Concert Review: Vienna Symphony - Luisi - de la SalleNovember 13, Avery Fisher Hall
Lise de la Salle, piano
Rachmaninov-Beethoven
Much as I admire Fabio Luisi, I almost decided not to attend this concert due to over-exposed material, especially during this Beethoven year. I am glad I went.
I have heard a few CDs of Lise de la Salle from the library, but nothing prepared me for how fresh/willful the electrifying interpretation of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 was. She has a big solid technique and I could hear her clearly even when the orchestra played quite loudly. It was not a "traditional" interpretation, but a fresh and spontaneous one. Luisi was a marvelous accompanist, with her all the way, and the interplay between soloist and orchestra was palpable. The crowd went frenzy with applause.
The Beethoven Symphony No. 7, like Andreas Delfs recent performance with the HKPO, received a tightly driven reading, but Luisi found more poetry in the allegretto. The central European sonority of the orchestra was simply a delight for this listener. What characterful winds and brass!
November 14, Avery Fisher Hall
Eroica Trio
Beethoven-Brahms
Due to personal engagement, I missed the first half, but enjoyed the Brahms Symphony No. 2 immensely. the interpretation was perhaps idiosyncratic, but it was passionately delivered, a refreshing change from some of the bland Brahms we get these days. Remember Karl Bohm? No one was more authentically Austrian than him, or had direct ties to Brahms, yet his recordings are idiosyncratic to say the least. The meaty texture, with a heroic bass line, was opulent, the playing full of memorable moments. Passionate, yes, that is how Brahms should sound like!
The last time I heard the VSO was in the eighties, in a concert at the Musikverein conducted by then-director Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, a solid musician, yet I think this current incarnation is better, and has a prominent future with this exciting conductor at the helms.
Johann Strauss Jr, Unter Donner und Blitz
This is one of my favorite polkas, which Luisi offered as a rousing encore. Here are youtubes of the earthy Carlos Kleiber (Bavarian SO 1986) and more suave Karajan (Vienna PO 1987). I could not make up my mind which I prefer. Luisi's interpretation was closer to Kleiber's in temperament.
No comments:
Post a Comment