing the other.  Above all, in this performance, Jordan captured the energy that infuses both pieces with ebullient vividness.

The orchestral playing was superb, even by this orchestra’s usually high standards. Jordan’s emphasis on the chamber-like relationships paid off because he was working with musicians of this very high calibre.  Some of the solos were stunning, such as the clarinet and first violin, but overall this was unusually dynamic playing, as the orchestra seemed invigorated with enthusiasm.   Because it lends itself to energetic treatment, this symphony often comes off successfully when played by youth orchestras – Barshai and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie being my favourite of these, by far.  But what a joy it is to hear it played by musicians as good as the Philharmonia, who can capture subtle nuances in the most familiar phrases ! It really makes a difference because so much in this symphony is bound up in intricate inner relationships.  When they are as lucidly played as this, they come over elegantly – something not often appreciated in Mahler, but present, nonetheless.

The refinement of this performance though, existed in the service of a much deeper interpretation.  Jordan placed the timpani in the centre of the orchestra, behind the cellos but in front of the brass, who lined the back of the orchestra in a wide semi-circle.  The rest of the percussion was placed on the far left.  This emphasizes the role of the timpani in the symphony, rather than the more obvious brass. The timpani provide much of the low, rumbling undercurrent that flows throughout the symphony, but isn’t always appreciated, especially as they are played extremely quietly, easily lost in the mass of noisy performances. Jordan seems to intuit what the timpani might symbolize.  Obviously, there’s the well-known “storm” theme where the timpani help create the image of distant thunder.  But more importantly, they create a darker murmur of something undefined and imperceptible. They are, literally, the “heart” beating within the symphony, played here with extremely quiet intensity.

It’s a significant insight, for Mahler nearly died in 1901, while this symphony was in gestation. Indeed, the symphony was first performed with the Rückert setting, Um Mitternacht.  In the silence of the night the poet hears his heart and realizes its beati separates life from death.  Rückert places his faith in God, but for Mahler, more deist than true believer, it’s more complex.  The Trauermarsch in this symphony is counterbalanced by the passionate Adagietto and Finale. It’s dangerous to overemphasize the “Alma” connection, but this is music of positive energy. This performance was particularly satisfying because all the loving detail that came before served. logically and inexorably towards this powerful conclusion.  The spontaneity and freedom that had characterized the Mozart performance re-surfaced in the life-affirming vitality that Jordan finds in Mahler’s Fifth.

I wanted to attend this performance to hear what Jordan would make of it, as I’ve been very impressed by his work so far.  He’s only 33 years old, yet already distinctive and individual.  Look out for his recording of Busoni’s Doktor Faustus, from Zürich, which is one of the best.  Only last week, he conducted Strauss’s Salome at the Royal Opera House. His father is, I believe, the much respected Armin Jordan, whose Mahler is very good.  Truly we are fortunate to be in an era when so many progressive, intelligent conductors are coming

into prominence !  Heavy-handed approaches will always plague us, but Jordan’s innovative, spirited originality shows real insight into Mahler’s idiom.  Performances like this help restore faith in the future.

Anne Ozorio



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