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Considering the Concertgebouw rank as one of the
world's top orchestras it was disappointing to see a
number of empty seats in the Albert Hall to greet
their second Prom of the season. Maybe the apparent
paucity of the programme had something to to do with it
- just an hour and a quarter of music seemed
relatively short shrift for a whole evening.
At which point the saying about quality and not
quantity comes to mind, and we certainly had the
former in abundance in an exciting performance of
Lutoslawski's orchestral showpiece. The snappy folk
melodies that open the Concerto for Orchestra
were in evidence immediately from the four bodies of
strings as they successively entered, with Mariss
Jansons' broad arm gestures securing wonderful
playing from the woodwind.
The clarity of the
orchestra in the quieter music was breathtaking, but
always musical rather than just for show. The
percussion in particular were superb, taking centre
stage at the end of the central 'night music' movement
with a rapid volley of what sounded like distant
gunfire, bringing the hairs up on the back of the
neck.
The showy last movement Toccata came off
well, too, after a Passacaglia launched in an
impressive unison by double basses and harps,
unusually sat together. As Jansons brought the piece
to an emphatic conclusion the orchestra finished with
a flourish, a stunning feat of ensemble.
The Brahms that followed was also extremely well
played, but threw up a couple of interpretative
issues. The grandeur of the first movement often
seemed to be checked by the conductor, as if aware of
a homage towards Beethoven. Certainly the master's
influence came through more than ever, the sweep of
the strings kept at arm's length. The third movement,
too, could have done with more cut and thrust in its
central section, Jansons again happy to keep the
orchestra within their limits.
It all depends on how you view the piece of course,
as to which approach suits you best, and we were
nonetheless treated to exquisite woodwind playing in
the middle two movements, from clarinet and oboe in
particular, the oboe raised unusually high to project
its lines. And when the finale arrived, so did a real
sense of drama from Jansons, whose tempo choices
proved spot on, giving the big tune all the room it
deserved.
As a bonus we got two encores, a Brahms
Hungarian Dance and the Farandole from
Bizet's second L'Arlesienne Suite, both
realised as showpieces by the orchestra, conducted
with abandon by Jansons. It was easy to forgive him
for not showing such freedom in the symphony, and even
inspired some of the audience to clap along to the
music - a sure sign of the quality of the music
making.
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