RSO Berlin: Beethoven Symphonies 4, 5. Missa Solemnis. Marek Janowski. Soloists, Rundfunkchor Berlin. Philharmonie Berlin.

Symphonies No. 4 in B-Flat, Opus 60 and 5 in C Minor, Opus 67. RSO Berlin, Marek Janowski. 09.05.10 Not reviewed: Quartet in C Minor, Opus 18, No. 4 - Apollon Musagete Quartett.

Marek Janowski and RSO Berlin committed to doing a complete Beethoven cycle, this past season, yet seem to have come up with at best variable results. Janowski found adequate dark mystery for the slow introduction to the Fourth Symphony. Classical proportions, in term of the Fourth’s outer frame, were mostly well respected, but in this most enlightened-classical of the Beethoven nine, the internal working out of so much within seemed at best only halfway profiled.

The Allegro vivace got to a robust start, but with constantly insecure upbeats – in four and triplet sixteenths, alternatively in the violins – at approximately moderate pace through all this. All the upbeats were given some heft, some, but just sounded too insecure to be convincing. Second theme in good principal bassoon was fine, but as true with other transitions in the first movement, with crudely punched accents from full orchestra preceding it. – falling on off-beats. Handling of progression through straight staccato half note octaves in mostly strings proved stiff and flaccid – and made for equally stodgy results for first theme in closing section to the Exposition.

Development was handled with supple grace - until violins started increasing their maddening pickups. Janowski rushed the Recapitulation to effect of all internal vitality getting taken out, making us wait until RSO Berlin woodwinds warmly made good again with second theme. All then proceeded to an excessively plodding finish.

The Adagio started with second violins loud on accompanying dotted rhythms and firsts sagging on theme, improved upon then by principal woodwinds getting it – very fine principal clarinet being allowed good space for sublimely profiled second theme. Consequents to the first theme got way too heavily underlined in their thirty-second note slow arpeggi underneath - as to have been figuration written good distance east sixty years later. Brief retransition making it to the Recapitulation was very heavily stodgy through both tutti and divisi violins. Duet of horns on closing theme, replacing the fine duet of bassoons earlier in the Exposition got worked instead of being quite allowed space to naturally shape their line; final chords came off very phlegmatic.

At good, vigorous pace, accenting for the scherzo, for not having been internally worked out, also came across stodgy, leaving one a growing, nagging sense of two-dimensional perspective throughout all of this. Winds sang well the trio section, but in section eventually getting too pushed by Janowski, pulsation got thrown off again. Transitions back into the scherzo and coda all sounded clunky and support in sustained slow trill in lower strings, for reprise of woodwinds theme in the trio got mismanaged as well.

Loud tutti chords in the finale bloated and got punched - only undercutting a fine perpetual motion from the strings only so far. Progress through so much transition on straight sixteenths and through tricky modulations easily became too hefty and streamlined at once, ironically enough - no room allowed for adequate separations to be made between groups of sixteenths where very necessary.

Amidst so much sloppy about Bernstein’s late 1970’s semi-live Vienna PO Beethoven set, nobody could miss the triplets he made out of ‘Fate’ opening the Fifth Symphony. Same held true here. Janowski then proceeded to attempt correcting this, but still clipping rests – rests of course on where is usually found the downbeat. Janowski found it on the off-beat. He then rushed the buildup to the first full-scale tutti or ritornello, to try compensating for rhythmic lapse just encountered – thus making rhythmic organization of the first movement of the Fifth something verging on comparable to Lutoslawski. Unmemorable, stiff handling of the second theme, answering crudely overstated French horn then proceeded from there. Over-insistence with transition into the recapitulation and heavy thuds accenting end of the coda all lacked poise and internal fire to sustain and motivate all around decent start to both Recapitulation and Coda.

Even with phrasing well some variations that followed, first theme dotted rhythms in the first theme lacked good profile to start the Andante con moto. No underlining of reaching the cadence in the cellos could be of help, but try Janowski did anyway. Janowski did infuse long sustained arch from first refrain to second variation with good sense of awe. Coming off repeat of this however, brass and winds conspicuously, sounded lost on their voicing, leading principal bassoon to come in for some of the same dotted half note chords (that strings alone had previously) with new pitches for two or three of them. Janowski then reined things in good and tight, but with pummeling next statement of the refrain. Transition through minor mode episode proceeded well, until self-conscious underlining of slow scale-wise passages in the winds. The shaping of this Andante overall, with fine resonance all across RSO Berlin, was good - such to have left it, if not the most inspiring profile, adequate.

Cellos and basses had to wait until shift to the subtonic (B-flat Minor) to find thematic shape.. Horns giving out ‘Fate’ in three managed to simultaneously be lean in tone and lumpy in accenting. Such stodginess did not fully lift until Trio section got underway. Extra lift, to pianissimo reprise of the scherzo turned precious, but good mystery was found for opening transition into the finale – Janowski letting it slip until right moment several bars later for things to break.

Janowski settled for docking to open the celebratory finale, then rushing through what followed. In order to maintain equilibrium, he heavily pointed off-beats in violins leading into transition toward the second theme – most of the transition once it had arrived spirited and in good shape. Pulling back string tremolo articulation of the second theme to mid-ground, especially upon repeating it, then turned things insipid. Janowski could not make his personalized accommodation of a lack of technique really quite adequately fit in with all the rest. Reference to triplet infused transition to the second theme Janowski layered on with scherzo-like lift, that upon reprise of it in full just seemed all out of context. Even Janowski’s attempt at lightness for mid-finale reprise of the scherzo fell flat – then several minutes later to find Janowski shot-gunning the suddenly faster section of the Coda – usual joyous conclusion here taking back seat to previous obstruction disrupting flow or charge ahead.

Janowski clearly comes from the Central European tradition – mostly its Eastern half we associate with Klemperer, Masur, Tennstedt, Sanderling, etc. His objective classical approach is hardly in doubt, but nowadays the lack of any real finesse and what even can come across as smugness both make things insipid. One easily finds accents too in his conducting too that have nothing to do with anything except to accommodate both his and his ensemble’s technical, musical, and aesthetic shortcomings.

Missa Solemnis, Opus 123, in D Major. Camilla Nylund, Iris Vermilion, Mark Padmore, Franz-Josef Selig, Rundfunkchor Berlin. Simon Halsey. RSO Berlin, Marek Janowski. 04.09.10

No greater challenge exists, not just among Beethoven’s works, than Missa Solemnis – a piece as symphonic in its formal elements as the symphonies themselves. For Janowski to have succeeded at the entire thing having held together speaks of some experience. However, it became clearly felt soon before halfway through this, very similar compromises as cited above continued happening – mostly within interaction between orchestra and chorus. There was thus so little aesthetic to have been gained from the experience. Easier slower passage such as opening ‘Kyrie’ ranked among only barely a handful of exceptions. The moderate pacing had appropriately weighty and measured feel to it. Janowski handled transitions, circumspectly balancing almost all therein, such as not only transition into, out of awkwardly written middle section, but through intimating secondary development within return to ‘Kyrie’ from “Christe eleison.’

Opening of the ‘Gloria’ and yielding thereof into ‘Et in terra pax’ posed no immediate problems, with underlying orchestral and choral support strong, and forward moving line maintained well. The first barriers to achieving clean attack from choral and orchestral forces for Janowski occurred with the ‘glorificamus te’ fugati that while concluding series of them made tentative accents of such. The yielding ‘Gratias, agimus,’ started off too loudly by Mark Padmore, came across very close to as tense, with accenting of Domine Deus’ tentative. Janowski then gave all from the subdominant minor consequents of ‘Domine fili’ through usually very interesting modulations and expressive underlining through ‘Qui tolls’ and ‘Suscipe’ minimal care - unyieldingly so – finally to the extent all direction to line got lost. Even through much interesting coloring going on, forward motion must not get betrayed – keeping whole picture in mind. However, this is also late period Beethoven, which aesthetically requires that such contrasting phrasing and other elements infusing it receive better hint than achieved here of what is their due.

Following phlegmatic close to final ‘miserere nobis’ or two, accenting to ‘Quoniam tu solus sanctus’ proved choppy - separations therein too wide - and following fugue taken quasi-academically. Mark Padmore’s solo entrance withmundane fugue subject, was just that - strictly beat just as Janowski’s conducting of all the rest.. All cumulative sense was weak. Efforts at times to conserve energy were readily apparent, but the strain on all forces involved in taking onBeethoven’s superhuman development of his material through steadily moving forward, but obviously fatigued close to ‘Gloria’ was self-evident.

Opening to ‘Credo’ got some air taken out of it, by weak accenting, too loose a handling of its open chordal structure, and overall Biedermeier feel to enshroud it all; fugato of ‘consubstantiatem’ turned out positively jaunty here.. After Mark Padmore’s ringing, ardent opening to ‘Et incarnates est’, all mystery to so much awe and wonder got lost - with Iris Vermilion (mezzo) groping very well as how to make echo of the right sentiment here – over chords in RSO Berlin woodwinds. One then had to wait until end of ‘Passus’ to find due gravitas, mystery – beyond most generic. Energy conservation even here remained first priority. Mark Padmore alone made ‘Crucifixus’ meaningfully expressive.

‘Et resurrexit’ might have awakened a handful, but one must doubt if any more. Accents in rapid-paced violins, contrary to what might be expected form eastern central Europe, proved positively Rossinian and ensemble loose to reinforce a clearly anti-climactic sense to it all. From here through imposing ‘Et vitam venturi’ fugue - it became further and most evident something clearly wrong thus far with balancing between orchestra and chorus - chorus conspicuously placed well in front– enormous flaw too of Solti’s 1970’s Chicago discs of this - Lucia Popp soloist no less. Words should remain clear - none of this to turn into one great diaphanous blend, as for instance with von Karajan. However, once articulation of form gets lost even more so here, so does much else - as especially for what cause any of the words are set to music.

The fugue - right after hard jerk forward with single line of 'Et exspecto' that did not quite match any height of eloquence - proved a repeat of problems that had plagued this Missa Solemnis most of the way thus far. Choral sopranos got found high and dry for strained high B-Flats, plus a couple of sudden speed-ups in tempo detaching so much from all the rest, Camilla Nylund (soprano) rushed through her ‘Benedictus’- anticipating closing lines, soggy final choral ‘Amen’s and Philip Glass streamlined handling of rushing figuration in strings to attempt offsetting the anomaly of how all this occurred.

Soggy launch of ‘Sanctus’ came as no surprise - flaccid placing of accents all about. How one could miss shape to ‘Pleni sunt coeli’ – the simply laid out forthright fugato this is and that of brief ‘Osanna’ to follow was curious indeed – in anticipation of a flat-line while still sonorous Praeludium.. Solo violin obbligato to the Benedictus, unfortunately abetted by RSO winds toward the start of it, proved very shift, accent heavy with little point to it being so. It also proved awkward support for Camilla Nylund, who achieved sweet enough tone on top, good feel for her lines, but support issues of her own all the same. There could have even been quite a fight on her hands, but she graciously avoided such. Slow choral re-entry of ‘Osanna’ toward bringing things down to earth hardly achieved such; there was little here from which to have descended.

Franz-Josef Selig, who earlier proved curiously baritonal, made so very expressive the most of his opening lines in ‘Agnus Dei.’, providing first clear direction to line, even with the still ever dependable bassoons of RSO Berlin to have preceded him, and the steady, reliably very expressive Iris Vermilion – nearly his equal here – to follow him. Brass of RSO Berlin here though proved soggy through ‘Miserere nobis’ for what should instead be hieratic. Camilla Nylund, with melos, sounded refreshed from having emerged relatively unscathed from the preceding ‘Benedictus’ – real minefield that it could have become. Janowski eventually caught on with energy to spare to limn expressive obbligato lines in his violins, for us to hear expressive change of color and harmony through them – one of his better moments throughout the entirety of this.

Minimal calibration for accenting ‘Dona nobis pacem’, including for its martial accents, proved inadequate. Sweeping, broad statement to vulgar extent got made out of repeated cadential phrase out of this - such that closes the entire work, underneath weakly achieved, supported lines of staccato, light legato in first flutes and violins.

As for the soloists, Iris Vermilion, with rich, even tone, proved a strong asset throughout. Mark Padmore had issues with vocal placement vis-à-vis so much awkward writing, but along with his expressive account of ‘Crucifixus’, he was most effective in some of this part’s most incisive writing, i.e., the agitated pages during ‘Dona nobis pacem’ soon before the end. What sounded mediocre was going for kind of a fake head or falsetto for also in ‘Agnus Dei’ the writing in duet with the mezzo (Iris Vermilion), for what amounted to duet between two contraltos, even blues-y at it – with little from Janowski to counteract such - Angus Dei then, when it’s got the blues.

Padmore is remembered as the very fine Bach Matthew Passion Evangelist for Rattle last spring. Camilla Nylund faced here a part one size smaller than she is most accustomed to sing nowadays, but shaped it here as though having been all along a lyric - we know from not only recent choice of repertoire certainly a pushed lyric perhaps more often than should be. It only depends on what one’s standard is as to what should be expected of getting performed this peak among late 18th century and Romantic choral repertoire – a work so uniquely, elusively cast in such an intellectually achieved free-form orchestral layout. There still remain those capable of approximating well what aesthetic vision in mind here is - highly doubtful Janowski ever might join that select few.

Muti, NY Phil on subject 'at time of war' - Honegger, LvB Eroica - more indicative of change of leadership at Avery Fisher

It might, figuratively speaking, require a return of Paul Kletzki to life to get to the spiritual core of the two works that featured on this Philharmonic program. Riccardo Muti proved that he can at least aspire to such for the Honegger and has achieved at least near as much, though differently than could Kletzki on the Beethoven.

Theme of conflict or time of war in pairing symphonies by Honegger and Beethoven was clearly unifying behind program the Philharmonic played on November 28th. The Second Symphony for strings and trumpet (for hymn quote to close the finale) is very likely the most precise of the five Honegger symphonies, composed during early phase of occupation of Paris and of much of France during World War Two. Muti, in touring with Vienna about two years back, programmed Nobilissima Visione by Hindemith, and also in putting a rare Hindemith cantata on previously at Avery Fischer, revealed here with the Honegger too that he continues to expand on repertoire to be at his behest.

My first experience of the Honegger was with Paul Kletzki and the Houston Symphony on program with Brahms Fourth and Vivaldi concerto grosso months before he passed away. The imprint of having attended this concert so long ago never quite entirely wore off – partly as I never heard the Brahms conducted better live since – not even, though passably, with Thielemann at Academy of Music in 1997.

Muti, with the Philharmonic, was most effective in bringing out this music’s bronze colors, dissonances and strong antiphony between varied groupings of voices. Some hardness to the sound he brought out of the strings is not inappropriate here; spirited quality of the playing was evident throughout. He maintained well a strong pulse through even the slower sections for instance of the first movement and lingering, dying off coda to the second movement. Distraught solo viola, followed by imitating section behind Cynthia Phelps, was full-throated in its ardor. Muti firmly, strongly projected accents to canon developed first theme of the Allegro, but undercut space, nuance for briefly passing second theme. Something approximating a hatchet type of downbeat across full section on stage helped however started to make the music sound on verge of becoming two-dimensional in perspective.

The letting of strings full out on sequence of suspended major sevenths leading into retransition not for purpose other than to display the lushness of the Philharmonic section made for stiffness to line for making eventual segue through two episodes that followed. Attack returned to be deftly pointed for sparse accompanied gigue like motion by cellos to recapitulate the opening Allegro theme – then trading off places with the second theme. Brief, long descent by cellos, to allow tentative shaft of light into the all pervasive gloom was effective; for sense of mildly broader perspective, more room for nuance, sinister insinuation could have been made of the coda.

Motive in small intervals, as especially dominates lamenting Molto moderato sections of the first movement constantly underpins the Adagio mesto - used thematically as well. Muti made heavy underlining of change from playing upward sighing half tones to descending, for such shift to be felt. By the same token, emerging long spun out descant on first stands of the cellos stood out as relatively arched. Dynamics here, as elsewhere, were followed well, if not as subtly as possible. Heavier stepwise motion in minor/major sevenths followed quite dutifully well according to how all that had preceded them. Muti effectively loosened reins on this music in response to return of simple single line lament spun out over tremolo for slow, flexibly expanded out descending descant in violins, then for eloquently spun out eulogy by Carter Brey (cello) to close things out.

Some obvious accenting, getting into the finale, turned vulgar, with violins making slightly too obviously vertical accenting of lighter heroic gesture on first entrance of theirs in the Development section. It all made their part sound quite like Prokofiev. Certainly, within healthy jaunt to it all, the accent is already there. It practically speaks for itself, so that some of the rough-hewn edges of this music should and can more naturally be made evident. Hard accenting between offbeats in violins and rushing stretto underneath became stiff, on verge of clotting during the recapitulation for missing too often already the Gallic trait or virtue of this music having so much internal accenting, pulsation of its own; trumpet hymn at close was almost too obbligato to sizable forces in his midst, followed by some ‘upper west side’ from the strings in bringing all to a close. Veteran principal trumpet Philip Smith cleanly achieved fine expression for closing lines of hymn.

Albeit a little stilted, two-dimensional for some of the Honegger, Muti convincingly captured the spirit, a fine mix of mourning and steely resolve, essential for this music. If not always internally being able to plumb the solemn depths, metaphor of so much here, his body of string players at Avery Fisher certainly got him part of the way.

Among (true) digital recordings of Eroica, the Muti with Philadelphia, perhaps the one very unqualified triumph in their fine Beethoven cycle together, ranks alongside Michael Gielen on the same label as unsurpassed. The spaciousness, flexibly lean, sinuous grace of the strings and warmth from Philadelphia winds and subtle variation in accenting all make something of the complex and expansive proportions of the piece, without ever loss of momentum. Such qualities are hallmark of the classic 1946 reading by Victor De Sabata with the London Philharmonic - legacy to which Muti most flexibly likely pays fitting homage.

After a fiery but flexibly molded truly optimum Schubert Ninth a year ago, and both poetic and blazing performances of Liszt Faust and Respighi’s Pines preceding it, this Eroica instead rated just a qualified success. One recalls as well the so varied layers of mystery for Scriabin’s Divine Poem, achieved by most supple means and farther back to the Mediterranean warmth, light and shade for Brahms’s D Major Serenade, alongside deftly pointed Turandot Suite (Busoni) and other repertoire off the beaten path Muti also champions elsewhere. His partnership at Lincoln Center, dating from shortly before the Maazel years started, has certainly been very healthy for both him and the Philharmonic.

For almost two pages of the first movement - thrust externally applied - things seemed to start off on the wrong footing. Once solo winds provided their consequent, overall line freely opened out, followed by controlled sustaining vibrato through heavy chords toward clearly pointing out their laendler gait. Things then seemed on the right track and as though they would remain so – apart from Muti applying puffy tenuti on accented offbeat heavy diminished chords, derailing focus momentarily.

Sculpting of much transition through early phases of the Development got played sympathetically with ease. While Muti however still maintained poise by internalizing all he could, the hatchet type of attack typical of Philharmonic strings subtly worked back in, especially in making way into dissonant ending main part of the Development. Fortunately however all attack and release was secure through climax to all this. More fully formed inversion of theme from the Exposition Leonard Bernstein was heard commenting upon during broadcast interval as new theme in the Development i.e. ‘Song of pain after the Holocaust,' ( i.e. how did Lenny ever pass sophomore theory?) with one or two further rationalizations to follow. Fortunately Muti indicated hearing this passage differently. There was less secure accenting in coming off also in E-flat Minor main theme octave tremoli sequencing in mostly the strings.

Muti maintained line through the recapitulation well, but trouble still lurked in having to openly try avoiding excessively vertically approached strong downbeats, as opposed to forming good line through everything. Ability to do so provides more basis for contrast instead of less, as his Philadelphia Eroica disc could tell us. Impression of this perhaps needing another several days of rehearsal to set things straight began to sink in – clearest evidence of this being Philharmonic trumpets soon before the coda verging on ‘upper west side.’ The music was written at time the area’s settlers did not yet know such geography. Contrast was clearly felt between lovely phrasing by lightly accompanied principal horn and too vertically approached extended dominant chords - inorganic from what had preceded them - into final cadence.

Finely moulded, not generically dovetailed cantabile most distinctively marked opening of the Marcia funebre - first stand winds most remarkable in capturing the right mood of it all and internal morbidezza to their lines. Strings still perhaps got caught a bit loose from their moorings on accenting, thus mildly phlegmatic in attack. Most desired expressivity by Muti became generically compromised by verticalized approach to rhetorical accents and reply thereof. For Muti, passing maggiore episode to follow was uncharacteristically heavy, stodgy, providing little needed relief. Slightly too obvious intrusive accentuation marked further compromise, as though we should behold a meeting of minds between Muti and the Philharmonic. Impression instead grew stronger that there might, other than from among wind principals, be effectively only one mind at work here at all.

Most of the way out through the coda, Muti achieved most desirable focus, somewhat lacking earlier, with approach to submediant cadence into the coda only shifting the lens from the podium momentarily and awkwardly onto what really was transpiring. Beautiful space was provided unison pianissimo violins for brief (re)-transition from fugue to recapitulation; dying out phrasing of the strings had all covered morbidezza one could desire. For so much previous lapse from the strings, their neighbors two hours to the south, if they could still play the Eroica as they did twenty years ago, would need not fear their competition. Closing phrases to this Marcia funebre provided final fully achieved moments of poetry for the Beethoven here.

In following scherzo, phegmatic attack by the strings overwhelmed lift for reply from animated woodwinds, dampening thrill of being at the ready to go out for the hunt outdoors. The strings’ too projected presence also made them rob themselves of a good forty percent of pulsation to their accenting - closer to all of it needed to generate either any steam or joie de vivre for this venture. Muti marked entering caccia horns (Ttrio) with light tenutos on their first downbeats, mostly as though to serve notice to the strings, that if ever an Eroica with them again, things should not go so awry.

Coming off a dull rendition of the Scherzo, rush down strings opening the finale was only tentatively achieved. Early variation starting on second violins achieved heavily bowed results to less than optimum effect - triplet accompaniment for next variation similarly heavy. The Prometheus theme resounded lightly in the winds, until the strings took over from them. Transition to first fugato episode (C Minor) got vaguely sectionalized, with expressive descant at end in firsts just achieved halfway. For continuing a Tchaikovsky or Balakirev Eroica, vigorous dance in G Minor had accents correct, but all joylessly belabored in achieving them. Second fugato began well, but so true to the bar-line from one third into it that it came off two-dimensional. The Andante epilogue was only episodically effective and then coda at more a true Allegretto stodgy. Wind concertato and then impassioned G Minor cadence in the Andante, both in passing reflected well upon better results achieved earlier here - and then reflecting further back on how a true Muti Eroica could perhaps still really sound, indeed resound.

This Beethoven Third seemed mostly to indicate new change of leadership at Avery Fisher Hall - redolent too of the hollowness, superficial podium editorializing (in the name of interpretation) of the Maazel era. Even late-career Maazel had the craft to keep house in order, so when Muti would drop by, all could then readily fall into place. If the strings however have suddenly achieved (again) lockstep into type of fraternized, codified entrenchment in approaching task at hand, regardless who takes the podium, then cause at Avery Fisher then for now is lost until new leadership once more can be found.

I refrain from making any final judgment or prognostication here. Going so far would be malapropos for a short while yet. Equally malapropos was including for broadcast interval the Bernstein editorial on Eroica first movement. Beyond what one can deem sophormoric, it insipidly told us nothing – to supplement what was slightly below par for what we from experience reckon Muti at Lincoln Center.

DSO Berlin/Metzmacher: Beethoven PC 4/DSCH 11 - great ferry across Styx from Elysian heights

This delayed broadcast of Ingo Metzmacher and DSO Berlin playing Beethoven and Shostakovich (May 11th) arrived here somewhat brutally hard on the heels of that of a Korngold opera. The contrast in programming could have hardly been more acute. In a pairing of Beethoven and Shostakovich, there was certainly a sung quality to both the musical content and as well to the music-making by Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire. One had the bel canto of the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto and then revolutionary songs of the Shostakovich. The promise of Elysium and associated mirth preceded expression of much torment and pain far beneath across the stream.

Metzmacher tends favoring limited vibrato from strings in classical music, but never to go arbitrarily doctrinaire on us - as found elsewhere. A sense of hushed reserve - much anticipation of opening out to far horizons opened the concerto from both Freire and DSO Berlin. The romantic space so aesthetically required around the bridge theme with precise pointing of dotted rhythms registered in full. Freire played with constant sense of great power in reserve, tracing beautiful obbligato to orchestral line, without having to yield much his own musical profile or character to it.. He, both quietly, alertly supported by Metzmacher, opened an often slightly too overlooked moment in C-sharp minor anticipating re-transition in the first movement, facilitating expression of fine contrast between introspection of that moment and capricious re-transition tritone harmonically apart a moment later.

From reading allusion to Anton Webern's comments on Mahler’s Lied von der Erde, this it could have been who might have been impressed by such evoking of memory as is this small place. The legacy of what music-making was heard Sunday was that such could so eloquently emerge and did. Especially in the recapitulation, the extended spinning out of the line from the bridge theme was bel canto aspiring to most sublime heights. Freire turned perhaps to autographs by the composer in making a few alterations to the cadenza of both first and last movements - with only a second of stumbling over something he, as though on the cusp, had grafted in. His ascent on solo line toward end of first movement to reaching great heights with very secure support below was practically book, chapter, and verse on what is sublime.

The thumping about one is so accustomed to at start of the slow movement was so nonexistent I had to consult a score to find that Metzmacher was certainly not clipping, but playing it exactly as written - with beautifully weighted emphases, accents, shape to each line. Freire responded to all apparent despondency with tragic eloquence, only understating slightly the 'lion's roar' toward bringing this to a close.

The finale, taken quite rapidly - tempos throughout this performance one cut a little quicker than average - promised and delivered great bucolic mirth in as open, guileless a fashion as to recall Fricsay. Freire, in the aesthetic and spirit of everything that had proceeded up to here, wisely eschewed thumping the start of the cadenza, thus making succinct the round in octaves opening it. The second theme, over cello pedal, soared to such extent to make so briefly time seem on verge of standing still. In contrast to that, also true in middle of the first movement, agitato passages, internally so rhythmically, were fully in character. While equally observing the joyously witty, bucolic character of the music, DSO Berlin rustled through the coda with great aplomb and precision.

Just something, though mysterious, about the Beethoven prepared us for a 62 minute trenchant event of music-making that has been a little rare with piece in question for its fifty years of life so far. The piece was the Eleventh Symphony ('Year 1905') of Dmitri Shostakovich – never before any favorite of mine. How many performances of this that stop, have ceased at just giving us an even basically good garden variety depiction of what happened ‘bloody Sunday’ of January, 1905 in St Petersburg? The metaphorical, almost metaphysical power of this performance achieved far more.

Had it not been the composer himself who wrote, in regards to his Seventh Symphony, that if those people out there who have said silly things about his music had read the Psalms of David, they would not have said them? Ingo Metzmacher and DSO Berlin proved that it might take more than words to make the reproof complete, but how did they achieve it? Without having attended rehearsals, one can only speculate.

First off, all cliche, banality, underlining, sentimentalism, other crap we usually hear with this piece just about entirely got erased, thrown out. In its place was a different type of expression - usually heard, in effect just hinted at incompletely as underlined, pointed out to make an already obvious point too obvious while still somehow paradoxically missing it. Here, we really did indeed have something consummate, much more so instead. Only the flutes at near the start of the first movement on 'Listen' (revolutionary song) seemed to miss some placement and color. No such issue ever arose again. Flutes almost perfectly corrected themselves when offered reprise of the same tune to close the first movement. Piccolo and flutes on reprise of opening of the first movement two thirds through 'January 9th (second movement) together with other winds revealed how far DSO flutes had significantly caught up by then.

Without underlining it, with air of stillness at dawn felt, DSO Berlin strings almost levitated the opening of the first movement. The violins found pristine intonation in modal intimation of B-Flat Minor for a highly acute E natural. It became clear then that something was up. We were perhaps to get a pretty good urbane, cosmopolitan interpretation of Eleven, much and as well played one might expect from Haitink; here, played ‘live’, things even this early with Metzmacher were taking off for beyond that. The spacing of muted trumpets and equally muted timpani on 'Crowd motif' - all perfectly terraced - enhanced feeling of something indeed very ominous. Lower strings eloquently intoned broadly arched melodic line of “The Prisoner.”

After hushed close to the first movement, the scurrying motion in lower strings for the second movement got underway - so rapidly that even though one could tell on close observation that all the notes were there, it was no longer notes being played, but instead agitation to be depicted - as though all contributing to a natural process itself. After playing with Metzmacher for nearly two whole seasons, it was also as though his violins had forgotten how to indicate shifts. One could not hear any. For once, with this music, they are inaudible. Needless to say, one still kept moving on to the next thing before the shock of hearing this music so very accurately this way could collect time to register. The easy road is to wear one's heart on the sleeve and dig in; that was simply not good enough for this music this (or any) go at it. The toccata near the close of this movement was not given ‘that swing’, so fatal to it. It turned out, after all this time, so many previous times, really cumulative, terrifying - not ‘film score.’

‘Eternal Memory’, with introduction of very tense anticipation, was played with great solemnity, without anticipation of, past brief Intro, any downbeats. Metzmacher, to provide balm, had his violins just gloss the major key ‘invocation to liberty’ middle section with right amount of sheen to form halo aloft. Brass continued implacably forthright, absolutely precise in shape and rhythm to open ‘Tocsin’ (finale), starting inexorable trajectory toward symphony’s close, broken just once by English horn solo played with Shakespearean grandeur. Lower woodwind triplets were played with uncompromising accuracy, with no intrusion of false accents or ‘shifts’ (since it is music first ever heard in the strings), a moment, since played badly, cripples the Barshai/WDR Koln recording here, after so much on it had gone well.

How could there have been any dry eye in the Philharmonie? The whole thing seemed to end, from what I could remotely sense, with a shudder over the hall. It is highly unusual to hear this music played absolutely without shortcuts taken as to how to fully achieve what has been called the most Mussorgskian of this composer’s fifteen.

There has been talk of the Soviet squashing of the Hungarian revolt in 1956 having been rationale for writing this piece. Certainly the motif of memory and recurrence, as cited as referring to between the revolutions of 1905 and of 1917 (spawned by the former) is very important, but I think in certainly a psychological way more important than just the retelling of two events. Communism in Europe, well before 1956, had become institutionalized to a great extent (though it still could be called a form of communism then) as type of fascism - legacy certainly mostly of Stalin, but before that somewhat of Lenin also as well.

The way I heard narrative told Sunday is that there are universal truths here paramount instead. This is music to which one does not need necessarily to know the revolutionary poetic text origin of its melodies to be able to fully appreciate what one hears, though it sounds as though Metzmacher made his players learn them. It is to some extent just music. Metzmacher kept temperature to proceedings cool, but while ensuring our getting in place of the usually expected with Eleven a far greater intensity from within instead.

Metzmacher gave Eleven a stature to sit unapologetically next to the composer’s not first but last three symphonies. Part of this was in the quiet, but completely acute register of subtle harmonic changes, changes to minor Neapolitan in already the minor mode, and in same sense equally modal sense of progression to the minor mediant numerous times. It was also found very internally in this music’s rhythms and how they are generated. These are all small, very little things it is so extremely easy to overlook or get casually just about halfway so often. Should one miss what seem just like minutiae to any audible extent whatsoever in playing late-period Shostakovich, then you miss playing late-period Shostakovich, all then glibly oblivious then to emotional investment contributed or involved. There was even a somatic sense of pain, with anguish so great in the playing, for alone the acute sensitivity to hearing many very close intervals (also in mixing and contrast with open ones). One has never had to go about all this artificially.

Moments occur a little further on than being just introduced to this that one gets pounding dissonances with again very close intervals involved. The effect here for once was fully cumulative instead of bombastic; it certainly could not happen by how much racket DSO Berlin could make with such a passage. Instead, one had sense of a new mechanized form of violence, still somewhat new to that time (to extent it had developed), but still too new for it to be accepted for any time. In quieter moments, working with an inimitable combination of open or perfect intervals and very close ones, one had sense of something still barely moving but frozen – almost perfectly imperceptible movement within this state – however much is illusion or real.

The slow, none too obvious shifting reflecting and/or refracted night light or artificial light on the square over frozen surfaces of course is what might feed somewhat the inspiration of such aurally recreated illusion. It feeds too metaphor of how much this music is of memory and recurrence - even the still living threat of recurrence.

One can not limit or codify what this music means, to any specific historical incident, including the terrible purges that had already taken place. Shostakovich, especially with the inexorability of the last movement, and how the music progresses almost quite inhumanely through such, wrote the Eleventh as a warning. That much is clear. It is a warning for our own time, even to leading democracies in power (including one in which this performance took place) across the world, as well as to one or two former leading communist states, including one that still is very much so in name, but really hardly anymore. At least there is not there nowadays the wholesale murder of actively living human beings like a full generation ago historical records have recently revealed.

Preceding six weeks ago broadcast of an altogether fine interpretation of Mahler 2 - only several seconds of pause separating the two - was an equally excellent performance of Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna, Ligeti’s textural music, including his choral, is such that it is its sonorities that determine the form - similar to with the Shostakovich, working with very fine intervals. One thinks too of the music of Carl Nielsen, as so very influential on Shostakovich, in his music’s adoption of artificial scale patterns to thoroughly infuse its harmonic language.

Shostakovich was developing a part of his late style, albeit to less radical an extent than Ligeti in that sonorities started taking on formal properties. With the intense stoicism and anguish in the playing of DSO Berlin added to its other great virtues this time, DSCH 11 has never sounded more harrowing. Again, how often has this symphony sounded like ‘film score’ – even under Stokowski in Houston - and then how many times has it ever sounded anything like this?

Metzmacher has also conducted some Shostakovich with the London Philharmonic. To British falling over themselves over how wonderful the Korngold from Royal Opera sounded earlier this year writing in as though they could have missed something, the only sensible reply is ‘You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet.’ This concert marked a late arriving epiphany for me, in regards to Shostakovich.

Nelson Freire, with equally impassioned lyricism, played as encore to the Beethoven, Melodie d’Orphee (Gluck/Sgambati). That started me thinking - enhanced by Janos Gereben sending me his review of Metzmacher conducting a near definitive Stravinsky’s Orpheus in San Francisco two seasons ago. Allow me just one last moment to speculate further. What if Orpheus instead had used any tune or melodic shard from Die Tote Stadt to indicate pathos? The shades would have then made the Hades resound with the loudest yawn heard within yet, then would have categorically the guardians sent him packing with message to ‘get a life’ clearly in tow. Forget Euridice.

Had Orpheus showed up however with the English horn solo, as played by unfettered Orpheus from among DSO Berlin double reeds to nearly close the Shostakovich, the weeping of the shades instead would have been so wrenching that guardians below would have, in addition to letting Euridice go, had to put all remaining boarders out at least on furlough. Nelson Freire had unwittingly served double duty for the rest of us as also Charon for new arrivals to ferry across the Styx. He, I am confident, would still graciously concede to DSO English horn.

This was my first encounter yet with Metzmacher on Shostakovich. DSCH 11 received its American premiere in Houston fifty-one years ago. After hearing this, can there be further doubt as to where Metzmacher belongs in whatever conducting echelon devoted to Shostakovich? This was not just personal vision of Ingo Metzmacher – not at all - too selfless an effort - but something to be reckoned positively apocalyptic.