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Ravel, Prokofiev and Stravinsky: Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, Symphony Hall, Boston, 28.3.2009 (KH)

Ravel: Ma mère l’oye Suite
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto № 2 in G Minor, Opus 63
Stravinsky: Petrushka (original 1911 version)

Dutoit and the BSO work together with apparently natural ease, a harmonious partnership nicely demonstrated by this all-French program — Prokofiev had been based in France, and the concerto was a commission for French violinist Robert Soetens;  and Stravinsky’s great early ballets were commissioned for the Saisons russes in Paris.

The BSO’s long-established affinity for the French repertory has been well poliished by James Levine’s timely rehabilitation of the band, and the Ravel suite was a breathtaking opener for a breathtaking concert.  From the wandering strings in “Tom Thumb” to the ungainly contrabassoon in the “Beauty and the Beast” waltz, the entire suite shimmered and enchanted.

Lisa Batiashvili played the Prokofiev with energy and focus, from the mournfully seductive opening movement (and with fiery intensity for the skittering second theme) to the intriguing shifts of rhythmic character in the rondo, alternating largely between the curiously deliberate castanets, and the insistent pulsations of the bass drum.  The lyrical second movement is a gift to violinists and audiences, both.

The program notes mention that Stravinsky made some changes in the scoring of Petrushka in 1947, though the changes incorporated notes that he took down at the time of the premiere.  The BSO played the 1911 original, and one question directed to me was, What’s wrong with this orchestration?  No matter that Stravinsky’s second magnificent ballet is three years shy of a century old:  every measure is fresh, riveting music.  Tuba player Mike Roylance impersonated a bear (in purelymusical terms, I mean) in the last scene, ‘managed’ by high-register clarinets, in a bestiary counterpart to Gregg Henegar’s “Beast” of a contrabassoon in the Ravel.  Clarinetists Bill Hudgins and Michael Wayne waxed mischievous with the arpeggiated “Petrushka chord” triads in the puppet’s room.  And through all the ballet, the string choir shone;  in all the busy texture of the outer scenes, the strings demonstrated incisive warmth — that seeming oxymoron which so perfectly suits Stravinsky’s style.

In 1953 (the year Prokofiev died) Nicolas Slonimsky first published a historical collection of derisive criticism directed at music which, over time, became part of the literature; his lexicon’s subtitle is Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven’s Time.  One snarky comment on Petrushka not included by Slonimsky, was Andrei Rimsky-Korsakov’s description of the score as moonshine vodka mixed with perfume.

He said that as if it were a bad thing.

Karl Henning