What a night! What a thoroughly enjoyable concert. It was so good I was tempted to go again today at 2:00!
Thomas Dausgaard was the conductor for the evening, and just a few days prior the Symphony had announced that he is to be the new Principal Guest Conductor. Dausgaard is a relatively famous Danish conductor who specializes in Scandinavian repertoire, but also has an affinity for the core Germanic repertoire. This was proven in yesterday's concert.
The first half consisted of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, with Alina Pogostkina on violin, Andreas Brantelid on cello and Christian Ihle Hadland on piano. The second half consisted of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, "The Great." I didn't realize beforehand how much I would appreciate the fact that the concert contained no nonsense music, no fillers, no contemporary castor oil, etc. Beethoven concerto in the first half, Schubert symphony in the second. Every concert should be like this!
Dausgaard and the three soloists came out to perform the Beethoven concerto, taking up an interesting staging arrangement in which Christian, the pianist, wasn't able to see either of the other two soloists. But I suppose the alternative would have put the string soloists such that the sound of the piano would overwhelm them.
I had listened to the concerto several times in preparation for this concert and had grown quite fond of it. While I had high hopes for Dausgaard as a conductor I was more skeptical about the three very young European soloists (Pogostkina was Russian, Brantelid was Swedish/Danish and Christian was Norwegian), mainly because of the risk that they would substitute musical depth for superficial acting.
Dausgaard gave the downbeat for the orchestral introduction and within a very short time proved himself to be a brilliant and competent leader, bringing out the absolute best that the Seattle Symphony has to offer. The orchestral playing was vivid and brilliant, the sound quality ever present, every inner line clearly heard. The timber of the strings even seemed to be taking on a much-appreciated gritty sound due to the intensity with which they played.
When Andreas Brantelid began the first solo of the concerto he did make a few "look at how into the music I am" faces and looked aimlessly around the hall as he tossed off the first few phrases. I feared for the worst. However, as the piece continued and the violin and piano joined him, it seemed that they were actually generally on the mature side. Alina Pogostkina, though she wore an immodest dress, played the violin very professionally. Her musical expression came across as quite authentic to me. For the most part Andreas Brantelid was also fairly authentic, though he was a bit more on the fence, occasionally straying into a manner of playing rooted in a show business mentality rather than a learned knowledge of the music. Christian Ihle Hadland, on the piano, provided technical perfection in his part and served as a solid grounding for the trio of soloists.
Dausgaard was incredible. Absolutely a pleasure to watch. It seemed whatever he touched turned to gold, vaporizing time, immortalizing the music. He was locked in with the soloists as if their brains were physically connected. He provided an orchestral accompaniment to them which was right on their heels, the entrances impeccably timed, the musical intentions crystal clear, the dynamic contrasts thrilling. There wasn't a single passage in the concerto that didn't have impeccable togetherness between all the players, and Dausgaard was clearly responsible for that. He was 150% involved in what he was doing, his face lit, his movements boisterous and inspiring, like a painter painting the music to life on an aural canvas.
Throughout the course of the forty minute concerto (which felt much shorter) the soloists proved themselves to be fine musicians. They worked as a unit, and throughout most of the piece I never had the experience that anything they were doing was interfering with my ability to hear the music. They delivered it in a mostly straight forward and unpretentious manner. By the end of the concerto I was in a really good mood. Hearing a live performance of this caliber is a real treat.
After intermission Dausgaard returned to the podium to conduct Schubert's 9th symphony. This symphony is less known than his 8th (the unfinished) and it is a very interesting work. It is quite long, and the third and fourth movements in particular drag on and on, seeming to repeat the same sections over and over. I'm not too familiar with the form, but that's what it sounds like. I sat in the first violin section of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra back in the 2009/2010 season when they played this symphony, and I have a certain affinity for it.
The first movement was slightly disappointing after what we had heard in the Beethoven concerto. The orchestra had the same presence and quality of tone, but I think Dausgaard rushed the movement just a little bit. Several precious moments and transitions were rushed through, and on top of that it seemed like the orchestra disagreed with his tempo. So it didn't sound like a coherent fast tempo, it sounded pushed. I still enjoyed it very much, but wished that he had fleshed it out and presented it in the crystal clear and brilliant manner with which he had presented the Beethoven. Nevertheless, at times during the first movement I really felt the presence of Schubert's divine music. He really is as close to Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as any other composer gets.
The reduction in attention to detail compared to the Beethoven was mostly confined to the first movement. I'm not sure what the cause of it was, especially since Dausgaard was conducting without a score. I assume that means he knows it inside out, although if he doesn't, that might explain it. In any case it was a terrific performance and my quibbles with it probably only sound as serious as they do because I'm writing in the context of a perfect conducting job during the first half of the concert. The Schubert also did not feel nearly as long as it was, and the orchestra was on their toes and playing their best. They maintained the crisp string tone, glorious winds and brass, and stark dynamic contrasts. During the second movement Dausgaard's attention to detail seemed to return fully, to chilling and brilliant effect in places, and the third and fourth movements, while long and repetitive, did not seem to lack anything.
I must say that after last night's concert I am absolutely thrilled and delighted at Thomas Dausgaard's appointment as Principal Guest Conductor, and I'm already preparing for the festival of Sibelius symphonies he will conduct during the 2014/2015 season!
Next up is Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5!
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