Royal Festival Hall, London
As Stephen Johnson's programme note for this London Philharmonic Orchestra concert pointed out, the 19th-century cult of the individual led to the creation of innumerable solo concertos, but very few similar works for more than one instrument. Brahms's Double Concerto is a crucial exception ? yet it remains a less surefire proposition than its piano or violin equivalents, even in a performance with top-rank soloists.
Here, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter joined with cellist Daniel M�ller-Schott in an account under the orchestra's former music director Kurt Masur. The two soloists were evenly matched in technical authority, though Mutter projected her line to greater effect and was consistently the more vivid in expressive purpose, noticeably so when a phrase was passed or divided between them.
Masur, too, was on the staid side with the accompaniment, even in those passages where the orchestra has the musical argument to itself. Occasionally a hint of slackness crept in. Where the performance scored highly, especially in Brahms's First Symphony in the second half, was in tone colour and balance. The warmth and richness of the playing was exceptional, with every department contributing its share of complex timbres and holding them together in a finely achieved sound picture.
Masur's interpretation was sure-footed, if careful rather than bold. Part of the fascination of Brahms's works lies in the tension created by an emotional power that threatens to burst the bounds of his classical structures. Here that tension was at best intermittent, with the storm and stress of the score often underplayed. Masur's genial authority shone throughout, yet without reaching the heroic heights and sullen depths of Brahms's extraordinary conception.
Lauren German Cindy Crawford Mariah OBrien Uma Thurman Alice Dodd
No comments:
Post a Comment