SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Rossini, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninov: Arabella Steinbacher (violin). Philharmonia Orchestra; Alexander Lazarev (conductor) Royal Festival Hall London 16.3.2008 (MMB)

Rossini – Overture, L’Italiana in Algeri (1813)
Mendelssohn– Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 (1844)
Rachmaninov – Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (1906-1907)

This was an eagerly anticipated concert for me because the programme contained some of my favourite pieces and also because it was my first visit to the Royal Festival Hall after its much publicised refurbishment and acoustic improvements.

The concert opened with Rossini’s Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) possibly his second most popular opera after The Barber of Seville. Rossini composed it at high speed; it is said in only 27 days, in order to fill up a scheduling gap left at the Teatro San Benedetto, in Venice, by another composer who failed to fulfil his contract. The opera is a marvellous example of opera buffa and Rossini’s mastery of the genre. The overture is built in two linked sections, Andante and Allegro, contains a great sustained crescendo in the last section, and demonstrates the spirit of the opera delightfully, which  in the words of Stendhal “…is a work of pure escapism, gay as our world is not”. This sense of delight and happiness was perfectly captured by the  Philharmonia  under the vibrant leadership of Alexander Lazarev. The enjoyment of the musicians was obvious throughout and they delivered the piece with enthusiasm, making it sound joyous and exciting. Mr Lazarev’s style of conducting is  wonderful to watch: he leads the orchestra in what one would imagine to be a typical Italian or Latin manner, exuberant, theatrical and dramatically very expressive, with an unstoppable, contagious energy.

The second piece of the afternoon was Mendelssohn's beautiful and  popular Violin Concerto in E minor. Initially, this was to be performed by Nicola Benedetti who unfortunately was suffering from back problems and had to be replaced at the last minute by the young German violinist Arabella Steinbacher. Ms Steinbacher did not change the programme even though she stepped in at very short notice and she gave one of the best interpretations of Mendelssohn’s concerto that I have ever heard. Her playing is simultaneously subtle, yet expressive; beautifully rich in sound and timbre but refreshingly easy and playfully virtuosic. She combines the right level of lyricism with fiery explosions of feeling. The first two movements, Allegro molto appassionato and Andante, were rendered in wonderful romantic contrast with a beautiful mixture of optimism and melancholy, delightfully expressing the contradictory emotions that love commands: from happiness to sudden inexplicable sadness. Ms Steinbacher plays a ‘Booth’ Stradivarius, Cremona from 1716, provided for her by the Nippon Foundation, and she thoroughly deserves the honour. Arabella Steinbacher is perhaps not yet at the peak of her powers but she displays a maturity beyond her years, complete with an impeccable technique, amazing finger dexterity and a finely tuned understanding of both instrument and composer. There was elegance in her rendition of Mendelssohn’s beautiful, dreamy music, at times with a voluptuous sound  echoing perhaps Anne-Sophie Mutter, though Ms Steinbacher’s style is very much her own. Alexander Lazarev changed his conducting style during this piece, adapting  the orchestra’s sound to Steinbacher’s delicate, sensitive playing. The orchestral accompaniment was sober, suitably cushioning the soloist without losing its own  sound and musicality. The audience was charmed by Ms Steinbacher as their enthusiastic applause and bravos clearly demonstrated.

The second part of the concert  comprised Rachmaninov’s magnificently grand Symphony No. 2 played “uncut”  in its full 60 minute length. I had the impression  that Alexander Lazarev has a special relationship with the piece, not only because it is Russian but because of its powerful dramatic expressiveness, which at times is almost operatic. It was probably not by chance that during his years as chief conductor and artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre, Lazarev recorded a highly acclaimed performance of this symphony for Erato.

Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 was a difficult undertaking for the composer who was not happy with it when he completed his first draft,  and declaring his dissatisfaction for the composition,  he would remark that it was not in his nature to compose symphonies.The failure of his first symphony, which led him into deep depression for a few years, might have still been lingering in his mind. Nevertheless, Rachmaninov forced himself to rework the 2^nd symphony and conducted it at its premiere in St Petersburg on 8^th February 1908. This time, the symphony was enthusiastically received and recognised. Rachmaninov was awarded the Glinka Prize for it at the end of that same year.

The performance of this symphony is always a task of gigantic proportions and the Philharmonia  did full justice to it. The interpretation was memorable, virtuosic and extraordinarily powerful. The sound was glorious throughout and this was not only due to the excellent acoustics of the hall  [though some reviewers have found the acoustics still lacking Ed.] but to their skill and musicianship in this music. Mr Lazarev brought out the deeply brooding, dark mood of the beginning as if to make the audience feel they were walking into a sad, tragic funeral ceremony. He extracted all of the drama from the score, throwing it to the audience in emotional waves of musicality, and picking it up again with virtuosic precision. It is obvious that Lazarev is passionate about Rachmaninov’s music and this feeling is present from beginning to end, enhancing the performance, particularly during the third movement Adagio, perhaps the most  magnificent in all the four symphonies and which seems to me to  echo the composer’s tone poems The Isle of the Dead and The Rock. The final movement, Allegro Vivace, was delivered with a happy, triumphant and luminous character in a perfectly judged, exuberant performance. At the end, the Philharmonia and Alexander Lazarev thoroughly deserved the five or six curtain calls the public forced them to take. This was a grand performance of Rachmaninov’s equally grand, magnificent symphony.

I left the hall in high spirits, inspired by Arabella Steinbacher’s fresh, unassuming but deeply felt interpretation of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, and invigorated by the Philharmonia and Alexander Lazarev’s energetic and vibrant Rachmaninov 2.

Margarida Mota-Bull


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