Grand Hall, The Philharmonie, Berlin. Block B links (Seat Row 4 Platz 5, 91 euros).
Program
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B flat major,
op. 19 (ca. 1788-1801) by Beethoven (1770-1827).
Symphony No. 2 in G minor, op. 34 (1911-1915) by
Stenhammar (1871-1927).
Since I will be writing quite a few of these reviews
during this trip, each needs to be short, or I will fall terribly behind, and probably
can’t recall the specifics.
Berlin Philharmonic is of course one of the best-known
orchestras in the world. Their home is
the Philharmonie, completed in 1963.
That was about the same time Lincoln Center was completed. On the
outside Philharmonie looks a lot more interesting for those into that kind of
architecture. Per Wikipedia, the inside “vineyard-style”
was the first of its kind, with audience seating surrounding the orchestra
stage. After all these years it still
looks fresh. Interestingly the organ pipes
are not in the center but to the left of the orchestra.
Outside the Grosser Saal, Berlin Philharmonie.
Inside of the hall during intermission. Note the organ on the right side of the picture.
The acoustics were okay, but I thought it could sound a
bit cleaner. We could hear the musicians
fine (even the violas), but the overall effect was a bit too muddled for me to
give it a perfect score.
Bronfman dispatched the Beethoven piece competently. This early (or earliest if you use when the
concerto was started as a measure) work of Beethoven had passages that sounded
very Mozartean, although it showed a lot of Beethoven’s use of contrasts. For a moment (second movement I think) the
orchestra was a bit sloppy, but otherwise it proved to be a worthy partner.
Bronfman acknowledging the orchestra, with Blomstedt looking on.
As the encore Bronfman played Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3.
This was my first encounter with the music of the Swedish
composer Wilhelm Stenhammar. I do not
need to feel too bad, Blomstedt himself conducted this piece for the first time
three years ago, and he is a Swedish conductor. As Blomstedt is quoted in the Berlin Philhamonic
website, this piece is less Richard Strauss but more Bach and Beethoven.
The 45 minute piece has four movements: (1) Allegro
energico; (2) Andante; (3) Scherzo: Allegro, ma non troppo presto; and (4)
Finale: Sostenuto – Allegro vivace – Tranquillamente – Allegro ma non troppo.
How does it sound?
It does contain quite a few melodies, which I assume to be Swedish. And, as advertised, the structure is very
easy to follow. So easy that I sometimes
wondered: could the guy have put a bit of mystery into it? There are many instances where a melody is
passed from section to section, and stretches of music where many sections play
in unison. For instance, the main theme
of the last movement is an 11-note line consists of notes in a minor fifth that
kept re-emerging in different sections, with variations that fail to disguise.
The Berlin Philharmonic at the conclusion of the concert. Half the bass section was cut out in this photo.
In searching for more information on the work, I come
across this article from the San Francisco Symphony. I quote from the notes: “The Second Symphony
dates from what is known as Stenhammar’s late, third and final period, which
begun around 1910. It aims at objectivity—or even austerity in its most
beautiful form—and displays some truly clever and masterful writing (especially
in the finale). Full of lush allusions to Swedish folk music and folk-dance
rhythms (particularly in the first and third movements), this symphony brings
together all the best qualities of this master Swedish composer. It is no
wonder that the Second Symphony has become known as one of the most outstanding
orchestral works in the Swedish repertory.”
The symphony was premiered at the SFO in February 2018.
On the other hand, the piece is complex enough that on a
first listen it didn’t sound boring. I
am sure I can find other good things to say about it, but nothing comes to mind
right now. Blomstedt calls this “undoubtedly
[Stenhammar’s] greatest work.
This was my first encounter with the orchestra, but both
Blomstedt and Bronfman are staples at Lincoln Center.
We took Bus M85 to the concert hall. They run every 20 minutes after 10 pm, so we
had to wait a bit for the return.
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