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Review: Superstar couple deliver promised warmth
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, April 16
Reviewer: Max Rashbrooke
In their interview with Scoop [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1604/S00033/love-duets.htm], Nicola Benedetti and Leonard Elschenbroich promised "warmth and love" in their playing of Brahms's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello. And, coming on stage after the NZSO had delivered a beautifully judged rendition of Douglas Lilburn's Festival Overture, that's exactly what they produced.
Past performances of this piece by the 'greats' of the classical world have often lapsed into a competition between soloists' egos, but not this one. We saw two musicians attempting, and often succeeding, to fuse their individual offerings into one coherent statement. With the NZSO supporting them superbly, Elschenbroich - relishing what is probably the more expressive part of the two - and Benedetti produced playing that was especially touching in the subtle moments of a piece that is sometimes derided as boring but in fact possesses layers of quiet depth.
The second half of the performance, Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, I enjoyed rather less. Conductor Edo de Waart's intention was clear: to deliver a more refined, less fist-to-the-sky version of Beethoven than is often heard. And he certainly captured one aspect of the composer's genius, the way that new variations appear to flow organically, undeniably, from the initial material. By starting relatively quietly, he also allowed the fortissimo passages their full impact.
But what it lacked was the unpredictability, the sudden contrast and crackling energy that I at least want to hear in any Beethoven performance. Especially with a piece that is heard often, its rendition needs to surprise the audience, keep it on the edge of its seat somehow (albeit without lapsing into melodrama), and I didn't feel that.
The NZSO's playing, as ever, was lovely, the strings especially, but it was in service of a more conservative rendering than I was hoping to hear.
Max Rashbrooke
Journalist
Max Rashbrooke is a journalist and author working in Wellington, New Zealand, where he writes about politics, finance and social issues.
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