patrikpen: Dynamic Performances in Music and Vision 4 aprile

mercoledì 16 agosto 2017

Dynamic Performances in Music and Vision 4 aprile

Dynamic Performances

Vladimir Jurowski conducts Zemlinsky and Mahler,
appreciated by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

The National Academy of Santa Cecilia organized a two day symposium, 1884-1934 — The second Viennese School in Rome, 30-31 March 2017. Collaborating partners of the Academy were the Italian Musicology Society, the Roman Center on Jewish Culture, the University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', and the Austrian Institute of Culture. It was a very scholarly event which attracted musicologists from all over. It was an important event because Rome's audience is split into two broad groups: either highly conservative and fond of classical repertory up to the mid nineteenth century, or very innovative with a passion for the avant-garde. Thus most of the twentieth century production tends to fall in between two stools. The new management of the Academy must be praised because it is trying to change this situation; this requires education and preparation for the audience (which is on average quite aged).

Along with the symposium, the Academy programmed, as part of its subscription series, a concert conducted by Vladimir Jurowski with the title Vienna 1884-1934, featuring the Sinfonietta Op 23 by Alexander Zemlinsky and the Symphony No 1 by Gustav Mahler, sometimes known as The Titan. The concert was performed three times from 30 March until 1 April 2017. I attended the 30 March performance. Zemlinsky's Sinfonietta is an absolute masterpiece, yet this was an Academy concerts premiere because it had never been performed by this major Italian symphonic institution. On the contrary, Mahler's Symphony No 1 has been performed some thirty times at the Academy but the second movement, Blumine (Andante), had been included only once in 1979; this movement was cut by Mahler after performances in Budapest, Hamburg and Weimar because, at that time, it was considered too innovative for the late nineteenth century audience. The composer himself considered it 'one of my boldest works'.

Members of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at the Parco della Musica Auditorium in Rome on 30 March 2017. Photo © 2017 Musacchio & Ianniello. Click on the image for higher resolution

The Sinfonietta dates from 1934, and it is closer to the austere neo-classical world of Hindemith and Kurt Weill than to the second Viennese school. Yet it is by no means an arid work, and Vladimir Jurowski's performance was excellent, full of rhythm and vigor as well as intensity (especially in the second movement, Ballade). The audience reacted with warm applause. Thus this short but enchanting piece may enter the repertory.

Mahler's Titan has been reviewed several times in this magazine. My most recent review was about one year ago when a full Mahler program was played at the Monte-Carlo Festival ('Mahler in Monte-Carlo', 15 April 2016). There, Daniel Harding conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, juxtaposing the symphony with the Adagio from the incomplete Tenth Symphony. He delved into the mystery of what will happen after the human adventure. Harding reads the First Symphony, composed nearly twenty years earlier, as a joyful vision of life, with the remembrance of a well known children's song and a real explosion of hopes and expectations. Jurowski, like Harding, is a fine-featured man, with large gestures. He is and looks very Russian with long hair and an athletic style. He gave a different interpretation from Harding: a highly dramatic reading. He pulled dynamic performances out his players, and showed a sovereign understanding of this most complex score.

Vladimir Jurowski conducting the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at the Parco della Musica Auditorium in Rome on 30 March 2017. Photo © 2017 Musacchio & Ianniello. Click on the image for higher resolution

There were nearly ten minutes of ovations.