Saturday 15 November 1997 Victoria Concert Hall |
Singapore Symphony Orchestra |
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RICHARD STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, op.28(1894-5) AULIS SALLINEN (b.1935) Symphony No.7 "The Dream of Gandalf"(1996) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major, op.73 (1809)
Noriko OGAWA piano |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
2 (screeching noise from outside hall)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inapt noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd
by Chia Han-Leon
Did anyone notice a little pattern here? A jester, a wizard and an emperor? And next week, a castle? Oh well...
The SSO opened with a clean and warm voice, warming up quickly as the piece got on. However, they did not seem to depart very far from the relaxed stance which Kamu often directs with. As such, I thought the second set of horn whoops were too relaxed, as was the little march which depicts Till trotting merrily into town. Still, beautiful woodwind and some nice tuttis. The tone poem is full of contrasting sections, from the Romantic viola theme to a little blues trip with muted trumpets and noisy prank-spinning sections. The orchestra dealt with these well, both individually and as an interchanging sequence, clearly demonstrating Kamu's experience with the theatre. Magnificent string work, but again I sorely missed the raucousness with which I associate with the horn whoops, and the piece as a whole. As for the clarinets, which represent Till himself - you have my total admiration, since I know how terrible those notes are! The last solo as Till is hung (i.e. executed) did manage to produce a grimace on my face!
Anyway, the work is cast in one 25-minute movement, beginning with an ominous bellowing of brass and timpani, evoking some ancient "Dark Ages" soundscape. With its eerie stringwork and congested harmonies, this did in fact proved to be a very powerful work. Its theatrical splendour is upheld by many fascinating touches in the orchestration, including celesta+harp+pizzicato strings, timpani+celli, horn+xylophone and so on. About 20 minutes into the work, I was full of admiration for Sallinen when I noted how he combined the themes of these individual "cells" of orchestraton and musical material together into a whole; and I thought the symphony would end soon. But no, it went on for another 5 minutes, everything dying down to a quiet ending comprising a duet between vibraphone and xylophone (I think).
It was this last 5 minutes which I must admit I did not "get". But essentially, this is a highly thought-provoking symphony which needs to be listened to again - but I still have no idea as to the Tolkien reference. The SSO performed bravely and as far as I could see and hear, excellently. This orchestra is making the practice of premiering new pieces into a weekly affair!
The SSO was a little uneven in the huge first movement, and if they sounded a little tired compared to the soloist, one cannot blame them after the taxing first half of the concert! Anyway, Ogawa produced many satisfying build-up passages, and excelled in the parts of the score with strong rhythmic sections (eg. the two-handed pounding middle section) or the quiet and rapt moments (somewhat marred by a buzzing cello accompaniment). Audiences may have noticed she hit a couple of wrong notes near the end, but for the Emperor of piano concerti, this is hardly unusual or bothersome (even Kempff had his bad notes in his famous DG recording!).
The SSO, as if breathing a sigh of relief, sighed beautifully in the heavenly Adagio, a movement that along with the rest of the concerto, captures the many-sided personality of Beethoven and the Romantic spirit. After this calm yet sad introduction, Ogawa's longest short pause between her first and second note (an octave I think) was totally, completely, utterly heartstopping. For a moment there I thought she had forgotten her next note, and the cosmic silence between the two notes was just timeless. Even though the piano tone was really very hard, she made the best of it. Her notes did not linger quite long enough and sometimes she is a little plain, but the optimist in me suggests that that was her solution to that granite of a piano. In any case, I found myself persuaded to go along with her interpretation.
"Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" is my favourite among Richard Strauss' many colourful tone poems, partly because it is one of the shortest, I suppose. Till Eulenspiegel is a jester/prankster figure of German legend. Like Sun Wu Kong of chinese legend, he's always getting into trouble (often for his own amusement), but never seems to die. I applaud Kamu and the SSO for choosing to start off the concert with such a difficult "overture" - Strauss's compositions are well-known for their fiendishness. Just look at the stratospheric clarinet parts and the whooping horns for starters!
Internationally renown for his operas, Aulis Sallinen (right) is one of Finland's most famous composers (and they have many good ones that are still writing). He is also the Finns' first Professor of Arts for Life, which was conferred in 1981. Born 12 years before Sibelius died, Sallinen and his fellow artists have made the best out of and within the artistic renaissance left by their famous ancestor. As pointed out in the programme notes, the music of Sallinen's Seventh Symphony is akin to (but still does not match) Sibelius's own by way of its organic development.
A sure sign of this, at least for me, is the fact that I couldn't (or simply forgot to) take notes. To the first-time listener, music of the "organic" variety is often very difficult to describe and remember. For this reason, with due respect to the writer(s), I must find fault with the programme notes for failing to explain the relationship between the music and its name: "The Dream of Gandalf".
My favourite piano concerto! Noriko Ogawa is a big name in Japan, and tonight's performance does indicate why. Her playing is very very sure, the mark of a distinct pianistic personality. If just a touch strict at times in terms of rubato, Ogawa can be said to be musically and technically very exact, though not precise to the point of rigidity. She is capable of great gentleness but also of energetic momentum. These qualities seem to make her notes hit a little too hard, which is made worse by that hard-toned piano that is employed in VCH. Nevertheless, Ogawa's unimposing personality overcame all my reservations.
Ogawa's handling of the bridge section between the two last movements shows the way she can transform from meditativeness to hard driving momentum, quite suddenly but quite convincingly. Her exactness and rhythmic strength fits the final movement best. The SSO seemed to catch on too, and gave the Emperess a majestic ride home. She was disciplined yet somehow passionate in her clarity. Her many beautifully-phrased entries were a delight to the ear, along with her clean and musical runs. This was a genuine and persuasive display of her skills in an uplifting and spirited performance. When you play the noblest of concertos by the greatest of the Romantics, I can offer little higher praise. Or perhaps it is the beauty of the music which brings out the nobility in each of us - I think that's what Beethoven would have wanted.
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Conducted by Okko Kamu (Naxos)