REVIEW: Petrenko Subs for Jansons in Evening of Drama

Nov 14

Nov 14 REVIEW: Petrenko Subs for Jansons in Evening of Drama

Above: Vasily Pentrenko conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Richard Termine.

November 10, 2019

By Brian Taylor

Vasily Petrenko’s star has landed in New York. Soon to make his Metropolitan Opera debut in Queen of Spades, the Russian maestro stepped into big shoes Saturday evening, as last minute substitute for an ailing Mariss Jansons, conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. While a shame to miss Jansons’s deep connection with one the world’s finest orchestras, it was thrilling to witness a new talent rise to an occasion with aplomb to spare.

The program was an inspired one. Petrenko dove into Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Euryanthe with a sense of adventure. Weber deserves to be remembered as more than a poor man’s Beethoven. The opera has suffered due to its absurd libretto, but the overture was daring for 1823, with harmonic twists and turns that anticipate Wagner. Petrenko emphasized the piece’s high stakes drama, pointing the way toward the evening’s main course, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.

Mozart is dramatic too, even if the stakes are more drawing room drama. Soloist Rudolf Buchbinder joined for a lively, pristine account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major. Petrenko brought out the indelible melodic hooks in the first movement. Buchbinder is a master of technique and tone. The cadenza was a pillowy carpet ride of breezy scales and buzzing, stinging trills.

Buchbinder brought rich, singing tone and emotional accents to the haunting slow movement, also foreshadowing the pathos of the Shostakovich symphony to come. The third movement is a celebration of unbridled joy, a party at which Mozart adds some extra spice to the punch. Buchbinder sparkles, tossing off the concerto as effortlessly as tying his shoes, or tipping his hat. The sheer gracefulness and panache of this collaboration dispels any thoughts of period instruments. Flawless.

Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, penned in the early 1950’s after a long abstinence from the genre, finds a composer that battled Soviet constraints now grappling with the death of Stalin. The epic score begins mysteriously, as if peeking out from a place of simple folk tunes, until pain and anxiety swells from the depths, eventually bursting forth with vengeance.

In the first movement, a pall of melancholy grows like a sheet of ice smothering human warmth. The Bavarian Radio Symphony’s soloists sing out with mournful, yet hopeful lyricism, as in the clarinet’s quietly agitated second theme, then the high horn cry ushering in angst-infused strings as darkness takes hold. The powerful brass choir storms the countryside with a tempting, ironically inviting allure.

The movement ends with a low woodwind choir — piercing bassoons and contrabassoon — assessing the final touches of the icy encasement. The mournful opening chords return now with new context and meaning. The second movement (a portrait of Stalin himself?) is a thrill ride in a combat jet or a vengeful ride on Daenerys Targaryan’s dragon. The Bavarian brass and percussion channel Darth Vader in battle, with the power of the Death Star at his back.

The wide-ranging third movement returns our gaze to earthbound drudgery, depicted dolefully in richly sweet flute playing and agile French - and English- horn solos. It blossoms into a sweeping burst of strings, redolent of passion and compassion. An oboe solo of extraordinary fearlessness and heart emerges, answered thoughtfully in the other woodwinds, with a newfound spark of optimism.

Seamlessly, the finale appears, with a fresh, childlike joy and innocence. Soon, an intense struggle ensues, through which Petrenko insistently forges a purposeful path. The Bavarian Radio players wield immense strength, yet pace themselves masterfully, always more energy in their tanks. The Tenth concludes with a hard-earned triumph of the human spirit.

Above all else, this was a triumph for Vasily Petrenko. He’s a conductor to keep an eye on.