Revving up Rachmaninov - NZSO with Joyce Yang

Friday, 3 November 2017, 9:48 am
Article: Max Rashbrooke

Revving up Rachmaninov - NZSO with Joyce Yang

By Max Rashbrooke

A whole evening of Rachmaninov is quite a treat, at least for Russophiles like myself. And it started beautifully, with the orchestral arrangement of the Vocalise (from 14 Songs) casting a gentle, wistful spell. A delicate piece, it was played with delicacy indeed by the NZSO, and admirable control, too, leaving plenty of dynamic room for its devastating climax.

The second half of the concert comprised the Symphonic Dances, a strange yet enormously appealing summary of the composer’s life work, full of references to Russian Orthodox chants. I enjoyed the taut, crisp sound of the opening movement, and the rare chance to hear an alto saxophone solo. The strings sound was warm and deep and the balance with the woodwinds spot on, I thought.

The second movement was equally well handled, the muted horns and dark-toned strings giving off a feeling of disjointed menace. And there was a lovely snap of dancing rhythms in the final movement, with some gentle, still moments, although maybe not met by quite the full sense of abandon that I would have liked to hear in other places.

Before that, however, the concert’s showpiece was undoubtedly the Third Piano Concerto with soloist Joyce Yang. While others have praised her playing unreservedly, and I can understand why, I was left slightly unconvinced. For a start the performance began at an almost breakneck pace; all the more credit to Yang for sustaining that pace throughout the first movement, but I think the poetry of some of Rachmaninov’s writing gets lost that way, the notes not allowed to breathe to the extent they need.

I also wasn’t convinced about Yang’s interpretative choices: it almost felt as if she was trying too hard, putting enormous dynamic variation into even the opening phrases, when the music is more than capable of speaking for itself without much ‘added’ to it. She certainly communicated a distinctive vision of the music, but it didn’t talk to me directly through her touch, as it were, rather through musical choices that didn’t quite gel. I also felt a little bludgeoned by the cadenza, if I’m honest.

That said, Yang is obviously a pianist of great talent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the last movement: the strong, martial sound she conjured up was something quite martial. Her rapport – almost a physical connection! – with the orchestra was also evident. But in the end I probably didn’t enjoy the performance as much as I’d hoped.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Max Rashbrooke

Journalist

Max Rashbrooke is a journalist and author working in Wellington, New Zealand, where he writes about politics, finance and social issues.

Contact Max Rashbrooke

• Website - www.maxrashbrooke.org.nz
• Subscribe - Max's mailing list