Sep 7, 2022 8pm Philharmonie, Paris
Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Philadelphia Orchestra
Lisa Batiashvili (violin)
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No.1
Chausson: Poème
(Violin Encores – 1. Debussy: Beau soir (Yannick on piano), 2. Machavariani: Doluri)
Dvořák: Symphony No.7
(Orch Encores – 1. Silvestrov: Prayer for Ukraine, 2. Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No.5?)
(scroll down for English review)
今次旅程聽了三隊美洲樂團，匹茲堡、克利夫蘭、費城。對費城期望最低，因為聽得最多，不只是他們香港的兩場，2019年11月也在東京聽過，主曲目有德伏扎克《新世界》及馬勒五，其中一場都是有Batiashvili拉柴可夫斯基協奏曲。如今上半場曲目正是兩人剛剛推出新碟的三分二，指揮也像唱片般，在安歌時彈琴為她伴奏那首德布西（海飛茲改編）。
施曼諾夫斯基《第一小提琴協奏曲》我不肯定有沒有在現場聽過，假如有，都可是能二、三十年前的港樂音樂會，但那次可能是拉《第二》。不管如何，這首協奏曲真的很不一樣，就算放在二十世紀的小提琴協奏曲去比都很突出，因為就像一首有小提琴獨奏的交響詩，或者即如同一作曲家的《第四交響曲》的piano obbligato那樣。不過我覺得Batiashvili拉得太克制，未足以帶領着音樂，總是好像要等管弦樂來話事那般。蕭頌《詩曲》我起初不喜歡她拉得太纖幼，但到激情處，她要的話還是可以拉得很深刻。尼澤塞甘和費城樂團，在此兩曲已不只是單純的伴奏，尤其在《詩曲》高潮爆發得最為燦爛，所以即使小提琴協奏曲目完全佔據上半場，我覺得還是很滿足。
下半場的德伏扎克《第七》令我喜出望外，原來分別其實不在尼澤塞甘，而是在弦樂，尤其是小提琴。和上幾次聽的不同，這次小提琴很老實地把音符拉得很足，亦不會一味扮熱情而把聲音拉到七零八落，就這樣盡責或平實，整個樂隊的平衡都改變了。其實大家付多一點錢去聽外隊的客演，多數不是為了驚人詮釋，只要你老老實實的奏出自身實力就很令人愉快了。
純粹以這次聽的來計，我對三隊的滿足度是：費城＞匹茲堡＞克里夫蘭，不過論詮釋，還是以漢尼克／匹茲堡大幅領先，論我最想再聽的程度，都是一樣：匹茲堡＞克里夫蘭＞費城。而費城之所以令我這麼滿意，也可能是巴黎愛樂廳明顯優於柏林愛樂廳及德累斯頓文化宮之故。
This is the third American orchestra I saw in this Europe trip. Philadelphia Orchestra is surely the most famous but the one I had the least expectations, as I found Nézet-Séguin might have spread himself too thin and previous concerts that I saw in Tokyo and Hong Kong were awfully mediocre. Lisa Batiashvili played in the entire first half with two-thirds of her new album recorded with this very orchestra and conductor, also with the Beau soir encore with the conductor at the piano. This might be the first time I heard this Szymanowski concerto live, to me this is an underexposed work and very enjoyable as a symphonic poem with violin obbligato. Batiashvili tended to constrain her tone without going to deep and I found her somehow lacking as the protagonist of this piece. The Chausson showpiece was also started in an understated manner but the climax and aftermath were very powerful. Usually I don’t like soloists on an orchestra tour concert but this repertoire choice and the conductor’s dedication make this first half very worthwhile.
I was so overjoyed by the Dvořák Seventh, now I realized my previous disappointments weren’t due to the conductor but quite simply the strings’ fault, the violins to be precise. Here they played the phrases with care, ensuring the notes were clearly articulated and that’s it, the whole orchestral balance fell into place.
Solely in terms of enjoyment my ratings on these three concerts are Philadelphia > Pittsburgh > Cleveland but Honeck and Pittsburgh’s interpretative insights are miles ahead.
Sep 3, 2022 8pm Philharmonie, Berlin
Franz Welser-Möst / Cleveland Orchestra
Rihm: Verwandlung 3, 2
Schubert: Symphony No.9
(scroll down for English review)
前一晚拉圖／倫敦交響的音樂會坐滿，今場克里夫蘭管弦樂團的演出只有三分一觀眾，甚為驚嚇，除了舒伯特的第三樂章之後，全部樂章都拍錯手，就知這場的街客甚多。本來我對開場的Rihm《變形三》及《變形二》興趣頗大，但聽過後只覺得音樂只是一味向前，就像自由聯想，我都不敢談論了。
對上一次現場聽韋沙慕斯特和克里夫蘭，是在東京聽他們貝多芬全集的其中一場，好像是《田園》及《第四》，這次聽舒伯特《偉大》，再次是古典曲目。用了64人弦樂以及把雙木管加倍至四木管，但一開始的聲音及速度頗見原音派的影響，速度快、質感薄，幸而指揮不是為薄而薄，做到不同質感及音量，但令我覺得除了這兩個元素，就沒有幾多詮釋空間。去到終曲管弦聲響終於去到最盡，卻是少見的既柔和又響亮，韋沙莫斯特在克里夫蘭已留了二十年，確實建立到一種和其他美國大團不同的聲響，和漢尼克的匹茲堡交響樂團各有特色，而這兩人都是奧地利人，所以也經常帶團到歐洲巡迴。但這個舒伯特演奏我就聽不到幾多新意，就是和前晚聽漢尼克的柴五的最大不同。
After the full house of Rattle’s LSO concert I was shocked to see the hall was just 1/3 full for this Cleveland Orchestra concert. Almost every movement was applauded, a sign that the audience weren’t regulars. I had expectations of the two Rihm pieces but they sounded too much like free associations that simply went on and on.
It was four years since I last saw Welser-Möst and Cleveland live in concert, it was Beethoven Pastoral and probably the Fourth. Schubert Ninth was once again a Viennese classic. Welser-Möst used a 64-strong string section and had the woodwind section doubled. He was obviously influenced by HIP in his tempi and texture choices, but he allowed himself freedom to vary his string texture and volume to make this long piece less repetitive. He finally unleashed the orchestra’s full power in the finale. But unlike LSO’s mercurial but dull tone the Cleveland strings played with a mellow but luminous sound. Along with fellow Austrian Manfred Honeck, Welser-Möst cultivates another America orchestra with meticulous care of its timbre. It’s an enjoyable Schubert Ninth, but one with hardly any interpretative insights, so it’s always the volume and texture making the differences.