Concert showcases conductor’s rare talent
Rite of Spring New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jaime Martin with Vesa-Matti Leppanen (violin), Jakob Koranyi (cello) Music by Vaughan Williams, Walton and Stravinsky Michael Fowler Centre, November 20. Reviewed by John Button
THIS, the second programme conducted by Jaime Martin, was one of high contrast, and it revealed, above all else, that he is a conductor of real musical and communication skills.
To move from the serene, atmospheric modality of Vaughan Williams’ sublime The Lark Ascending, through the distinctive sound world of 1950s William Walton and on to the most famous ‘‘modern’’ work of them all – The Rite of Spring – was impressive. But to do so with a superb grasp of the essence of each of the works, and then to draw playing of the highest class from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, marked him out as a rare talent. He must return.
The concert opened with Vaughan William’s almost visual evocation of a bird in flight, played with astonishing control by VesaMatti Leppanen, partnered by some beautiful playing from the orchestra – how ravishing were the string pianissimos.
The Walton Cello Concerto is the third of his string concertos and is probably the least interesting of the three. But it is full of Walton’s distinctive fingerprints and Swedish cellist Jakob Koranyi played it beautifully. Again the orchestral support was superbly managed.
The premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is almost as famous as the work itself. The riot in the auditorium overshadowed the music and the dancers, but it established the work as the pinnacle of chaotic modernism. The original musicians had trouble with score, but time has seen almost any decent orchestra able to handle its demands, but a really hair-raising performance is rare.
Somehow Martin, who was clearly inside every detail, obviously comfortable with every rhythmic shift, conscious of the unusual instrumental writing and extremely dramatic in his approach, was able to hint at the shock of May 29, 1913.
Few performances – and none I have heard – have managed to achieve this.