First candidate: Woochan Jeong - Korea, °1999
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(c) Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd[/caption]
Every attentive listener is by now familiar with the imposed work by Jörg Widmann: '5 Albumblätter'. With Jeong's vision we received a neat performance, flawless, clear, but somewhat flat, lacking depth. The tango towards the end didn't really invite dancing and the apotheosis wasn't overwhelming either. This piece has more to offer and we did hear that from some candidates.
The Sinfonia concertante op. 125 by Sergey Prokofiev was again to be heard this time performed by Woochan Jeong.
Again we don't feel deeply moved by the cellist. There is a lack of power, substance and on the other hand he plays with an exaggerated, sometimes annoying vibrato. Virtuosity, that's there, technique dominates, but does he understand the work? He also becomes almost theatrical with the mime that apparently receives more attention than the content of this quite remarkably rich work.
Second candidate: Samuel Niederhauser - Switzerland, °1998
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(c) Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd[/caption]
Like all other candidates, Niederhauser performed '5 Albumblätter' by Jörg Widmann.
What volume Niederhauser starts with, and how he then continues the cantabile melody with a subtle crescendo, that is class. Less attractive, at least for me, are the glissandi, but perhaps they are in the score, because there are some with every candidate so far and certainly in the first part of this work. Look, the Swiss cellist is less pure than his predecessor in his playing, but oh so much more to enjoy is his musicality. And then the tango, who didn't have trouble staying seated when it was now in the Henry Le Bœuf hall of the Bozar or at home? And yes, the applause spoke volumes.
The Concerto n. 2 in G op. 126 by Dmitry Shostakovich was performed earlier in this final. Niederhauser is no longer in the competition, he is at a concert, in the middle of the score. Witty, strong and where there is a melodic line, he sings with considerable nuance. Technically he stands very strong with the bow that doesn't have a single harsh scratching attack, not even in the fierce fast passages. He strikes me as a musician who can handle many styles, which is not given to everyone. The silence he commanded from the audience, in those last fading notes… Very telling.
Friday 03/06 [20:00]
Woochan Jeong [ Sergey Prokofiev, Symphonie concertante op. 125 | Sinfonia concertante op. 125 ]
Samuel Niederhauser [ Dmitry Shostakovich, Concerto n. 2 en sol majeur op. 126 | Concerto n. 2 in G op. 126 ]
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