London Philharmonic Orchestra – Edward Gardner, conductor; Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano. April 14, 2019.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat X103, $66).

Program

La mer (1903-05) by Debussy (1862-1918).

Piano Concerto in G major (1929-31) by Ravel (1875-1937).

Ma mere l’oye (“Mother Goose Suite”) (1908-10) by Ravel.

Iberia, from Images (1905-08) by Debussy.

These concerts belong to the Lincoln Center “Great Performers” series, and I bought tickets to this afternoon and tomorrow night’s concerts the same time I bought the Philharmonia ones.  Those concerts, led by Salonen, were in March.  I thoroughly enjoyed them, and all indications are that I will enjoy these concerts as well.

Next month Anne and I will be embarking on a European tour, and London is on our itinerary.  I looked for concerts by the few London orchestras I know, and haven’t been able to find any.  One advantage of living close to NYC is that orchestras come visit, so there is no need to go look for them.  (Of course the concert hall experience is a completely different matter.)

So I gave it away: this was an enjoyable concert.  I think back on a recent NJ Symphony concert I attended, which I said shouldn’t have the title “Debussy Masterworks.”  There is no doubt today was a show of “French Masterworks,” although one might argue French should not be limited to Debussy and Ravel.  More significantly, though, was how La Mer was performed today versus how NJSO did it, an effort I described as uninspired.

The notes in the Program (provided by David Wright) were quite short, but managed to describe quite well what the three movements of La Mer: comparing Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony with the first movement’s arrival at the sea; describing the second movement as ‘waves at play;” and that brass and strings represent the ocean the the zephyrs.  Gardner brought forth the music exactly as described.  A rather large orchestra was used, and the lines were amazingly clean.

A large orchestra was used to perform Debussy's La Mer.

As I did when Yuja Wang was the soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, I read up on the Ravel Concerto beforehand, and it added a lot to my appreciation of the music.  This was my first encounter with the pianist Bavouzet, and he was up to the task technically, and brought out much of the jazzy aspects of the music.  The first and third movements are amazing, the syncopation and the glissandos requiring a lot of coordination between the soloist and the orchestra, and they worked well together.  What was slightly disappointing was how the slow movement sounded.  The Program Notes reference Gabriel Faure and Erik Satie, I thought it could sound a bit more thoughtful (for lack of a better term.)  For parts of the first movement, the balance between the piano and the orchestra left something to be desired, but that issued went away as the concerto progressed.

I did take some notes during the Ravel concerto.  Movement 1: piano weak, fun to watch, did flourishes well; Movement 2: dreamy Faure?  Not quite; Movement 3: Very alive!

Gardner and Bavouzet at the conclusion of the Ravel G Major Piano Concerto.

I had heard he Mother Goose Suite several times before, but couldn’t tell you much about it.  I suspect the same would happen in a few days, but for a few moments I got it.  The 16-minute piece contains these movements (translated into English): (I) Pavane of Sleeping Beauty, the pavan being a grave and sober court dance; (II) Tom Thumb, who got lost in a forest, and saw his dropped bread crumbs eaten by birds, there were some bird calls in the movement; (III) Laideronette, princess of the pagodas, set in delightful Oriental music, and the princess’s name translates as “Miss Ugly;” (IV) Conversation of Beauty and the Beast, with the latter represented by the growl of a bassoon; and (V) The Fairy Garden, revealed eventually in its full splendor.

A considerably smaller orchestra for Ravel's Mother Goose Suite.

The movements to Iberia are (I) On the Streets and the Roads, a survey of a busy scene in sunshine, punctuated by rhythms from the castanets and tambourine; (II) Perfumes of the Night, with suggestive bits of habanera and other dance rhythms echoing around a deserted plaza; and (III) The Morning of a Feast Day, a sunrise that eventually leads to a roar of activity at the close.

During my act of plagiarizing from the Program Notes I felt I relived the performance.  This was how good the Notes and the orchestra were.

The audience was very appreciate at the conclusion of the concert.

Another interesting quote from the Notes, Manuel de Falla at some point made the remark that the best Spanish music was being composed Frenchman.

I had seen Gardner conducting the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Met, and New York Phil (that was just last year.)  This was the most effusive I have been.

Today started early for me as I had an early church commitment.  I was worried if I would be able to sit through this concert, and by-and-large managed to.

I took the train in, and I moved to seat Y102 after the intermission so I could rush to the subway after the program concludes.  The Program was longer than advertised, so I had to take a later train back.  Anne took a couple of grandkids to see NJSO’s Mary Poppins at the State Theater.  They enjoyed it.