Farrenc, Ravel, and Mussorgsky at Severance

 

Severance Hall last night

The Cleveland Orchestra continued its practice of commingling the familiar with the unfamiliar in this weekend’s program featuring music director Franz Welser-Möst and guest pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.

The opening work was the Symphony No. 3 in G minor by French composer Louise Farrenc, completed in 1847 receiving its Cleveland Orchestra debut.  The work has seldom been performed since its premiere 1849.  The program notes unequivocally pins the reason for this work’s neglect on “the systemic sexism and misogyny long upheld by the classical music establishment.”  That may well be part of the reason.  Another cause may be the Symphony’s highly conservative, one might even say old-fashioned construction.  One could easily pass this off as an undiscovered early symphony by Mendelssohn, and there were passages that reminded me of that composer’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The orchestration and architecture of the piece were excellent, but there was nothing in the way of innovation.  Thus, it was interesting to hear, but only once.  

After a quick stage change, orchestra and conductor were joined by Ólafsson for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.  This concert marked the first time I’d heard this pianist in the flesh, and it was a fine experience.  Ólafsson brought exceptionally free metrics in the first movement, yet the structure of the work emerged clearly, along with the jazz influences brought to the fore by Welser-Möst.  In the second movement the soloist was exceptionally attentive to inner voices and phrased the ¾ melody with a soulfulness seldom heard by all too many pianists who simply plunk it out.  The finale was not merely thrilling, but coherent from a structural perspective.  Ólafsson’s seemingly effortless technique, including perfect use of the pedals, was matched with solid musicality.  Of the 15 or so live and recorded performances I’ve heard of this concerto, this ranked very near the top.  The audience gave the pianist a standing ovation and he gave a lovely encore: the Bach-Siloti Prelude in B minor, in a poetic rendition with sensitive control of the lower dynamic levels. 

Ólafsson following the performance

Following intermission Welser-Möst returned to lead the orchestra in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.  As is well known, Pictures was originally written (rather clumsily) for piano solo in tribute to the composer’s friend, painter and architect Viktor Hartmann.  There have been several orchestrations, with Ravel’s being the most popular.  Personally, I’ve always found Ravel’s approach insufficiently Russian, and I prefer Stokowski’s and Ashkenazy’s orchestrations.  But the problem here was not the orchestration, nor the technical quality of the playing, but the conception.  Despite a fine opening Trumpet solo from Michael Sachs, Welser-Möst’s rushed, metronomic, colorless approach left this repertoire staple wanting.  Passages which benefit from a bit of freedom were rhythmically straightjacketed, phrasing was flat throughout.  It was as if poor Mussorgsky was being rushed from picture to picture at his own exhibition.  I was far from the only listener to feel this way, and several boos were clearly audible afterward – the first time I’ve ever heard them at a Cleveland Orchestra concert.  Welser-Möst can be a convincing interpreter in the right repertoire – this wasn’t an example of that.