EIF: London Symphony Orchestra: Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich
Usher Hall - 14/08/23
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor | Mikhail Pletnev, piano
The night of Monday 14th August brought the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, to the Usher Hall in a programme of two Russian works, Rachmaninoff’s glorious Second Piano Concerto with Mikhail Pletnev as soloist, and Shostakovich’s graphically filmic 11th Symphony. Despite the elevated closing price of the tickets, the concert was very well attended.
Rachmaninoff’s concerto enjoys a popular status as a stereotype of music depicting amorous ardour. We expect passion to be allied to a certain urgency. ‘Emotion’ should ‘move’ the listener: it should have ‘motion’. The searching introductory chords on solo piano, though, should grab our attention and keep us in suspense about into which key the main theme will launch. The chords were quite brisk, but the tempi for the rest of the first movement were the slowest I’ve heard – this did rob it of its grand passion somewhat. Indeed, there was a sense that conductor and soloist were not of one mind on how slow it should go. On the upside, the orchestral texture was resultantly open and clear, allowing the fullest appreciation of Rachmaninoff’s counterpoint and harmony, with orchestral playing and ensemble sound of the highest calibre. Opportunities for dialogue between the piano and wind soloists were grabbed and savoured, with elegant phrasal shaping. The slow movement, by its very nature, was less affected by the overall use of leisurely tempi, and Mikhail gave of his best pianistic lyricism. The more agitated central section and the nervous energy of brief cadenza were very satisfying, with the contrasts allowed to tell. The muted violins at the end were exquisite. The Finale, played attacca, was also on the slow side, but did not lack excitement, while the ‘Big Tune’ second theme was given full rein through each reincarnation. Not the best Rach 2 I’ve heard, but well worth the candle.
If Rachmaninoff’s concerto is about the vicarious enjoyment of romantic passions, Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony transports us to St Petersburg, January 1905, to witness first hand an atrocity, a brutal, senseless massacre. We feel overwhelming terror, grief and rage. We defiantly shake our fist at all tyrants and resolve to unite against them. This symphony does a job on the listener, a cathartic, overwhelming, emotionally exhausting, irresistible job. In the hands of a capable conductor, of course. Just two months ago, Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony orchestra delivered such a performance. How did Gianandrea Noseda and the LSO compare? I was equally moved (shaken?) by both, but the performances were quite different and I want to focus on the unique features of the Noseda’s interpretation. First, I was hugely impressed at his attention to detail in the shaping of every phrase and the unanimity of the players in honouring the musical direction. But this was also within a clear and shared vision of the structure and impact of the whole symphony. The violas’ lament in the elegiac third movement exemplified this most clearly, but it was a feature of the whole performance. The use of a set of four mounted church bells instead of tubular bells at the final defiant peroration of the finale was a first time for me and it’s a fabulous sound. The role of the Usher Hall’s acoustic should not be underestimated. It lent clarity to wind soli and colour to the ensemble sound and the players clearly warmed to it and played to its strengths. It was a superb performance and I’m still trembling after it. Top marks from me.
Cover photo: Mark Allan