Saturday 27th February 2010
Review of this concert by Philip Worth:
This all-Germanic DSO concert took us through a range of moods, beginning with Mozart at his most exuberant, followed by a bravura Schumann and ending with a (mostly) meditative Brahms. The overture to “The Magic Flute” with its bustling rhythms and inexhaustible melodic invention must surely reflect the joy Mozart felt at the stunning success of his opera, with full houses for over one hundred performances. One could say that in the autumn of 1791 he was King of Vienna – but by the end of the year he was dead. So is his throne vacant? Millions of music lovers throughout the world would claim that he occupies it still.
Robert Schumann was in expansive, buoyant mood when he composed his Symphony No. 3, first performed in early 1851. It could be said that he was then at the height of his powers although, tragically, these suffered a decline culminating in his early death five years later. But in 1850/51 he had much to feel happy about. By then his standing as one of Germany’s leading composers was well established, and he had been appointed chief conductor and director of music at Dusseldorf, on his beloved Rhine, partly the inspiration for this majestic work. No wonder he yielded to the temptation to add a fifth movement; this, plus the dense scoring, leaving none of the players with much of a breathing space, meant that orchestra members arrived at the finale “tired but happy” – happy because its life enhancing spirit and irresistible forward thrust swept them (and the audience) along.
Johannes Brahms, apart from being one of the greatest composers of all time, was also one of the most self-critical. It is well known that he took twenty years over the composition of his first symphony – “a symphony is no joke”. In the same vein Piano Concerto No.2 arrived twenty-two years after his first essay in this form, which was received with a marked lack of enthusiasm by public and critics alike. Brahms was clear sighted enough to acknowledge its shortcomings, and not only did not repeat them in Concerto No.2, but produced a mature masterpiece of symphonic proportions. What we have is not a piano solo with orchestral accompaniment, but a superbly integrated work of art with piano and orchestra perfectly balanced. The soloist does not dominate, but shone on this occasion with all the brilliance that the prodigious talent of Martin Cousin could impart, splendidly supported, as always by the DSO in grand style.
This all-Germanic DSO concert took us through a range of moods, beginning with Mozart at his most exuberant, followed by a bravura Schumann and ending with a (mostly) meditative Brahms. The overture to “The Magic Flute” with its bustling rhythms and inexhaustible melodic invention must surely reflect the joy Mozart felt at the stunning success of his opera, with full houses for over one hundred performances. One could say that in the autumn of 1791 he was King of Vienna – but by the end of the year he was dead. So is his throne vacant? Millions of music lovers throughout the world would claim that he occupies it still.
Robert Schumann was in expansive, buoyant mood when he composed his Symphony No. 3, first performed in early 1851. It could be said that he was then at the height of his powers although, tragically, these suffered a decline culminating in his early death five years later. But in 1850/51 he had much to feel happy about. By then his standing as one of Germany’s leading composers was well established, and he had been appointed chief conductor and director of music at Dusseldorf, on his beloved Rhine, partly the inspiration for this majestic work. No wonder he yielded to the temptation to add a fifth movement; this, plus the dense scoring, leaving none of the players with much of a breathing space, meant that orchestra members arrived at the finale “tired but happy” – happy because its life enhancing spirit and irresistible forward thrust swept them (and the audience) along.
Johannes Brahms, apart from being one of the greatest composers of all time, was also one of the most self-critical. It is well known that he took twenty years over the composition of his first symphony – “a symphony is no joke”. In the same vein Piano Concerto No.2 arrived twenty-two years after his first essay in this form, which was received with a marked lack of enthusiasm by public and critics alike. Brahms was clear sighted enough to acknowledge its shortcomings, and not only did not repeat them in Concerto No.2, but produced a mature masterpiece of symphonic proportions. What we have is not a piano solo with orchestral accompaniment, but a superbly integrated work of art with piano and orchestra perfectly balanced. The soloist does not dominate, but shone on this occasion with all the brilliance that the prodigious talent of Martin Cousin could impart, splendidly supported, as always by the DSO in grand style.