Nagano gets an A for this ‘B’
Dramatic interludes of sun and shadow
Spring is here, and the Bs are busting out all over. Since Sunday, we have heard Brahms, Beethoven and Bruckner in OSM performances of uniform conviction but varying levels of excitement.
The peak arrived Tuesday night with Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony. Something was in the air. The pulse was quick and vibrant. Sudden changes in pace and mood came across not as fits and starts, but dramatic interludes of sun and shadow.
Bruckner built much of the sonority of this magnificent score from the top down, as
Something was in the air. The pulse was quick and vibrant.
Kent Nagano was prepared to acknowledge. Brass had bite and the violins in the development of the first movement spoke with Brunnhilde-like clarity.
They also summoned great radiance in the Adagio, where Nagano again found the right mix of solemnity and urgent passion. The coda, with its delicate timpani roll and prayerful strings, ranks among the best things I have heard in the Maison symphonique.
The Scherzo was scary and soothing by turns. If the multi-thematic finale is a problem, someone forgot to tell Nagano and the players, who launched into it boldly and never let up. Take note that the maestro was doing much less dancing on the podium than he had been on Saturday i n Brahms’s Fourth, which might help explain why the performance was more effective.
Before intermission, we heard Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 as played with regal intellect and warm feeling by Till Fellner.
This Austrian has a way of deriving maximum eloquence from trills and runs and paradoxically filling space with soft sonority. Nagano oversaw a refined accompaniment.
First up was Rossini’s William Tell Overture, with associate winds and brass in key positions. Warm at the cello-driven start and boisterous through the Lone Ranger finale, this wonderful piece was doubtless helpful in snagging the Internet multitudes watching the concert live on Medici.tv.
Cameras in the sold-out hall were remarkably discreet. Visit osm.ca for a link to the broadcast, which will be available for three months.