The OSM continues the “Beethoven” parenthesis of its season with a concert echoing the previous one. Like the concert featuring the Violin Concerto, the graceful, dance-like 7th Symphony is presented in context with composers who have challenged classical composition.
It was the theme for both concerts. The first Viennese school (Haydn, Mozart and above all Beethoven) is set against, or rather in perspective with, the second (Schoenberg, Berg and Webern). We don’t seem to have the chance to hear any Schoenberg this year at the OSM, but Anton Webern was in the spotlight in October, and this time it was Alban Berg who was on the program.
Subtly enough, one senses that it was Berg’s works that shaped the program, even if their presence is invisible in the title of the concert. The Three Pieces for Orchestra are complex and stunning. The contrasts and thunderous percussion are breathtaking. The aggressive sonorities of the score startle and astonish. The stage was packed, with a powerful orchestra playing very loudly, even too loudly at times. Berg’s second piece, the Violin Concerto, often called “In Memory of an Angel”, is often considered the culmination of twelve-tone language. You can sense pain and sadness in the sinuous melodic lines that seem impossible to resolve. Soloist Augustin Hadelich delivers a crystalline, controlled and hypnotic performance. The score being technically difficult and highly unpredictable, the performance of these two works was certainly a daunting challenge for the orchestra and Hadelich, but one that was brilliantly met. The soloist thanked the audience with an encore, the Andante from Bach’s Sonata No. 2.
Beethoven’s 7th Symphony announced in the concert title, is a work of incomparable elegance and majesty. Considered by many to be the “apotheosis of dance,” it’s easy to imagine oneself at a grand ball in the Prince’s palace, with the court in its finest attire. A more controlled opening paves the way for an interpretation based on a gradual but constant rise in intensity. The orchestra’s musicians seem to know the score by heart, and Christophe Eschenbach’s direction is effective. Seemingly very square, his movements indicate his investment in the various sections. This is an interesting way to appreciate both the Beethoven piece and the Berg pieces.
Obviously, the magnificent and much-acclaimed second movement of the Symphony steals the show. Still, there’s a certain pleasure in seeing the orchestra bring out the best in the other movements, especially the third and fourth, which are played with all the intensity we’ve come to expect from the current artistic direction.
Beethoven will be back in the spotlight in April 2024 with a visit from Kent Nagano. For more details on upcoming concerts, visit the OSM page HERE.
Photo credit : Antoine Saito
