mpo reviews

9 Sep 2006 - Kam/MPO/Klas

There’s an air of celebration as this weekend’s triple birthday bash concert celebrated the 250th and 100th birthyear anniversaries of Mozart and Shostakovich respectively, while Arvo Pärt’s 71st birthday in 2 days time (11 Sept) was also commemorated.

Technically brilliant but uninspiring

Singaporean violinist Ning Kam makes her Dewan Philharmonic Petronas debut with the MPO, under the baton of guest conductor Eri Klas, playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K218. I’ve always find Mozart’s back three violin concertos technically and interpretively challenging for any performer, in particularly Nos. 3 & 5. It’s unfortunate that I’m not familiar with No. 4, but at least, I get to listen to it again this time!

I must admit that I did not appreciate her interpretation of phrasing and tone in the 1st movement, and more so again in the 2nd movement. There’s a slight hollow of disinterest in her playing which makes the piece sound unlively at times. Interpretation aside, sound is crisp, balanced, and delightful (I was told she was using a borrowed Stradivarius). She recovered well in the playful last movement Rondeau with quite an impressively executed cadenza.

It is obvious to me that more experienced performers usually exhibit better interpretation, cohesiveness and control. Technical mastery is common among many performers, but experience is what separates the very top from the rest. My benchmark picks will normally be Sophie-Mutter’s Nos. 2 & 4 with Ricardo Muti on EMI, and Arthur Grumaiux’s beautiful complete set of Mozart Violin Concertos on Phillips.

Fratres

Although my main interest of the concert lies in the concerto, Pärt’s Fratres did not cease to attract my curious attention. I do not recall any of Pärt’s pieces played within the main series (except for a few chamber pieces which I noticed) so this must be the first time, and what a company it had!

Pärt came from the school of minimalism along with his contemporaries such as Górecki, Reich and Adams (though certain sources identify his style as of “holy minimalism” or “sacred minimalism” from his monastic, repetitious style and his inclination for sacred music as well)

Fratres was written, re-written and rearranged for various instrumentations of chamber ensemble—for violin and piano, string quartet, string section and percussion, etc. MPO performed the more prominently featured version with the entire string section and accompanying percussion.

Fratres is Latin for “brethren”, and it was easy to guess a reclusive and withdrawn piece, much associated with emotional emptiness and sacred asceticsm. I thought it was a strange piece, well structured, technically unchallenging, and dynamics-wise, it’s seemed as fragile as a crumbling cookie! The strings were very well-controlled in each gradual change of dynamics, creating the sense of arcanic atmosphere intended by the piece. Pärt’s minimalism cycles through a series of nine permutations (of variations) in gradual crescendo and decrescendo. I thought the wood-block guy must surely be very bored for the whole excruciating 10 minutes! But it was nevertheless, a very important element of the piece.

Minimalism (and serialism too) has its critics, but I find it very interesting to the extent of its structure and harmony. I’ll be looking forward to more pieces from Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, Steve Reich and John Adams!

Shostakovich delight

Two “pleasant” pieces from Shostakovich were performed (note the double-quote indicating the difference from the normal unpleasant Shostakovich that most people cringed upon)—a very celebratory Festival Overture, which I’ve never heard before, and his Symphony No. 1 in F minor.

It’s a pithy that the brass section were caught blaring out of tune on a few occasions throughout the Festival Overture. Shostakovich’s marvelous writing of this piece brought out most of the intense late Romantic lyricsm, and that probably saved the piece of its ashaming intonation. It’s a pleasant piece, and I hope to listen to it again in the future.

Shostakovich’s First Symphony was written as the composer’s graduation piece at the Leningrad Conservatory at a young age of 19. I find this symphony rather light-hearted and witty in contrast to his late smpyhonies which were often dark, tension-filled and emotionally-laden. I thought maestro Klas took the MPO through a splendid interpretation of sheer delight and detailed music making. There was an air of playfulness in the entire piece and it was enjoyable right to the end.

Performance: 4/5
Sound: 4/5
Intepretation: 3.5/5
Intepretation (Mozart): 3/5