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The Arts Fuse
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By Jonathan Blumhofer |
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Konzert, Boston, 27. September 2014 |
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Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons — A Substantial Inaugural Outing
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At least waiting for Andris Nelsons to take over the orchestra is
done. And we don’t have to bide too much time before we get to hear more
from him: his first subscription series with the BSO kicks off on Wednesday. |
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It’s next to impossible not to like Andris Nelsons, the Boston Symphony
Orchestra’s (BSO) charismatic new music director. His (usually smiling)
visage is plastered on billboards and posters around town; in his many
recent interviews he conveys both intelligence, a sense of humor, and
humility (not characteristics one can take for granted from all who occupy
positions similar to his); and on the podium he exudes youthful vitality.
When, about halfway through the second half of his substantial Inaugural
Concert on Saturday night at Symphony Hall, he turned to the audience to
introduce a surprise encore, it seemed utterly natural. When was the last
time a BSO music director addressed a crowd…well, anywhere (let alone during
his first concert in the post)? That sound you might have heard then in the
Hall were any residual icy hearts melting. Not that there were many to begin
with. A new day, with all its risk and promise, seems to be dawning for the
BSO.
Nelsons’ opening night program was mostly celebratory in nature,
consisting of opera arias and instrumental music by Wagner, Mascagni, and
Puccini topped off with Respighi’s gaudy Pines of Rome. If you only get one
Inaugural Concert as BSO music director, the approach seemed to be, think
big. Nobody in the audience seemed much to mind and, in truth, the grab-bag
quality of selections made for a refreshing break from the traditional
concert format we’ll be getting plenty of in the months ahead. And, if the
line-up of pieces didn’t make much musical sense, no big deal: at the very
least it was an excuse to hear a pair of terrific singers in Jonas Kaufmann
and Kristine Opolais (who also happens to be Nelsons’ wife), both making
their BSO debuts.
Saturday’s concert opened with the Overture to
Tannhäuser and, though they don’t play enough of his music, it’s no secret
that the BSO is a wonderful Wagner orchestra. Nelsons took advantage of that
fact, at least to a point. He got a sound out of the ensemble that was
simply beautiful: plush, smooth, and rich, like molten chocolate. What was
missing, in the outer Pilgrim’s Hymn, at least, was a sense of natural
momentum. In his effort to emphasize the music’s gravitas, Nelsons seems to
have resorted to a deliberate pacing that ultimately felt ponderous. The
result, rather than ennobling, turned this solemn, famous tune into a kind
of stultifying caricature of itself.
The snappy middle section fared
somewhat better – Malcolm Lowe delivered a gushing violin solo, among other
things – but here, too, the music never quite reached fever pitch. Yes,
every phrase, dynamic hairpin, and crescendo were sculpted with loving care.
But, perhaps hemmed in by the rigidity of the outer parts (the reprise of
the Hymn, after a promising beginning, slogged again), the Overture never
quite achieved lift. This was rather surprising, considering the work’s
significance to Nelsons (Tannhäuser was the piece that convinced him, at the
age of five, to become a musician) and his reputation as a leading Wagner
conductor. Perhaps he was just too caught up in the moment.
A bit
more successful was the Prelude to Act 1 of Tristan und Isolde. It was
fascinating watching Nelsons tease the opening bars out of the air with
little, wispy hand gestures. And, especially in the pensive opening section,
there was a real sense of sensuous drama about to unfold. But as the music
built to its climax, it felt rushed, its volcanic passions never fully
tapped. The playing, again, was creamy and luxurious, but something went
missing.
Unfortunately, that something wasn’t to be found in soprano
Opolais’ account of the “Liebestod.” She has a beautiful voice, to be sure,
with a strong middle range and clarion high notes. But, like most
thirty-four-year-olds, she’s not yet ready to sing Wagner.
Her
“Liebestod” did at least began well, with concentrated expression. But it
wasn’t long before the intensity faded and the orchestra started to
regularly cover her, even in her upper register. Nelsons made a strong
effort to balance things but this had the net effect of thwarting Wagner’s
magnificent orchestration. In five or ten years, when her voice darkens and
further matures, Opolais may truly own this aria. I sincerely hope she does.
But on Saturday she didn’t.
She fared better in the concert’s second
half, which, for her, was devoted to music by Puccini, a composer whose
vocal writing better fits her present instrument. Her account of “Un bel di”
(from Madame Butterfly) was sung with sweet pathos and was followed by a
fervent, if restrained, “Tu, tu, amore? Tu?” (from Manon Lescaut), the
latter a duet with Kaufmann.
After a brief pause, both singers and
conductor returned for the encore, “O soave fanciulla,” from La Bohème. They
sang it beautifully and the orchestra responded with some of its most
intense, hushed playing of the night. Maybe in a coming season we can get
these two back for a complete Bohème – that’d be something not to miss.
For his first half solo, Kaufmann almost upstaged Nelsons with a
magnetic performance of “In fernem Land” from Lohengrin. The shades of his
voice, from the haunting, opening bars to the great climax, were captivating
in their focus, strength, and intensity. Never was there a question of his
being able to carry over the big orchestra. Perhaps in another future season
we could get Kaufmann back for a complete Lohengrin – that could be
downright mesmeric.
Throughout, Nelsons delivered an accompaniment
that captured, in daring strokes, Wagner’s striking command of orchestral
color, especially the opening and closing chords of string harmonics. For
the first time in the evening, there was a real sense of just how brilliant
a conductor he can be.
This feeling continued, right after
intermission, with Nelsons and Kaufmann dispatching a blistering performance
of “Mamma, quel vino è generoso” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. In
this repertoire, Kaufmann can simply do no wrong, so powerfully does he
inhabit the music. And Nelsons was again with him every step of the way,
delivering a fiery accompaniment.
There were two instrumental pieces
on the concert’s second half. The first, the famous “Intermezzo” from
Cavalleria Rusticana, was heard between the Puccini selections. In it,
Nelsons did what he didn’t do in Wagner: he let the music simply speak. The
outcome was pure, unaffected magic, sweepingly lyrical but never descending
into bathos or kitsch.
To the cynical, Respighi’s Pines of Rome might
be little more than bathos or kitsch. It certainly isn’t the deepest music
ever written. But it’s very well composed and lots of fun to hear live.
Plus, for sheer bombast and spectacle, you can hardly do better than it and
Nelsons seems to know that.
Saturday’s reading began a bit
intentionally, but, by the middle movements, relaxed into something quite
evocative and pleasing. Its many soloists – among them, principal cello
Jules Eskin, English horn player Robert Sheena, principal clarinet William
Hudgins, and principal trumpet Thomas Rolfs – made the most of their moments
in the sun. So, too, did the expanded brass and percussion sections (the
former included six trumpets in the balconies).
If the latter
obliterated the strings in the final movement (“Pines of the Appian Way”) –
and they did – it was, again, not too big a deal. Pines of Rome is,
ultimately, a kind of thrilling, primal music, well suited to big occasions,
and nothing stands in the way of that inexorable last crescendo. Certainly
not a full string section playing fortissimo.
Nothing, either, got in
the way of the enormous ovation that followed. Yes, it seems that Nelsons
has largely won over the BSO’s regular public. That’s good. Here’s to hoping
he can do the same with the orchestra’s untapped audience: students; young
professionals; and others who have, for various reasons, stayed away in
seasons past. Now the hard work of realizing all the potential of his
appointment can begin.
At least waiting for Nelsons to take over the
orchestra is done. And we don’t have to bide too much time before we get to
hear more from him: his first subscription series with the BSO kicks off on
Wednesday. It consists of music by Beethoven, Bartók, and Tchaikovsky –
hardly groundbreaking stuff, but there are worse places to start. Stay
tuned.
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