02 May, 2012

Concert Review: Philadelphia Orchestra Simon Rattle

pic from NYT

Concert Review: Philadelphia Orchestra - Simon Rattle

April 27, 2012 Carnegie Hall
Philadelphia Orchestra - Simon Rattle
Brahms - Webern - Schumann


Every classical record collector knows Simon Rattle from the start of his remarkable career. Long before his ascension to the top post of the BPO, his long tenure with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) was amply and meticulously documented by EMI in a huge body of recordings. Many of the CBSO recordings, such as the Mahler 2nd, garnered rave reviews, and I listened to many of them over the years, but I have to say few really touched me, and as a result I never scrambled to hear him. I did try sometime ago to listen to his BPO Brahms cycle at Carnegie, but it was sold out. Imagine my surprise about the program of this concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Brahms Symphony No. 3 that opened the program was thoroughly captivating. Rattle had good structural grasp, but what impressed me the most was the unforced lyricism of the reading. Many passages had an almost chamber music like transparency. Even more impressive was the fact that Rattle achieved this without micromanagement or podium histrionics; rather, his economical gestures generated fluidity.

I have always liked Webern's Six Pieces, but on this evening it was the first time I REALLY heard all the foreboding and tragedy that are supposedly in the score. The playing was stunningly expressive. The Schumann "Rhenish" that followed was very good but I would have preferred a more driven account.

All in all, a most impressive concert. I have always enjoyed the Philadelphia in Carnegie Hall. On this occasion, although there were a few more bluffs than usual, the sound was most sumptuous. In fact I could not help thinking that the works were concert staples of Rattle's predecessor at the BPO. The surprise was that at times the smoothness and clarity of the playing did remind me of Karajan (at his best).

Addendum: NYT review

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