Mozartian beauty balanced by Brahmsian might
Expectations were high at the Thailand Cultural Centre last Friday. The audience arrived to hear the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the famed Jussen brothers from Holland, for a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.10 for two pianos in E-flat major.
Born in 1993 and 1996, Lucas and Arthur Jussen are still in their early 20s but have already made a global impact as soloists with charming personality and magnetic charisma. Mozart was similarly aged when he composed this work circa 1779, with his elder sister Nannerl in mind as joint performer in their hometown of Salzburg. As a precursor to his greatest concertos written during his later Vienna period, this opus beautifully captures the aspirations of a man still very much in touch with his inner child, while also containing passages marked by poignant reflection. Mozart’s mother had died in Paris, in tragic circumstances, only the year before he penned the piece, known as K 365.
It was clear from the outset that the handsome blonde Jussen siblings felt the music as one, giving the impression of a telepathic connection as they faced each other on opposite sides of the stage. Also visiting from Holland for this first concert of the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra’s “Tribute To Monarchy Institution: Homage To The Royal House Of Chakri” was German-Dutch conductor Arjan Tien, a distinguished compatriot of Lucas and Arthur who has known them from birth and seen their careers develop. Now all colleagues and close friends, this intimate connection added to the sense of cohesion between podium and pianos, the orchestra for its part responding well to the soloists’ tasteful phrasing and beguilingly subtle keyboard touch. Their performance was 100% note-perfect — there are precious few musical pleasures to compare with this level of excellence.
After the intermission, Tien returned for a robust account of Brahms’ Symphony No.1in C Minor, Op 68 — an utterly different style, dense and imposing — but the first half belonged to Mozart, a world of transparent voicing and crystalline texture. To set the atmosphere for the concerto, Tien opened with a scintillating performance of The Marriage of Figaro overture — four minutes of operatic bliss that start with almost-inaudibly whispered scurryings (bravo strings/ bassoons!); continue with explosive chords (bravo trumpets/ horns/ timpani/ woodwind!); and culminate with an electrifying Mannheim crescendo designed to generate as much energy as possible.
Audience members who had attended the February RBSO classical concert would have noticed the effective placing of second violins stage-left, facing the firsts, presenting a stereophonic experience of these two strands of orchestration. Maestro Arjan Tien opted for the same approach this time, with equally satisfying results — a symmetrical reflection of the two wonderful Steinway Model D274 pianos themselves.
“Like driving a pair of BMWs!” is how another conductor has described listening to the Jussen brothers, and the duo shone on the instrumental equivalent of such finely tuned engines. From the majestic four-octave-unison E-flat trill which heralds the soloists’ entry, through the silky-smooth ascending chromatic B-flat scale of the first movement’s cadenza (Arthur’s lower two octaves passing seamlessly to big brother Lucas’s upper two), to the finale’s instantly memorable Rondo theme — this was a classy performance to savour. The rapturous applause ensured an encore, and they obliged with a jaw-dropping, jazz-infused encore entitled Sinfonia 40 by Italian composer Igor Roma.
The second half of the concert featured Tien’s impressive interpretation of Brahms — the RBSO had clearly benefited from his few days of insightful direction. Brahms’ opus 68 is a titan of the Romantic repertoire, and Tien displayed his complete knowledge of this masterpiece by conducting without score (as he had also done for the overture). In a another variation of the seating plan, the double basses were split on opposite sides of the stage — three behind the first violins, three behind the second violins. This resulted in a more ambient warmth, exactly what is needed in this organic, homogeneously conceived music.
The complex structure of the challenging first movement unfolded pleasingly with a forward momentum that is essential. From the opening pounding timpani and searing string/woodwind lines which voice-lead in opposite directions, the highly charged texture is so dense that the edifice is always in danger of collapsing under the sheer weight of its own material — a result of the historical weight of expectation that Brahms was only too aware of, following as he was in the giant footsteps of Beethoven. However, Tien clearly had the measure of the RBSO on his first collaboration with them. His sure control over the players, guiding the assembled forces with well-judged tempi, was maintained until the very end of the symphony, the final triumphant tutti chorale inviting warm cheers inside the TCC auditorium.