Saturday 14th August, 1999 Victoria Concert Hall |
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Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, K219
Anton BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Augustin DUMAY violin |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
2 (deep intakes of breath by someone snoozing nearby.)
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 inept 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 Isaak Koh
What a strange pairing this is. It seems unavoidable that none of the audience would leave fully satisfied. Brucknerites would consider the concerto frivolous while Mozarteans will find the symphony too heavy-going. A short Brahms or Wagner work would have been more appropriate.
The reduced SSO sounded unsuitably murky at the beginning of the concerto. The work, being chamber-like in its character, unlike the virtuosic style of the Beethoven/Brahms/Tchaikovsky model, requires a good degree of clarity and transparency in the orchestral playing. The SSO came across as clay- or plasticine-like. The strings also sounded soft and unresponsive, lacking a certain sense of anticipation for the soloist. Dumay entered with the work's peculiar adagio passage, deflating Shui's hasty pace. A towering giant of a man, Dumay appeared as Paganini incarnate, exhibiting effortless fingerwork and alternating between expressions of fiendishness and possession. There were some intonation slips, and the violin sounded slightly sharp, devoid of any sweetness.
Augustine Dumay is an artist of extraordinary calibre. Drawing from his
violin an exquisite sound that complemented the ease and fluency with
which he played. His interpretation of the Concerto was carefully conceived,
telling of a musician of intelligence and fine musicianship.
I found Dumay's reading appropriately less emotional in stylistic
consideration, but very intelligent in that the placing of every note
seems well thought out, considering even the accompaniment in his
interpretation. The result was a delightful account of what this
reviewer thinks is the way to go as far as Mozart's youthful attempts at
violin concertos go. Simple charm is so much more difficult than passion
and pathos sometimes.
The SSO's reading of the Bruckner 9th, though far from technically perfect, was committed and richly satisfying. There were moments of Brucknerian exhaltation and beauty that left an indelible impression. At times, I thought Shui Lan to be overtly dramatising the work; elsewhere not giving the space for the music to breathe as he seemed intent to keep the music driven from start to finish.
Though I usually enjoy hearing him speak before pieces, what he said tonight shed little light on his interpretation of his music, or the symphony itself. However, we gathered from him that Bruckner celebrated God, life and death is the music (and also "the family" though he was not married - I wonder what he was trying to get at when he kept harping on this) and we know especially that Bruckner passed away before he finished the symphony though he had asked God for time to finish this final masterpiece.
The conclusion of the 3rd movement was deeply moving, and for me left much to reflect on. Much to the horror of some members of the audience, Shui Lan encored with a jokey, frivolous Vienesse waltz! I thought this was incredibly insensitive. As much as we enjoy Shui Lan the showman's entertaining interpretations of Strauss waltzes and for trying to send us home in a happy mood, we'd rather hear it on another day, thank you.
Shui Lan, conducting in his usual ebuillent manner, was clearly enjoying himself tremendously. A whole string of knowing glances went on between the conductor and the soloist, a sort of musical flirting, as each musician instinctively knew what the other wanted. This understanding worked well in the second movement, which was well-played but unremarkable. The third gypsy-like movement was unexpectedly stately. The lack of perk resulted in a predictable unfolding of the melodies to their Mozartean conclusion.
Dumay played very well, barring the minor slips, but it struck me that his talents were somewhat wasted on this pleasant but inconsequential work. Mozart did not particularly like the violin as a concertante instrument, preferring to devote his energies to the fortepiano. Perhaps Dumay will fare better with a more substantial work, as the performance of the Brahms Double Concerto with Wang Jian at his last Singapore appearance suggested.
The music of Anton Bruckner is constantly accused of being long and boring by those who have not bothered to pay close attention to his works. Bruckner's symphonies are massive, and the Ninth clocks in at around an hour (though still shorter than Beethoven's and Mahler's Ninths). This being the work's first performance in Singapore, Shui Lan took the trouble to explain his view of the work and Bruckner in general. Shui's description of the symphony as a ridge of rolling mountains was apt, preparing the audience not to listen for Beethovenian peaks or Brahmsian climaxes.
There was a strong sense of drive in Shui's conducting right from the opening passages. He has a great facility in moulding long lines of melody into climaxes that take your breath away. There was some restraint in the first movement, the climaxes coming across as powerful rather than thrilling. The dream-like Brucknerian lyric melodies, although beautifully played, failed to float above the combined orchestral playing. The overall murky sound also detracted from the sweetness of the music. What Shui did wonderfully, however, was the absolute control of acceleration and deceleration of the passages around climaxes, and this was fantastically showcased in the closing of the movement, where the brass blared its way to a soul-stirring end.
The second movement was taken very fast, painting an image of a juggernaut arriving to mark the End of Days. The orchestra sounded underpowered in the string sections here. Special mention must go to the clarinettist, who lovingly phrased his solos. Ensemble was slightly ragged, especially when the score called for the violins to go on a running start. Similarly, it was difficult for the musicians to come in at exactly the smae time for the numerous pizzicato sections. Despite all these shortcomings, the Scherzo was played convincingly, ending powerfully.
Shui must continue to program more of such works in the coming seasons. In its twenty years of existence, the SSO has travailed through the standard repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. Past successes with rarer works, such as those of Tcherepnin (here and here) and Bartķk (most recently Bluebeard), and with modern composers such as Jan Sandström (Short Ride on a Motorbike - reviewed here) and John Sharpley (just last week), has shown that the orchestra is up to the challenge of handling unusual works. It will also be worthwhile for the SSO to incorporate more Mahler, Shostakovich, and, yes, more Bruckner to affirm the coming of age of the orchestra and the Singapore cultural scene.
The encore was Johann Strauss Jr's Fruhlingsstmimen Walzer ("Voices of Spring"). The fact that the audience gave rousing applause for this bon-bon while clapped half-heartedly for the Bruckner speaks for itself.
Isaak Koh quietly wishes that the New Paper woman be banned for life from all SSO concerts.
It was apparent from the thunderous applause that greeted the entrance of Augustin Dumay that a substantial number came to watch him play the Mozart. A former student of Nathan Milstein and Arthur Grumiaux (a personal favourite of this reviewer), Dumay has appeared with major orchestras and conductors. Presently recording for Deutsche Grammophon, Dumay may not have the public profile of, say, Anne-Sophie Mutter or Yo-Yo Ma, but he is still a musician with impeccable credentials.
Second Opinions by Adrian Tan
The Adagio encompasses the ideas of celebration and the passing of life, the Glory of God and the inevitable coming of death. Instead of morbidity, Bruckner chose to elaborate on the elegaic nature of Man's passing, particularly his own. Shui chose to slow the pace so much that the movement threatened to lose its way. The attention of the audience was only sustained by the beautiful richness of the playing. Rapturous and captivating, Shui proved that the SSO can play Bruckner wonderfully, as his many Mahler successes in past seasons have clearly promised. The only caveat here is that the sense of farewell did not come through fully, but that is a quibble compared to the privilege and pleasure of hearing such a beautiful symphony played so lovingly by such a committed orchestra and conductor.
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549: 19.8.1999 ŠIsaak Koh
Readers' Comments
From: Andy (lenny@cyberway.com.sg / Sunday, August 22, 1999 at 20:05:29)
Indeed,I was preparing myself to hear the SSO play Bruckner by complating that Lan Shui may play with a tempi as slow as Bernstein (DG) or a quick rendition like Furtwangler (DG). However, once again SSO proved that they can play Bruckner despite that the strings lack the Brucknerian weigth and the accoustics of the hall prevented the openess and spaciousness needed to play Bruckner. I just could wished that more strings are available to counter this as the brass sometimes tends to drown the strings.
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