This is one of those discs which, thirty years or so ago, probably
wouldn’t have raised any odd questions. Numerous established conductors
of heavyweight orchestral repertoire have recorded J.S. Bach.
While the Brandenburg concertos were more usually the terrain
of the chamber orchestra, they can, even now, be bought with the
likes of Karajan at the helm. So, what is the great Beethoven
and Mahler interpreter Claudio Abbado doing directing Bach amongst
a seriously high quality list of chamber music specialists? Not
a huge amount judging by this new DVD, and this is all to his
credit. Abbado started the Orchestra Mozart in 2004 with Mozart
as a central figure in its repertoire, later adding other Viennese
composers Haydn and Beethoven, as well as Schubert and even venturing
into contemporary music. Abbado clearly recognises the quality
of his players in this production, and while guiding them in a
fairly low-key fashion knows that in this repertoire they could
probably do almost as well without him.
Baroque music is
one of those styles which precedes the rise of the conductor
as a force with which to be reckoned. Once you switch on the
motor in these pieces there are few places where even the slightest
variation in tempo should occur. There are some little musical
commas where transitions occur between the dances of the Trio
movements and at repeats, but if the conductor has to do anything
it is to make sure that the music doesn’t become slower and
s l o w e r – something I can’t imagine the experienced musicians
on this recording allowing in the first place. Look at the opening
of the Concerto No.3. Abbado almost literally pulls a
string, turning on the most delightful bathroom light and then
basking in its glow while hardly moving a muscle. This is good
conducting – not waving your arms around when there is
no need. You can also clearly see the musicians communicating
with each other on camera, and I can assure any doubters that
the chamber music feel of these excellent performances is never
compromised by having the great maestro as a figurehead.
All this said; this
is a chimera of more than one kind. The set-up follows pretty
much all of the currently accepted standards for baroque performance
practice. There are a limited number of musicians. Those who
can play standing up. The harpsichord has an important continuo
role. The whole thing has a minimal-vibrato lightness of touch
and feel of Bachian authenticity. This is something of a conjuring
trick, since the bulk of the Orchestra Mozart and most of the
soloists play on modern instruments. Violinist Giuliano Carmignola
has what looks like an early-music kind of bow, but I think
that’s about as far as it goes for the first three concertos
in the programme. In any case, what we do have is a bunch
of musicians who are sensitive to Bach’s idiom, and who are
never less than entirely convincing. Flute soloist in the Concerto
No.5 is the incomparable Jacques Zoon, who always plays
a wooden flute anyway. Even though this is a later Böhm system
instrument and not a ‘traverso’ he has no problem fitting in
with the early-music sound like a wind chameleon. He even introduces
some ‘key vibrato’ in some of the sustained notes, something
all us flute players will no doubt go out and try for ourselves
when the concert has finished.
The six concertos
are, as you can see above, not performed sequentially by number,
and this works very well as a programme. The less sparkly strings
of the Concerto No.6 take the central position in the
order rather than being tacked on at the end when we’re all
a bit too tired to appreciate them. Here we also have the different,
early-music colour of two violas da gamba to go along with the
cello. The inner, innig conversations of the musicians
are lively and engaging in the outer movements, moving and intimate
in the Adagio ma non tanto. Abbado leaves the stage for
this concerto, taking a break and leaving the seven musicians
to create their own magical world in miniature.
The Concerto
No.4 sees Michala Petri and Nikolaj Tarasov in the flute,
or rather recorder duet. The opening Allegro is very
nicely played, but with a marginally too pedestrian tempo. I
missed the tension which can be heard in the other fast movements,
but this movement has to accommodate some fearsome virtuosity
for the violinist, so it’s better to have good measure than
a feel of haste-panic. Phrasing is a bit two-dimensional from
the soloists in the Andante, and I would have expected
some more dynamic contrast even from recorders. Carmignola plays
the Vivaldi-like solos out of his skin, and I do love that unison
recorder sound in the final Presto, though toward the
end the intonation ain’t always what it could be. This is maybe
not the most exciting of the set, but is still very easy on
the ears.
The final work is
the Concerto No.2, with piccolo trumpet played in superb
style by Reinhold Friedrich, oboist Lucas Macias Navarro and
Michala Petri on recorder. The opening Allegro swings
along with great panache – barock’n roll of the highest order.
The final Allegro assai get another airing as an encore,
played after the musicians have been pelted with flowers from
the stage-side boxes. This time the tempo is a bit more daring,
and Petri takes her part with a sopranino recorder. The audience
has clearly loved every minute, and the standing ovation is
fully justified.
This is a wonderful
release, but once again I would beg DVD producers NOT to put
bits of the programme in as an introduction before the concert
starts. We’ve bought the disc already, and need no further convincing.
There is not only some Bach with the menu page, but also a quick
blast during the opening credits. Like Daniel Barenboim’s artistic
insight and complaint during the 2006 Reith lectures, the music
should come from silence, and not be preceded by ‘tinned’ versions
in the hotel elevator – or in this case in the button-pushing
phase beforehand, which can be irritating and stressful enough.
Just some gentle audience noise would have been fine. Anyone
listening ...?
Well, at least it
went quiet after that question he said, kicking aside
some tumbleweed.
The recording of this
music is very good indeed, with a very realistic soundstage in
stereo. It was recorded live, but there is hardly any audience
noise other than between movements. I didn’t spot any ‘tidying
up’ or editing, and the whole thing does have a spontaneous, live
feel with the occasional moments of danger kept intact. The filming
is done well, with a good sense of the scale of the venue and
plenty of variety in terms of angle and detail. Close-ups concentrate
mostly on the musicians rather than conductor, which is the way
it should be. This is an excellent live performance of the Brandenburg
Concertos even without the pictures, but as a DVD it is a
joyful experience.
Dominy Clements
Giuliano Carmignola
(principal violin)
