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Stravinsky and Mozart: Mitsuko Uchida (piano/director), Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Alexander Janiczek (leader), Royal Festival Hall, London, 24.11.2008 (BBr)

Stravinsky: Apollon musagète (1927/1928)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K488 (1786)
Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor, K491 (1786)


Anyone who was lucky enough to hear any of the concerts Uchida gave with the Cleveland Orchestra between 2002 and 2007 when she directed all of Mozart’s Piano Concertos will have known what to expect from this show. It was a bold stroke to counterpoint one of Mozart’s sunniest concertos with one of his darkest, ending with the latter, and it worked very well. K488 is a sheer delight of a work, happiness and joyousness abound and there’s no clouds to cast a shadow over the music. The opening tutti set the standard for what we were to hear. It was a sparkling performance from all concerned but there was a slight problem with the balance for the piano was, at times, lost in the texture when the full, but not very large, orchestra was playing. The slow movement was poetry itself, and the finale was a merry affair. It was all very charming, but no more than that. I cannot say what I was expecting but I found myself unengaged by the performance.

It was a different matter with K491. Here was a truly gripping and heart wrenching performance which really got to the heart of the matter and wrung every ounce of pathos from the music. There are no laughs in this Concerto for almost every moment of it is deadly serious. The long first movement was dramatic and tense, there is a nervousness in the music and it was well realised. The slow movement was sadness itself and the strangely understated variations, which make up the finale, kept a sombre gait throughout – even the faster coda offered no respite – the very downbeat ending was perfectly placed. Oddly, it brought the house down!

With a small string band, balancing the wind and brass, Uchida led very well disciplined performances which were, perhaps, just a trifle too well disciplined – I would have welcomed a little more freedom in the flow of the music.

The evening started with Stravinsky’s Apollon musagète, a ballet scored for strings alone, which was directed from the first desk by Alexander Janiczek. I would never chpose to listen to Stravinsky at home, but in the concert hall it’s a different matter. This is one of his neo–classical works, and it’s dry and arid, but there’s things of interest throughout the piece, especially the passages for solo strings. It was given a fine performance and won friends for the man sitting next to me told his friend that it was “nowhere near as difficult” as Diana had told him it would be. Whoever Diana is.

A generally enjoyable show which pleased a packed house.

Bob Briggs


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