Gergiev's Brahms and Szymanowski series at the Edinburgh Festival, ahead of the Barbican tour later this year, has majored in loudness and big climaxes, with a lack of dynamic
variation or subtlety. Few of the works on the programme lend themselves well
to this approach and this, combined with the surprising programming, has made
the listening experience patchy. There have been rare moments when a less
bombastic approach has crept in and some very enjoyable music has resulted.
Several of these were in the final performance [link to review of this].
There have been some surprise
hits too, in particular a good and illuminating account of Szymanowski's rarely
performed Second Symphony, especially its theme-and-variation-style second
movement. The concert including this is well worth going to, just for the
opportunity to hear this particular work.
Hearing the initially surprising
pairing with Brahms does find occasional points of illumination, such as the
second symphony of Szymanowski's (a good account, see above) with the finale of
the Brahms Fourth, and the so-called Haydn variations with both. One of the
threads in parallel for the two composers which is brought into focus by
hearing this unusual joint cycle is that
from an expansive middle period - for Szymanowksi perhaps his most individualistic
and distinctive - there is a return to more traditional forms and influences.
Brahms's Fourth Symphony was
found 'severe' by early listeners and collaborators such as Clara Schumann, and
whilst I recognise the considerable achievement of its finale, I can appreciate
this criticism and in some ways find his Second and Third symphonies easier and
more enjoyable to listen to. There is something
more forbiding and austere about
the more academic and structured Fourth, where Brahms seeks to resolve the
post-Beethoven differently by returning to Baroque influenced musical
architecture but coloured and viewed through the lens of the Romantic era in
which he lived and wrote. This however, was better served by Gergiev's possibly
surprising approach to Brahms, which has tended – perhaps surprisingly -
towards cool and technical, characterised by precision rather than feeling. It
is almost as if he sought to overcompensate against the risk of bringing too
much theatricality with him from the opera house, instead being at best rather
controlled and at times almost impatient or even perfunctory.
Szymanowski, long inspired by
travel and the exotic, in his late period looked more to his homeland and to
overt influences of folk music, such as from the Tatra Mountains where he made his home, which can
be heard in the Fourth Symphony's third (last) movement. Unlike Brahms – one of
whose greatest achievements was the
agnostic German Requiem – Szymanowski turned or returned to traditional
religion, for example setting a very beautiful Stabat Mater, which is to
be heard in London in 2013 and a Litany
to the Virgin Mary (contemporaneous with the fourth symphony and the second
violin conerto heard here).
Alongside the return to the
culture and religion of his homeland, he abandoned such rich orchestral colour
and lush soundworld for a leaner, more ascetic aesthetic, brought out well in
the moving performance of the Second Violin Concerto by Leonidas Kavakos. Both
composers seemed to have returned to tradition from a high water mark of
emotional expressiveness and
expansiveness, to look homewards rather than abroad and to the past rather than
to the future in their late works, the last being a particualr disappointment
to the emerging young composer Lutoslawski, who saw Szymanowksi as a leading
force in Polish modernism and was disappointed by this conservatism.
The later works of both these
composers being leaner and more pared down in their mood meant though
that they were better suited to the style of playing here, hence the
performances of these late works were more enjoyable. The softer, more mellow
mid-period of both composers has suffered most, especially that of Szymanowski
which calls for positive lushness, not merely for softness, delicacy or
lyricism. The leaner more ascetic and more formal later works fared better. The
good reception received on the opening night for the first violin concerto,
which is of the Romantic middle period, was largely due to the excellent
playing and local popularity of soloist
Nicola Benedettini.
One of the points to emerge from
the programming in this cycle is that amongst Szymanowski's considerable
output, works with a solo line fare
better for both audience and performers. A virtuostic pianist himself, and the
close friend of a virtuoso violinist, he writes well for both of these
instruments and for voice. The inclusion of one or more soloists seems to bring
a welcome focus and make these works more readily coherent and hence more
accessible. Most of the real successes of this series fell into this category.
In a recent interview, Gergiev –
who is known for his command of the Russian repertoire and for his opera
conducting - has expressed his desire to claim Szymanowski as a Russian
composer and emphasise his Russian connections. This may go some way towards
explaining why his interpretation of this composer's works emphasises
theatricality. (Interestingly, it is
notable that arguably the most successful collaboration in overall terms of the
entire cycle was with a fellow Russian soloist.) It is not, though, a position
completely congruent with the stated aims of the promoters of the concert
cycle, who wish to portray Symanowski as a European composer and to emphasise
his links westwards rather than eastwards.
However, the listener may readily
discern an influence or connection with several other composers when hearing
Szymanowski, not only the somewhat tenuous one put forward here with Brahms.
The Fourth Symphony might well suggest Ravel, but its Nietzschian inspirations
are in common with Delius, in particular the Mass
of Life, which I have already referred to, as well as that composer more
generally, again a
point I made here earlier. Russian inspirations and connections are not
hard to make: not only Scriabin (like Szymanowski, an impressive pianist) –
quite obviously – but also Stravinsky, and at times Rachmaninov. However, they
are perhaps connections more on the fringes than firmly within the Russian
mainstream.
What may emerge is that
Szymanowski – who for much of his life viewed himself as a cosmopolitan and an
explorer – was eclectic and influenced by many styles, experimenting musically
and travelling widely. Perhaps Szymanowski
belongs not to Europe, nor
exclusively to Russia but both; and perhaps he is a universalist who is not
tied to one cultural influence alone? This might well be how he would have
liked to see himself and how he would have liked to be remembered.
There is an argument that rather
than try to pigeon-hole his writing with one particular tradition or musical
influence, it could more informatively be presented alongside a variety of
composers and works with which it had relationships. It has been suggested
elsewhere that Szymanowksi is best heard in small doses: perhaps a more
sympathetic view would be that it is best heard alongside helpful programming
of suitable repertoire.
It would almost seem that, as his
60th birthday approaches, rather than offer a valedictory tour of
his best and best known repertoire, Gergiev – known for Russian repertoire and
his association with the Kirov/ Marinsky
Opera - has set himself a personal challenge to conduct the music least
suited to his style and temperament that he could find and came up with the
camp, extravagant and indeed homoerotic Polish aristocrat Szymanowksi on the
one hand, and and the measured but tender warmth of Brahms, backlit by the slow
tide of the North Sea, on the other. One
might also wonder whether the objective was to explore different approaches, or
to try to fit a one-size-for-all Russian-style performance to as many composers
as possible? Is this the musical equivalent of the celebrity jungle challenge,
or of driving tanks down the streets of Paris? The end result is rather like
eating Turkish delight with steak, the steak being a bit tough and the Turkish
delight having too much gelatine and not enough sugar!
So who benefits from this musical
equivalent of the bush-tucker challenge? Probably the soloists - who all
emerge well: Nicola Benedettini; Steve Davislim; Denis Matsuev and perhaps
especially Leonidas Kavikos. Also, very much, Roman Simovic, leader of the LSO,
who has had consistently good solos across several works.
Should London audiences go to
this mishmash when it transfers to the Barbican? The final concert is well
worth seeing, for the very dynamic chemistry at the front of stage in the second
violin concerto alone, the good account of Szymanowksi four a further bonus.
The second is also worth going to, for
the opportunity to hear a live
performance and a good account of the Szymanowksi two. If you enjoyed Eotvos' account of the Song of the Night, only go to this account of that
same work if you want to be reminded how good that was. If you are – or might
be – interested in hearing more of Szymanowksi, this performance cycle could
give a very misleading impression and there are a number of more sympathetic
interpretations available on recordings,
including a budget set of the complete
works issued by Naxos, which I have reviewed for MusicWebInternational, a
bargain at under £20, good playing if patchy sound quality. It is regrettable
that the admirable initiative to tour a major cycle of this composer's work so
as to make it better known to audiences in western Europe presents them with this mainly unsympathetic and
idiosyncratic interpretation. If you want a good account of the Brahms
symphonies, the LSO/ Haitink partnership
is not surpassed here, now available from the orchestra at a modest price,
nor are any of the DG recordings.
Gergiev is conducting Tchaikovsky Cinderella on the final weekend of the Edinburgh Festival, and also at BBC Prom 52 on 22nd August
Gergiev is conducting Tchaikovsky Cinderella on the final weekend of the Edinburgh Festival, and also at BBC Prom 52 on 22nd August
photo: Marco Borggreve
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