New York Philharmonic – Paavo Jarvi, conductor; Leif Ove Andsnes, piano. October 12, 2017.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat Y105, $82).

Program

Gambit (1998, rev. 1999) by Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958).

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 (1926; rev. 1927/41) by Rachmaninoff (1873-1943).

Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 (1912-19) by Sibelius (1865-1957).

Andsnes is the New York Philharmonic Artist-in-Residence for this season, and this was the first time I heard this Norwegian pianist perform.

No. 4 isn’t one of the most-heard concertos by Rachmaninoff, and it is quite different from the other concertos written by the composer (including the Variations) in that it is less Romantic- and less virtuoso-sounding.  So one doesn’t go for the melodies or the fireworks, but for the structure and texture.  From the Playbill: “a work very much of its time, incorporating not only remnants of late Romanticism but also some sounds more associated with Ravel and Gershwin, reflecting Rachmaninoff’s musical curiosity and evolving style.”  Evidently the bad press it garnered at the premiere – with Stokowski leading the Philadelphia Orchestra – led Rachmaninoff to eventually cut short the music by about 200 measures.

Andsnes had a business-like manner about him; his posture didn’t change much no matter what type of passage he was playing.  The orchestra – which supposedly was almost never silent – acted as a good complement to the soloist.  Not having heard this before, I had no idea where the music was going.  Only thing that made it characteristically Rachmaninoff was how the movement ended, somewhat abruptly.  The markings for the movements are simple: Allegro vivace, Largo, and Allegro vivace.

Tha audience’s attempt to applaud after the first movement was ignored by the conductor, which was a good thing.  Andsnes played an encore.

Even though this isn’t Rachmaninoff’s piano concerto, I did attend the concert when it was most recently performed: in November 2015 with Trifonov as the soloist.  Even though it wasn’t the most memorable Trifonov concerto I heard, my remarks in that blog were more positive.  And I also had more to say about the music itself …

Andsnes and Jarvi at conclusion of Rachmaninoff.

Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony is also one of the less-played symphonies by the composer.  It was commissioned to celebrate Sibelius’s fiftieth birthday, and premiered on that day with the composer conducting the Helsinki Municipal Orchestra.  The symphony went through two major revisions; the standard version heard nowadays was first performed on October 21, 1921.

This symphony is not like other Sibelius symphonies I am familiar with.  With all the three movements in major keys, it is downright sunny (or course we are talking Finnish sunny here.)  One reason I love Sibelius’s symphonies is how he teased out the melodies, here the statements were relatively straightforward.

Interestingly enough (or disturbing), I also heard this symphony the last time it was performed by the New York Philharmonic: in November 2013, with Salonen conducting. I had a chance to read the score before the concert, and it is quite complex with the changes in tempo and keys.  Paavo Jarvi managed to do this without the score.  The movements are (i) Tempo molto moderato – Allegro moderato; (ii) Andante mosso, quasi allegretto; and (iii) Allegro molto – Misterioso.

Curtain call after Sibelius.

Perhaps you can’t really do a Finnish piece without also programming something from Salonen, who is the Artist-in-Residence, after all.  Today’s piece was written about 20 years ago, and was dedicated to Magnus Lindberg on his 40^th birthday.  (So two birthday dedications in tonight’s program.)  The composer quoted some of Lindberg’s music in this tribute.  Even with a (short) program description by Salonen, I kept asking the question “why hasn’t NY Phil introduced LiveNote already?”

On paper this program should be very interesting, with the two program highlighting less popular works by Rachmaninoff and Sibelius and a lead-in by a well-regarded living composer.  I didn’t walk away inspired.

Pasted on my seat was a gift from New York Philharmonic: trading cards featuring the “all-star” cast members Kerry McDermott, Markus Rhoten, and Liang Wang.  There were quite a few no-show subscribers, I wish I had swiped their gifts.  I am sure a full set would sell for a good dollar (I do mean one dollar.)

The New York Times Review has a more detailed description of the Rachmaninoff Concerto and identified the encore as in Impromptu by Sibelius.  Interestingly, he had nothing to say about Gambit other than that the performance was “dazzling.”

We drove into New York a bit early to exchange another MET concert (this is the third one out of our seven in the series, more changes to come, no doubt.)  Dinner was take out eaten in the car.