United Kingdom RPO’s Journeys of Discovery: Ecstasy: Javier Perianes (piano), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 8.2.2023. (KMcD)
Prokofiev – Montagues and Capulets; The younger Juliet; Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb (Juliet’s funeral); The demise of Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet
Ravel – Piano Concerto in G
Wagner – Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Scriabin – Le poème de l’extase, Op.54 (Symphony No.4)
‘What difference does a conductor make?’ It is a query I’m usually requested by associates of mine, who aren’t that accustomed to the classical musical scene. It is a good query, and one which I’ve usually requested myself over time. What makes a conductor nice, how does one measure that greatness and what’s it that permits them to remodel an orchestra? This query saved operating by my head at this distinctive live performance, given by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra below its enigmatic music director, Vasily Petrenko. For a few years the RPO was perceived because the poor relation to the extra prestigious London orchestras, however no extra so – effectively, a minimum of on the idea of this superlative night of music-making.
Appointing Petrenko was not solely a shrewd transfer, given the galvanising impact his management had on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra throughout his fifteen-year tenure, but in addition a gamechanger for the orchestra’s standing, rising its profile virtually in a single day. I’ve not heard the RPO for a few years, however this live performance revealed an orchestra reworked past all recognition, delivering 4 items below the umbrella of ‘Ecstasy’ – every of them performed with technical precision, exuding a way of abandonment and feeling.
Whether the 2 works that made up the primary half of the night completely hit the ‘ecstasy brief’ or not is debatable. Petrenko launched the night with 4 excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet – a perennial favorite. Despite its over-familiarity – one might sense a ripple of familiarity cascade by the viewers – the opening Montagues and Capulets was lithe, dramatic, and scrupulously effectively performed by all sections of the RPO, ploughing into the primary theme’s jaunty rhythms with assurance. A way of youthful exuberance permeated The Child Juliet, replete with some delicate woodwind taking part in, while the suitably angst-ridden strings mined the emotional depths of Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb. The closing excerpt, Death of Tybalt, with these doom-laden blows on the timpani, and defiant tutti chords, was dispatched with pinpoint accuracy and appropriate ferocity.
The distinction with the subsequent piece couldn’t have been higher. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G main inhabits an altogether totally different musical world, with its Bluesy orchestration and jazzy, syncopated rhythms, and makes formidable calls for of each orchestra and soloist alike. From the whipcrack of the opening bars the primary motion, marked allegramente, positively fizzed alongside, pianist Javier Perianes dispatching the numerous glissandi with aplomb. The connection between him, the orchestra and Petrenko was faultless all through, his interpretive expertise shone by in each bar. If his taking part in within the center motion was on a much less exalted degree, with a way of routine threatening to creep in, he definitely made up for this in a fiercely declaimed finale, full with scrupulously noticed dynamic markings. Petrenko was the right accompanist, permitting his soloist to shine with out ever needing to dampen the orchestra’s passion.
Whilst there have been many musical pleasures available within the first half of this live performance, there was an actual sense of all the things shifting up a gear, with each items hitting the bullseye when it got here to fulfilling the live performance’s ‘Ecstasy’ title. From the hushed opening on the cellos, the sense of sehnsucht (longing) that pervades Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, was caught completely, Petrenko coaxing his gamers into filling out the German composer’s melodic traces with heat and feeling. There was a way of ahead propulsion, but it by no means sounded hurried, the climaxes seemingly rising organically out of the orchestral textures. In the Liebestod, the sense of abandonment was palpable – the decision of the ‘Tristan chord’ finally offering the mandatory launch the music had been resulting in from the primary bars. That closing, completely orchestrated chord pulsated with a uncommon glow, crowning a wonderful efficiency.
The closing work on the programme is one thing of a Petrenko speciality – the recording he made along with his Liverpool forces garnered reward from all quarters – however Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy wants a cautious hand on the tiller, in any other case it may well come throughout as relentless and overblown. Not right here. Petrenko has the measure of the work to a tee, guiding his well-oiled orchestra by its myriad temper swings with consummate ease. Not one to linger, he nonetheless managed to make sure that each instrumental line got here throughout with readability, as climax constructed upon climax. The orchestral taking part in was fairly merely magnificent – the cumulative impact shattering. Every part performed out of their pores and skin, however the closing phrase should go to Matthew Williams’s exemplary trumpet taking part in. He virtually has to hold all the work on his shoulders, but he ensured that Scriabin’s repetitive, haranguing theme rang out relentlessly, miraculously making each iteration sound contemporary and authentic. Magnificent.
Keith McDonnell