NOISY – ALPENSYMPHONY
NOISY – ALPENSYMPHONY
West Deutsche Radio Symphony Orchester Køln visited Theatre des Champs-Élysées, Paris with a program which opened with Mendelssohn Piano concert in E-major for two pianos, virtuously played by Katia and Marielle Labèque. In the second part Richard Strauss Alpen Symphony, which became a very strange noisy performance which I didn´t enjoy at all, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.
Marielle and Katia Labeque 09, Photo: Henning Høholt
The two sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque introduced the concert with an enormous brilliance, like a conversation is answering the other, but sometimes they have so much to say so both of them are “talking” at the same time. – “Like I some time observe at a café, where two women are talking at the same time”. – In this concerto case I mean it in a positive way, very elegant and virtuosic. The difference was that these two women was listening to each other and cooperating beautifully. Unfortunately these concertos for two pianos are not so often heard, that is a pity, but understandable, as many orchestra can’t permit them self to have two piano soloists at one concert, because of the expenses, another thing is that some places they don’t have two grand pianos. But that is not a problem in this concert house. Therefore I was feeling privileged to get this unique possibility in Paris. The romantic second part Adagio played with a lot of feeling, and it all ended with another virtuosic concerto part.
The E-major concerto has a lot of virtuosity, it is like going on for all the time, but it didn´t seem to make any problems for the two pianists. However I felt that the orchestra was a bit anonym in this part of the concert.
Contrasting. In Richard Strauss Alpen Symphony, the orchestra was absolutely not anonym. There are many facets in the Alp Symphony. The WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra managed the many very big climaxes very well, and a lot of the many beautiful solo parts were perfect.
WDR Symphony Orchestra, Køln, at Theatre des Chapms-Élysées 09, Photo: Henning Høholt
I would have preferred that in some of the parts the conductor Semyon Bychkov could have given them better time.- Some parts could have been slower, to let the music sound better out in the room and filling up the room in another way. It was like rush traffic some time. First in the middle of the Symphony the tempo became more relaxed for a time as I would have preferred, but that didn´t rest long time, the rush traffic continued, and it became more and more noisy, and it was never beautifully, as it could have been, I didn´t find any really beautiful parts as for example as some of the musical parts in The Rose cavalier, which was being composed shortly before the Alp Symphony, still there are plenty of music which could have been played beautifully, but the conductor rushed. He didn´t give the musician’s time to enjoy playing their tunes. Sometimes a lower sound level (pianissimo) could have lifted it all up to another world, the only thing lifted up were the organ tunes, coming from the top of the stage. It was never boring, but to the information of Semyon Bychkov, Pianissimo still exists somewhere
. Please find it!
At Theatre des Champs-Élysées are inviting all the leading orchestras in the world to come on visit. It gives us a good possibility to compare their availability. I regret to say that this orchestra in the Alp Symphony was not the best I have heard, I was not happy. Someone in the audience left when it was too noisy, and I had to put my fingers in to the ears some time
. This orchestra need, in so big musical pieces, to get a better balance between strings and the rest of the orchestra that is a duty for the conductor. I noticed that the relaxed applause got extra the beautiful Nimrod part by Edvard Elgar. But I have already left.