<Automatically translated from French>
Russian National Orchestra
The program, performers — and interpretation —: you can't get more Russian than this! After the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (last November), it was the Russian National Orchestra that the Auditorium of Dijon received this Monday, May 3. An orchestra created in 1990 by the pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, it is, in fact, the first private — independent — orchestra of post-Soviet Russia and, in soon to be fifteen years, has already become known and appreciated by musical circles all over the world. At its head for this concert: the maestro Alexander Vedernikov who already has a good practice with this orchestra (he is about to give us a brilliant proof of this) and whose reputation has already been established in the most diverse venues and with the most diverse orchestras, both in the operatic field (Bolshoi, Covent Garden, La Scala of Milan, Met of New York, Teatro di Roma, etc.) and the symphonic (St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National, Moscow Radio Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, etc...).
The other personality of this concert is of course his compatriot, the pianist Nikolai Lugansky, considerably publicized in our country and whose recordings, as well as most of his concert performances, better than the already long list of prestigious prizes gleaned here and there, ensure his fame. A "Russian prince" physique (cf. Le Monde de la Musique, in its April issue; and if one thinks of Dostoevsky, the image is quite accurate), elegant attire and charming smile, he will graciously lend himself to the ordeal of post-concert dedications. But for the moment, here he is at the keyboard...
This Fourth Concerto of Rachmaninoff, the "unloved" one, it seems, of the series (one wonders why: structural imbalance or weaknesses according to some "specialists"; no pleasant, memorable motifs to whistle, says the public), this concerto, therefore, does not lack music! For instance, the second theme of the initial Allegro, tender and meditative, the singing motif of the Largo, infinitely modulated, in turn by the piano and the orchestra, the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts masterfully controlled by the orchestra and the pianist... Vedernikov, constantly in phase with the soloist, conducts his world with authority and a consummate sense of nuance. Lugansky, in great form, deploys a "measured" virtuosity, dazzling without ostentation in the fast passages and moving with poetry in the cantabile, with a subtle touch and the gifts of a refined colorist. Certainly aided by a magnificent orchestra and a highly inspired conductor, he provides here confirmation that the great interpreters of Rachmaninoff must definitely count on him. Ovationized by the audience, he offers us, as an encore, a version of Tchaikovsky's Lullaby revised by Rachmaninoff.
With Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony, we approach one of the masterpieces of him who must be considered the most important symphonist of the 20th century. It is a dark, grinding work, with often heartbreaking tutti, to which only the last movement brings some appeasement and a smile. Born at the end of 1953 (shortly after Stalin's death), it would be, according to the composer, an evocation-portrait (particularly in its second movement) of the Bolshevik dictator. And the least that can be said is that the "portrait" is not flattering... A settling of scores? We know the kind of pressure a repressive regime can exert on an artist: Shostakovich did not escape it, he who for a long time was considered by Westerners to be a kind of "collaborator," and by the Soviets to be a "musical dissident"...
The Russian National Orchestra, led by a Vedernikov who seems to have retained everything from Mravinsky (rigor and harshness of the discourse, absence of concessions, clarity of articulation...), gives us a memorable reading of this symphony: the harsh darkness of the low strings, the sharpness of the attacks, the terrific ƒƒƒ contrasting with ineffable pianissimi of tenuity. And on the side of the soloists, each of their interventions (the winds!) is a model of accuracy and style.
One of the strongest impressions produced by this interpretation perhaps comes from that gong-tam-tam whose vast, shimmering disc — "deceptive sun?" — (a nod to film buffs) goes so far as to give us the illusion of seeing the effigy of the "little father of the peoples" taking shape, hovering over the orchestral mass, amidst the crash of the brass... When Vedernikov's baton becomes magical!
Source.
Russian National Orchestra
The program, performers — and interpretation —: you can't get more Russian than this! After the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (last November), it was the Russian National Orchestra that the Auditorium of Dijon received this Monday, May 3. An orchestra created in 1990 by the pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, it is, in fact, the first private — independent — orchestra of post-Soviet Russia and, in soon to be fifteen years, has already become known and appreciated by musical circles all over the world. At its head for this concert: the maestro Alexander Vedernikov who already has a good practice with this orchestra (he is about to give us a brilliant proof of this) and whose reputation has already been established in the most diverse venues and with the most diverse orchestras, both in the operatic field (Bolshoi, Covent Garden, La Scala of Milan, Met of New York, Teatro di Roma, etc.) and the symphonic (St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National, Moscow Radio Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, etc...).
The other personality of this concert is of course his compatriot, the pianist Nikolai Lugansky, considerably publicized in our country and whose recordings, as well as most of his concert performances, better than the already long list of prestigious prizes gleaned here and there, ensure his fame. A "Russian prince" physique (cf. Le Monde de la Musique, in its April issue; and if one thinks of Dostoevsky, the image is quite accurate), elegant attire and charming smile, he will graciously lend himself to the ordeal of post-concert dedications. But for the moment, here he is at the keyboard...
This Fourth Concerto of Rachmaninoff, the "unloved" one, it seems, of the series (one wonders why: structural imbalance or weaknesses according to some "specialists"; no pleasant, memorable motifs to whistle, says the public), this concerto, therefore, does not lack music! For instance, the second theme of the initial Allegro, tender and meditative, the singing motif of the Largo, infinitely modulated, in turn by the piano and the orchestra, the dynamic and rhythmic contrasts masterfully controlled by the orchestra and the pianist... Vedernikov, constantly in phase with the soloist, conducts his world with authority and a consummate sense of nuance. Lugansky, in great form, deploys a "measured" virtuosity, dazzling without ostentation in the fast passages and moving with poetry in the cantabile, with a subtle touch and the gifts of a refined colorist. Certainly aided by a magnificent orchestra and a highly inspired conductor, he provides here confirmation that the great interpreters of Rachmaninoff must definitely count on him. Ovationized by the audience, he offers us, as an encore, a version of Tchaikovsky's Lullaby revised by Rachmaninoff.
With Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony, we approach one of the masterpieces of him who must be considered the most important symphonist of the 20th century. It is a dark, grinding work, with often heartbreaking tutti, to which only the last movement brings some appeasement and a smile. Born at the end of 1953 (shortly after Stalin's death), it would be, according to the composer, an evocation-portrait (particularly in its second movement) of the Bolshevik dictator. And the least that can be said is that the "portrait" is not flattering... A settling of scores? We know the kind of pressure a repressive regime can exert on an artist: Shostakovich did not escape it, he who for a long time was considered by Westerners to be a kind of "collaborator," and by the Soviets to be a "musical dissident"...
The Russian National Orchestra, led by a Vedernikov who seems to have retained everything from Mravinsky (rigor and harshness of the discourse, absence of concessions, clarity of articulation...), gives us a memorable reading of this symphony: the harsh darkness of the low strings, the sharpness of the attacks, the terrific ƒƒƒ contrasting with ineffable pianissimi of tenuity. And on the side of the soloists, each of their interventions (the winds!) is a model of accuracy and style.
One of the strongest impressions produced by this interpretation perhaps comes from that gong-tam-tam whose vast, shimmering disc — "deceptive sun?" — (a nod to film buffs) goes so far as to give us the illusion of seeing the effigy of the "little father of the peoples" taking shape, hovering over the orchestral mass, amidst the crash of the brass... When Vedernikov's baton becomes magical!
Source.
"The Russian Prince" and "The Little Father of the Peoples"
Edouard BAILY, ResMusica, May 4, 2004
