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Symphony Review: Idiosyncratic approach enlivens pianist's performance of Beethoven
Saturday, March 04, 2000 By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Writer
As the 300th anniversary of the piano begins to be celebrated around the world, here's one good idea to honor the instrument: bronze Emanuel Ax.
OK, that would have disastrous side effects, but the point is that he embodies everything that's good about pianists. His performance last night with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall just provided another in a long line of examples of this.
The concert featured the return of Music Director Mariss Jansons, back from a bout with the flu that caused him to cancel last week's appearance, and he didn't look any worse for wear.
Ax soloed in Beethoven's Piano Concert No. 5, "Emperor." It's a piece much of the orchestra has on the tip of its minds and bows, for it was on the program for the fall Florida tour. With this group, that's not likely to make a big difference, but the PSO definitely played with great aplomb as a whole.
Now an elder statesman in the field, though still at the height of his powers, Ax played with the orchestra and the audience as much as with the piano. But this was a byproduct of his dramatic approach to the part. In a heartbeat, Ax skirted from stout to delicate playing, and accelerated the tempo at key thematic parts. But there was a decided cohesion to it all.
Recently Ax has delved into the area of performance practice by releasing two Chopin discs in which he plays a Chopin-era Erard piano. Could there be any doubt that the softer action and lower string tension of that instrument inspired him to find a more appropriate sound for Beethoven on a modern grand? Pressing both pedals, holding forearms high and playing back on the keys, Ax achieved a fantastic timbre at quiet as well as accompaniment sections that said more with less.
He also applied the technique for the famous rondo theme in the third movement. That might have disappointed some for its lack of the customary bravado, but it took the focus to the orchestra, which repeats the theme more robustly than the piano could anyway. This subtle difference really transformed the movement. Whether it was ultimately the best decision by Ax is not nearly as important as the fact he was willing to take a risk.
Though Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" is a tremendously difficult piece, it is not a risk for the PSO, which is performing it next week at Carnegie Hall in New York City. This piece showcases the talents of the orchestra and conductor in several key areas -- solo ability, ensemble in tough passages, range of timbre. From Principal Bassonist Nancy Goeres evocative opening solo to the last notes, the audience was treated to a near sensory overload. Jansons kept the emotions of the work penned in, giving an uncommonly precise reading of the piece. Actually, if any criticism could be leveled, it's that parts of the second section of this description of a pagan sacrifice ceremony could have been more harrowing.
The concert opened with an engaging reading of Haydn's Symphony No. 95. Jansons impressed with his feel for the spaces and rests of this piece. Haydn's themes seemed alive and well and living in the orchestra's minds, rather than dry and removed as is still often the case. Principal Cellist Anne Martindale Williams gave a smart, economic rendition of the work's solos.
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