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Russian-American Fiery Summit Hong Kong
Hong Kong Cultural Center, Tsim Sha Tsui
10/29/2008 -
Igor Stravinsky: Fireworks, Op. 4 – The Firebird
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
Yefim Bronfman (Piano)
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen (Conductor and Music Director)
(© Mathew Imaging)
Early this year, the New York Philharmonic performed in Hong Kong as part of their Asia Tour – in the same tour was their historical performance in Pyongyang, North Korea. In the coming Arts Festival, the Chicago Symphony will shine on the stage of the Cultural Center under the leadership of Bernard Haitink. These two evenings, the Hong Kong audience was lucky enough to witness another American leading orchestra bestowing their top-form on the Victoria Harbor. The LA Philharmonic is an orchestra with a glorious tradition. Among their music directors were Otto Klemperer (1933-1939), Zubin Mehta ( 1962-78), Carlo Maria Giulini (1978-84), and André Previn (1985-89). Tonight, like last times when the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic came to Hong Kong, the performance was broadcasted live in the piazza outside the Cultural Center, with thousands of fans watching for two hours. The LA Philharmonic’s charm is no less than those first-class orchestras in Europe and America.
For this evening’s concert, they have chosen an all-Russian program, with Stravinsky’s Fireworks and Tchaikovsky’s ever popular First Piano Concerto in the first half. The curtain raising Fireworks is among Stravinsky’s well-known pieces in his early stage. Although it does not have the kind of rhythmic complexity found in his later works, this four-minute orchestral miniature sets immense challenge to the conductor and orchestra by its subtle tempo changes, complicated texture, and cohesive structure. The LA Philharmonic seemed uncomfortable with the “weird” and “poor” acoustics of the Cultural Center at first. The opening pianissimo filigrees in the woodwinds sounded a little loud and aggressive. But the orchestra soon demonstrated its superb discipline by the first violin playing extremely synchronized rapid ornaments, later echoed by the woodwinds and violas. The fast tempo set by Maestro Salonen did not create any technical hurdle to the players; instead, it contributed to a compact cohesion of the overall structural arc, successfully pushing the music to climatic ending.
What surprised and impressed me most was the intonation of the orchestra. Unlike most American orchestras, which are hallmarked with their bright and glinting brass sections, the LA Philharmonic has an introversive brass sound, with deep and profound string tones, evoking the traditional Russian orchestral tone. The Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto was opened with such a warm and mellow intonation by the horn. In contrast, soloist Yefim Bronfman’s tone was harsher and more percussive in the opening pounding chords. Bronfman also seemed impatient with Salonen’s tempo, by playing at an obviously faster speed, with the orchestra chasing at his back. Fortunately, the professional players flexibly tuned to the same channel with Bronfman soon. Salonen’s prompt response and sympathetic support throughout ensured a compelling sense of dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. This rapport was particularly heightened in the second movement, when the enchanting main theme was played by different solo instruments in the orchestra, intimately accompanied and balanced by the piano. The only noticeable slip came from the reprise of the main theme in the second movement, when the strings were slightly delayed for their entry.
Being a Russian born pianist, Yefim Bronfman showed native understanding to the musical language of this work. The pounding chords and octaves were delivered with a trademark steely and heavy Russian tone, at the same time, the light and fast running scales and arpeggios were rendered with utmost evenness, dexterity and clarity. While most pianists – with Martha Argerich being the representative – treated the octave bursts in the middle section as a showy trick, Bronfman intentionally put agogic hesitations on the top notes of each phrase, successfully bringing out the grouping and phrasing of this virtuosic passage. The treatment to inner voices was another rarity that Bronfman possesses. He and Salonen both showed enormous interest in drawing out the inner melodic lines, bringing to life some fresh ideas to this cliché. His characterful interpretation and virtuosic technique can also be found in one of his two encores – Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude, in which the left hand running filigrees were blurred into flowing melodic arcs and hazy background with sparkling and firing chords on top.
The second half was another “fire”, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, one of music’s greatest showpieces of orchestration. This “fire” was obviously more dazzling than the Fireworks in the first half. It presented the top-form of the LA Philharmonic by rendering magnificently controlled dynamics, superfine and exploratory details, bewitching range of subtle articulations, and unbearable tensions and climaxes. The first movement was opened in whispers that could barely be heard. This sepulchral darkness and breathless tension were eventually released in the earth-shattering Infernal Dance of Kastchei and his subjects. On the other hand, the Round Dance and the Firebird’s Lullaby were rendered with chamber-scale intimacy and cantabile melodies. Each part possesses its own clarity and character; when brought together, they build into a united artwork. Besides a flubbed entrance by the harp and one extremely fatal mistake by the triangle at the final chord marked pianissimo entry, the collaboration among the players was like putting hands into gloves under the energetic and exuberant leadership by Maestro Salonen. What was comparatively lacking was still the balance between different voices. The strings’, especially the violins’ over-dominance sacrificed some rapt dialogue between the strings and the woodwinds, which was often overshadowed. Nonetheless, Maestro Salonen and his American musicians showed profound understanding to this Russian orchestral showpiece. This was certified by the attendees’ roaring ovation immediately after the final chord. Every corner of the Cultural Center was put on “fire” after the last encore – Falla’s famous Ritual Fire Dance.
Danny Kim-Nam Hui
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