DKR de: Berlin PO/Alan Gilbert. Emmanuel Ax, Christianne Stotijn. Berg lieder, I.S. Katschei musik the highlights. Philharmonie Berlin. 01.04.11

Contrasting sonorities, between concertato of winds and strings, more plentifully intermixed, intermeshed in Stravinsky’s Firebird – especially as played complete, seemed unifying theme to well varied program New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert conducted - also of Alban Berg lieder and Mozart concerto.

Christianne Stotijn made most distinctive, opulent soloist for the Seven Early Songs by Berg. Evenness of tone all across the range, fine bloom on often floating top, at once vivid and intimate painting of Romantic text by varied poets made all here clearly evoke shifting moods, lights, perspectives issuing forth. Mystery evoking barely lit night sky for reprise of beginning of the first song, ‘Nacht’ was haunting, Stotijn’s voice opening out more fully, beseechingly for the ‘Gib acht’s’ that frame crest to first stanza of this song and envelope its conclusion.

Gilbert and the Berliners became more openly engaging in accompanying the chamber ensemble accompanied ‘’Schilflied’ (Reed Song) with its more apparent clarity of texture, all to limn Stotijn’s intimated and yet full grasp of romantic yearning, longing this song more directly conveys. Febrile line from Stotijn opulently filled out ‘Die Nachtigall;’ ‘with for its quasi-operatic conception, Gilbert and string section of the Berlin Philharmonic sounded slightly retiring. Stotijn floated crests to the song’s broad line with fullness and ease. Lightly apprehensive conversational tone very knowingly filled out ‘Traumgekroent . It all worked toward Stotijn’s alternation of darkening and lightening of her tone, latter working toward ability to float very freely the soul-liberating high G - in engagement with image of night closing this song. Light interlude of ‘Im Zimmer’ (‘Indoors’) got intimately pointed, contrasting it with rich appoggiatura laden, rapturous ‘Liebesode’, betraying sense of deep longing underneath, fullness thereof grasped entirely on ‘so reich an Sehnsucht,’ its closing line.

For closing song, ‘Sommertage’, fully orchestrated, Gilbert became more openly engaging in his collaboration with Stotijn than with either one of two other fully orchestrated songs here. Stotijn picked up well on sense of passionate determination, desire, intimation of such, in view of the fleeting quality of youth, of life in general. Alan Gilbert throughout, though passively for some of the Berg,, made a fully supportive accompanist to Stotijn, having the Berlin Philharmonic read their elaborately harmonized lines, spellings with good clarity, likewise of purpose, with keeping in mind the gentle naivete of vision conveyed here, but perhaps as all at slight distance from the very emotional fiber near core of this brief cycle. Stotijn, who gave a fascinating recital at Edinburgh last fall of Schoenberg’s Opus 15, ‘Book of Hanging Gardens’ and selection of a dozen Strauss lieder, made ideal choice for soloist here.

Alan Gilbert then brought out Emmanuel Ax for the E-Flat Piano Concerto, K. 482 by Mozart, composed for Lenten season concerts of 1786 – alongside most celebrated concerti Mozart wrote in A Major and C Minor. Identifiably, a generically Romantic approach to Mozart prevailed here, Gilbert stepping back from being slightly pedantic on opening ritornello (and other ritornelli) to allow Berlin wind principals to expand out deferential lines with fine grace. Gilbert then boldly framed approaching first solo entrance, Ax providing his lines good, gently playful fluency. Some stodginess interfered with grandiose B-Flat Minor opening mostly solo transition, Ax then deftly descending into turning winsome first movement’s second theme. Slightly pulled back phrasing of runs coming off, also during transition leading up to the second theme became tricky for Ax to shake off - also after phlegmatic start to ritornello right before the Development.

Ax slightly dragged pace through harmonic sequencing to follow, his runs blandly decorating line beneath in mostly the winds; he then could hardly make re-transition more yielding than how his playing sounded already. Fortunately, some reassuring sobriety then took over, managing to restore sense of scale to how this passage concludes. Ax, in decoratively imitating flute consequents from the Exposition, was imaginative, but expanded out second theme in the recapitulation, curiously came across slightly glib, phlegmatic. Enveloping for starting the cadenza became self-conscious, as toward also making following utter flourish of it all discreetly introspective.

Gilbert, in having provided Ax limited poise, grandeur to frame his solo flights during expansive first movement made statement of theme in strings alone glibly shaped to open the second. Ax then opened out beseechingly on first variation with singing tone, though phrasing some of it slightly as from behind. Including duet flute and bassoon duet over strings, the most Mozartean playing Berlin provided here emerged during variations led by woodwinds. Ax somewhat heavily underlined running left hand sixteenths for minor key variation in-between (two in major keys). Gilbert then made phlegmatic firm tutti statements in dialogue with more yielding soloist – replies thereof deftly, elaborately expressive, continuing simply, varyingly so to the end, with Berlin Philharmonic less well defined behind Ax - while not forgetting how first-rate their woodwinds.

Woodwinds very well abetted animated skip from Ax through rondo theme, return thereof during the finale, Ax providing second theme equally good spring and animation – with Gilbert slightly retiring right behind. All slightly more in earnest, leaned on than how the music, fleeting impression for it to make, might better simply speak for itself, the central Minuetto section had winds and Ax especially trading off how to make ardent vocalized line out of much of it. Less genuine was Ax making fleeting cadenza reprise of this section precious, Ax and winds for reprise of main section of this needing allotment of more space with all a bit stiffly, but robustly pressed forward from Gilbert. All in all, for the concert hall, this was a fairly good, passable K. 482, if lacking something in grand gesture and fully realized expressive weight framed thereof for it.

Having Mozart programmed likely abetted how very well much of ‘Firebird’ went. The Berlin Philharmonic has neither played or recorded the complete score for this much; when they had, under Bernard Haitink, results, due in part to some weighing down of Teutonic accents in both strings and brass, emerged only intermittently inspired – taking also into account Haitink’s London Philharmonic disc of this (still among very best listed). Gilbert kept restrained infusing ‘Firebird’ with any excessively projected or American accent. Such could have from Berlin easily turned out wonky, awkward.

Pulsation through brooding Introduction was good, but color dry from lower strings, but lower winds and brass then better defining repeat of the same lines. Gilding of animation to percolate up from depths below and rushing through Jardin enchantee made for a surface-y feel to further opening paragraphs. Breeze through Firebird’s first appearance on the scene, with fine shimmer achieved in the strings, emerged very well in character; as abetted by bright woodwind and muted trumpet solos, her dance conveyed much supple life and animation, with capture by Ivan continuing matters well on cue. Woodwinds for ‘’Supplications’ found themselves slightly more, though characterful, to the fore than the norm for strings having entered somewhat subdued and dry, denying some shape to all their beseeching. Strings returned for reprise of main section with better profile after well achieved lighter arabesque for middle section to this.

Following brief taking in of Ravel-esque dreamy atmosphere all about, rhythmic pointing of ‘Jeu avec pommes d’Or’ was good – very fine clarinet solo to solo viola obbligato notable. Mild preciosity from Gilbert only intermittently began to turn things bland, as also did a little tentativeness toward making good profile to line for lyrical Round Dance to follow. Past a slightly rushed daybreak and other than gilding several flowers springing up along the way, Gilbert became the most engaged he had been entire evening long with much sorcery, trickery, carillon from Katschei and his minions to kick in. Even places where Gilbert, especially for Katschei, tended to almost over-emphasize, underline - as during dialogue between Ivan and sorcerer, came alive for all the very droll wit Gilbert could pack within – including for passing explosions of rage.

Picking up pace for all of Katschei’s malevolent retinue as segue into Danse infernale was joyously spot-on. The bizarreness and queer Mozartean lightness to Danse infernale itself all became very telling. Gilbert’s balancing, interweaving of Berlin woodwinds through string section refrain was at once very well defined and supple. Flute flutter-tonguing and Eastern quality to strings on their melisma chanted refrains built up to very defiant conclusion. Equally focused was the following Berceuse, excellently so, deeply achieved principal bassoon solo, strings gilded on descant harmonizing above just right.

Achievement of light, following droll sorcerer’s demise, however got lingered over more heavily than Gilbert could manage well, but emergence of solo horn from afar spinning out his lines was haunting, preparing solidly accented general rejoicing, if mildly less engaged with primary colors to the fore here than with mercurial, prickly interplay, engagement with sinister forces omnipresent before. Gilbert brought much of his own knowledge, character to this score, even if not having yet found a completely defined interpretation for it entirely; too much though can be made of that. Many of the right elements are already present; the Berlin Philharmonic emerged deferential to solid effort thus evident from Alan Gilbert at the Philharmonie. daskulturradio.de

NPR: New York PO. Alan Gilbert. Karita Mattila. Beethoven/Nordic program. 29.1.11

Music of Beethoven split this program with that of Sibelius and Carl Nielsen. Partly to complement how Nielsen's Second Symphony is, Alan Gilbert favored a big-boned, even heroic approach to the somewhat deceptively modest Beethoven Eighth. Though more naturally yielding for its second theme, opening statement of affirmative opening idea got slightly gunned toward invigorating all to follow, strongly driven. Double dotted rhythms anticipating gentler second idea got executed with stalwart rigor, to be consistent with what preceded them. Gilbert also flexibly shaped transitions coming off the second theme, with their rustling tremoli in the strings right underneath, yet followed by crudely hatchet-ed closing idea.

Yielding again as Gilbert was coming off of this, his shaping of the Development section turned out most apt, central fugato buildup thereof both flexibly handled and infused with fine strum und drang toward propelling all forward. Principal clarinet, reflectively on opening theme, opened coda pliant, off hammered close to the recapitulation – toward very confidently concluding the first movement.

What worked well for the first movement worked less well for the remainder of this. Deft ironic wit to the Malzel Allegretto, on which Philharmonic winds were less stiff than the strings, went missing, by dint of mostly strictly marking time from the podium. Heavy, stolid leaning on opening to the Minuet was good, but oddly there was no coming off as line in the first violins carried on just about equally stiff. Excessively underlined accents on timpani and on trumpets, vulgar, layered over the musical rhetoric an extra layer of irony; rustling accompanied well phrased French horn duo for the Trio was more on the right track.
Violin section tremoli to open the rapid finale emerged ragged. Poise got recovered for second theme, as expected, but rhythms for first theme derived subject for fugal writing in the Development turned at once slightly pressed and flaccid. Longer, extended phrases of secondary development Gilbert provided breathing space; working toward nagging impression of a certain lack of charm by and large however was continuing incidence of strain from the violins.

Finnish soprano Karita Mattila then appeared for first of two major selections – the concert aria ‘Ah, perfido’ – in effect study for Leonore in Fidelio – by Beethoven. After abrupt start by Alan Gilbert, Mattila made noble, but curiously arched profile of this piece’s opening recitative – not to mention the expansive, psychologically shifting emotional landscape it covers through just several minutes. Mattila attempted compensating for some hollowness within middle and lower middle range by placing back and darkening color beyond what is natural. Her grasp of emotional terrain that Metastasio’s heroine covers, with all hue and nuance in place, was never in doubt. Maintaining free flow through this, inculcating so very much, was however. Strained high A at crest of ‘Vedro la mia vendetta’ limned fully achieved ferocity thereof to contrast with warmly, firmly achieved legato for closing line of ‘Per lui vivea, voglio morir per lui’ – even with emotion expressed very distraught.

Phrasing continued equally specific through following aria, albeit with much placing back compromising legato and tubular production of engaging reaches into higher register doing the same. Expressive lightening of the tone and of phrasing provided relief – motivated by this singer’s complete musicality and very psychologically worked out response to this aria’s text. Somewhat heavy underlining of slow refrain portion of the cabaletta – all though very sincerely felt – contrasted with awkwardly placed good attempt at lighter tone to take on ascending, descending runs – causing slippery intonation. Combined flexibility and courage to take on this repertoire, combined with complete musical and dramatic grasp of what is at hand helped very well obscure what has always been with Mattila a slightly faulty technique. Even with that less possible now, one could not help but get caught up with Mattila’s thorough engagement here.

Gilbert, warmly supportive of Mattila through the Beethoven, found more common ground with her on selection of three Sibelius songs after the break. Apparently some artistic partnership, revolving around not quite exclusively Nordic repertoire formed during Gilbert’s handful of years with the Stockholm Philharmonic. Enveloped by fine atmospheric sense from Gilbert and the Philharmonic and informed by Mattila’s very intimate feel for the text - poetry by Rydberg (in Swedish) the source - sense of mystery to encompassing Hostkvall (Autumn Evening)’s expansive lines got compromised by vocal problems. This was true through melismatic line to sing of softly falling silvery rain formed from gloomy realms of misty cloudland above (translation: Rosa Newmarch) that Mattila approached by tubular means instead of floating it – up eventually through an unsupported high B natural and slippery intonation overall. This song was composed for the charismatic Finnish diva Aino Ackte.

Coming next was Arioso, also string accompanied, like all three songs here to Swedish text. Pained sense of rapture lost on climactic line to this – Gossens aga ar dass vardag – with its wide (almost Kundry like) jump from a high A down to low D-Sharp drew impassioned feeling from Mattila, though preceded by unvaryingly bearing down an approach to make yielding transition to it effective. The heroine of Arioso unfavorably, naively compares her destiny to that of a wilting flower she observes for her having to concede to family loyalty over desire for the youth at the very center of her life.
Gilbert provided accompaniment sumptuous, but slightly cool, with in mind assisting Mattila toward saving voice. For such thick production, one might even suspect some lack in genuine warmth – also in ability to still convey innocence.

The brief ‘Varen flyktar hastigt’ dealing with fleeting character of a Nordic spring, making it a time for (equally fleeting) love - winsome waltz step to it -freely invited Mattila to lighten up some – opportunity for which she halfway took advantage; transition from minor to major mode Gilbert himself made detached. Fortunately, Mattila recorded all three of these songs at the peak of her powers - with Sakari Oramo (for Virgin Classics).

Alan Gilbert, in having provided us a Beethoven Eighth in bold strokes, even in bringing out something of a driven, hectoring, even quite irascible quality beneath its sanguine surface, was perhaps thinking of the Nielsen to close this program. Neilsen spoke of the different moods or temperaments in human experience in his ‘Four Temperaments’ (Symphony No. 2), of at times their overlapping each other; Nielsen’s music reflects this – least so in the intermezzo second movement devoted to the ‘phlegmatic’ – portion o Gilbert has singled out as particularly charming. Nielsen’s manner of painting in primary colors, for more fully orchestrated passages - in giving the brass much prominence - finds a true advocate in Gilbert.

The strong attitude with which Gilbert opened the first movement certainly made the case. Slight clipping of abrasive accents and cut-offs became suspect. A hard pressed quality of the playing turned things monochromatic against better internally reckoned harmonic changes being made. Supple expanding out of oboe led second theme and of later retransition for less heavily accompanied concertato of winds though got encouraged very well. Strings strained to be heard through crest of their lines through tightly negotiated fugato over loud brass during the Development – equally due to thin unison high scoring for violins as perhaps any indiscretion on Gilbert’s part. While yielding well to this music’s episodic lyricism, the forthright character of the music making here, perhaps slightly peevishly, complemented well how Nielsen himself here depicts a choleric mindset or temperament. Gilbert in taking a forthright tempo prudently withheld excessively pressing the Philharmonic past where they could clearly maintain upholding this music’s demarcations, thus confidently articulate this music with bold strokes.

Following supple trailing off to end the first movement, the indicated phlegmatic ‘waltz’ of the second movement, as perceiving it two-dimensionally, came off well – though slightly devoid of charm or if you will, of Nielsen’s harmonious melos to depict a lighter naïveté. Trio section beginning quite strictly marked eased up well toward achieving better lift and shape, eventually ambling toward return of main section.

Gilbert, to frame starting the Andante, tried plumbing its ‘melancholy’ depths – in how he had strings dig right in, early on. Appoggiatura laden, plaintive reply in oboe, picked up, well characterized by other winds promised good opening out of further rhetoric. The playing here took on a more settled quality, more richly hued, more flexible than heard earlier in either this or the Beethoven. Violins immediately made flexibly singing line out of continuing lines from the woodwinds. Good chamber music was made of principal flute introduced major key episode – continued by Judith LeClair (bassoon) and Philip Myers (horn) before tensions bottle up toward stern reprise of opening this movement. Gilbert’s leaning on thicker scoring to follow reckoned well deeply harmonized chromatic spelling in the brass. Gilbert spoke of an Elgarian quality to the writing here – to perhaps explain his bold strokes to limn its nobility, pathos – deep in twilit colors. Broad expanding out of opening material reprised maintained well, focussed, overall distraught mood to the end.

Except for while intermittently competing with onslaught from the brass, violins displayed good vigor, putting on the ‘sanguine’, to start the finale. Gilbert continued equally at ease with all here as with the Andante. Full chordal interjections, interrupting several lines almost anticipate passage out of the second half of ‘Elegy’ from Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. For two minute interlude to slowly muse, reflect upon more doleful terrain earlier covered, Gilbert, with fine voicing through Philharmonic strings achieved good simplicity. Further enhancing swagger with which the finale opened, the coda, changing up the rhythmic shape of opening material, indeed came off here somewhat Elgarian, but with hearty spirit infusing all, very confident of this music.