Concert Review: SZO/Ehwald/Bohorquez

Concert Review: Shenzhen SO/Ehwald/Bohorquez

July 24, Shenzhen Concert Hall
Wagner/Schumann/Brahms

I attended the middle of 3 consecutive SZSO Friday concerts in July by their wonderful director Christian Ehwald (Biography). Last year I heard him conduct one of the best Brahms 4th symphony I have ever heard (review of that concert), and so I eagerly looked forward to the Brahms 3rd this time. Again, Ehwald did not disappoint.

For this more lyrical and equally difficult symphony to bring off, Ehwald took a middle-of-the-road approach. With the well chosen tempi, the symphony unfolded in a relaxed manner and in patiently sculpted long lines that rarely buckled (no easy task in this symphony, and great strength of this conductor). Although not heart-on-sleeve, the performance did not lack in sweep when called for. Most impressive was Ehwald's patient but firm grip, allowing only true climaxes to ring out in full power, unlike many a lesser conductor (some we hear too often) who consistently over-drive music. Vitally, there was a rare refinement in the probing inner movements, reflective, serene and wistful by turns. Of course this could only be achieved with harmonious playing of the winds in solos and in unison. The remarkably beautiful blend achieved by the young wind players here is truly impressive. I am particularly captivated by the bold clarinet of 左丞 (studied in Germany), although the lead horn and 黃錚 are very good too.

The concert opened with Wagner's Meistersinger Overture, which also showcased Ehwald's ability to build a true climax. This was followed by Schumann's cello concerto played by Claudio Bohorquez. The young German cellist has previously won the Casals Prize and even played on his cello for some years. I wonder why, as his playing was not at all emulative of the old master. Technically competent and with a moderately big tone, he could have made a bolder projection than he did, partly due to his vibrato control and preference for short and quick attacks. Sometimes I heard more notes than I usually do with this piece, which is to the good, but this came at the expense of ardor and momentum. The orchestra was reduced but played with great style and textural transparency. Ehwald maintained the momentum by carefully shaping dynamics. For once, the repeated string surges big and small sounded perfectly integrated. Again, the winds really shone in concertante passages and dialogue in the slow movement was simply breath-taking. Overall, only the deliberate nature of the cellist limited the scale of the performance. Still, it was no small achievement for this piece, which can sound episodic in lesser hands. Here, just the slow movement alone should have convinced one that this is a veritable masterpiece. Bohorquez played a slow movement of solo Bach for encore. His bowing seemed rather exaggerated and I found his concept really strange, distorted and almost vulgar. No, I did not enjoy it.

Bohorquez's official website, where you can hear some of his playing for yourself.

Bohorquez plays Bach on youtube, different movement and faster, and much better than the encore.

Book: Along the Roaring River

Along the Roaring River - My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met (Wiley 2008)
Book by Tian Hao Jiang (田浩江)

Thanks to the recommendation of RC in the newsgroup 3music.classical, I picked up this book from the library. Aside from the time I had to put it aside to read another, more in-demand library book (中文解毒) , basically I read it straight through. As RC said, it's difficult to put it down.

Tian 田浩江 needs little introduction. I have heard him on the Met stage and he's professional. The website says very little but the first half of the book is filled to the brim with details of life in China, during the Cultural Revolution. Although Tian now visits and teaches in China regularly, it'd be difficult to foresee this book (2008) being translated into Chinese soon, given all its damning accounts of life in those troubled times. The second half details his odyssey in the West, filled with colorful vignettes of fellow singers (like Domingo, Plishka etc) and producers. For all Tian's perseverance and courage, I'd like to mention that the occasional assertion of being a (bass) trailblazer is not absolutely true. Before Tian, there was 斯義桂， who preceded him by many decades and who had achieved a certain renown. That was a different age (much less dissemination of information), and a different China.

Although the library copy is sure nicer, you can read the whole book at Google Books. Click on the Wiley and Amazon links for some description and review of the book.

Highly recommended and a great read for the summer.

Listening Log 11/07/09:

Listening Log 11/07/09: Treasures from the Library

Top Choice
Many people have asked me why I borrow from the library, when I have thousands of CDs. The reason I think is the library affords us an opportunity to go out of our own confines, to sample things we may not otherwise sample, for reason of cost, fear of duplication, or simply bias.

With so many Mahler CDs, these days I have to listen to one first before I even think about buying. Well, this DG Mahler Symphony No. 2 got me. It is simply the most detailed rendition I have heard. It breathes right and somehow does does not slight the spiritual dimension, as Boulez sometimes might. Needless to say the VPO's playing is a spiritual dimension in itself. With this Boulez has finished his cycle. I wonder when a bargain boxset shall be issued. I listened to this CD twice and could not get enough.

The Vegh Quartet has always been my favorite. In this live (1961 Salzburg) recording from Orfeo, you are bathed in a glow for the entire duration. Whether in Haydn, Beethoven or Debussy, the lead of Vegh is seamless in its phrasing and the ensemble creates the most beautiful soundworld. You can just leave this spinning on the tray (or on hard disc) forever. There's no more rewarding quartet playing than this.

Of current quartets I cannot think of any that is superior to the Leipziger Streichquartett, who records exclusively for MD+G. Here, members team up with pianist Christian Zacharias (another uner-rated pianist) and double bassist Ockert to deliver an account of Schubert's Trout Quintet that is truly different. At first listen rather detached, close listening reveals a rock-solid rhythmic line (helped by the recording; you shall never hear the double-bass so clearly) and a symphonic treatment. This is not a version that screams gemuchlichkeit, but rather a telling version that reveals the myriad beauty of the score, the details that one tends to not notice besides the boldness of the themes. Zacharias's playing is at once refined and unerring. This oblique review is enlightening. You can also hear some of this recording in the youtube embedded below.

Excellent:
I have always liked the passionate Natalia Gutman, who with Abbado/Mahler Chamber Orchestra delivers a version of the Schumann Cello Concerto that outstrips her teacher Rostropovich, also on DG.

Concert Review: HKPO/Zhang/Mullova

Concert Review: HKPO/Zhang/Mullova

July 3, 2009, CCCH HKPO/Zhang Xian/Viktoria Mullova Brahms/Bartok

Star power + Brahms violin concerto = Good attendance. That never fails.

The 3 Hungarian Dances that opened the program were rather brute and driven for my taste. These are dances, not marches!

The Brahms violin concerto was a curious affair. Viktoria Mullova, always the cool soloist and whose face and body betray little inner emotion, had appeared in HK many times and needs little intorduction. Taken for granted is her superb, almost super-human technique (a few fluffs notwithstanding). What assurance and control of her instrument even in the most difficult passages; effortless attack right on the note and what double-stops! As expected though, she delivered a rather "objective" rendition. The first movement cadenza was really neat but almost deliberately shorn of display, making it much less of a rallying force. The slow movement was perhaps the finest of the three, with Mullova sounding smaller in the last movement's faster passages. Although Zhang accompanied dutifully and the orchestra played well, somehow as a whole the heaves and sighs of Brahms did not come through. Mullova played a little bit of solo Bach as encore, and splendidly. From one so attuned to period practice, I was surprised that she delivered the movement in a rather free and vocal style. Behind the impeccable line the contrapuntal elements were superbly telling, the dialogues pregnant with meaning. It was spellbinding. One wonders what strings and bows she were using. It's known on her recordings she uses gut strings.

The orchestra transformed itself in Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, which was played for all its worth. The solo's were very good, and Zhang held a tight rein. There was plenty of color and verve on the way to a rousing finale. Although a little more tenderness and gravitas here and there would not have been amiss, I was quite satisfied.

After the concert, several of us had a long discussion on Mullova and Brahms. Most illuminating.