SUBSTITUTE CONDUCTOR FILLS MONDAVI CENTER WITH ENERGY
Edward Ortiz Bee Arts Critic
Sacramento Bee (California)
March 13, 2006 Monday
Metro Final Edition
It’s hard to imagine a more shimmering and sonically expansive
performance of Mahler’s First Symphony than what was given by the
London Philharmonic at the Mondavi Center on the UC Davis campus
Saturday evening.
The appearance of Finnish-born conductor Osmo Vanska, who was filling
in for the ill Kurt Masur, was as memorable a conducting debut as
will be seen on the Mondavi stage for quite some time.
In Vanska’s hands, Mahler’s work blossomed into a captivating sonic
experience that filled Jackson Hall with delicate but brooding,
soft passages and explosive, life-affirming crescendos.
The evening began with brash young Armenian violinist Sergey
Khachatryan delivering a brilliant and emotional reading of fellow
Armenian Aram Khachaturian’s “Violin Concerto.” Taking the stage in
an untucked black shirt and black pants, Khachatryan wasted no time
in injecting his cadenzas with enough musical grit and no- nonsense
punch to avoid any sentimentality. Khachatryan attacked the deeply
moving passages of the second movement as if he owned the concerto –
and Saturday night he proved he did with dazzling technique.
But the highlight of the evening was clearly Mahler’s “Symphony No.
1,” which began with the strings low and slow, giving way to its
cuckoolike two-note motif, whose energy later morphed into orchestral
wildfire.
Vanska, a rising star on the conducting scene who is well-known for
his interpretations of Jean Sibelius’ work, conducted with a unique
visual flair – one that flirted with bombast but never quite stepped
over the line. Watching him conduct was like a visual primer on how
a conductor uses body language to express and coax tonal color out
of an orchestra. A knee bend here, an exultation of arm waving there
characterized his conducting. The result was stellar playing.
The London Philharmonic proved Vanska’s equal in every way. The
rich intonation of the orchestra’s string section lived up to its
reputation. That was most evident during the funeral march in the
third movement, which incorporates the “Frere Jacques” theme. Here
the strings bowed with feeling and crisp clarity.
But it was the titanlike shimmer of the brass section that proved
most memorable. From their powerful playing in the first movement to
the thunderous moments of the finale, the horns thrilled and provoked
listeners into a state of musical exultation. Their playing was warm,
almost youthful, but also capable of capturing a mature, somber glow,
especially in the second and third movements.
It remains to be seen whether what was heard Saturday night had as
much to do with Vanska as it did with the work that Masur has done
with this orchestra.
You get the feeling that much is owed to Vanska’s energizing influence,
which owes its origin to the fact that he hails from a country where
classical music is as much a national pastime as baseball is here.
The Bee’s Edward Ortiz can be reached at (916) 321-1071 or
[email protected].