It may be an unusual title for a concert review but these were the words with which conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin bade farewell to the audience on Thursday, May 24 after a brilliant concert, which was unfortunately interrupted shortly after the beginning in a regrettable and absolutely inappropriate manner. An admirable performance by Hélène Grimaud and The Philadelphia Orchestra that they nevertheless completed the program with such passion and dedication.
A visit by pianist Hélène Grimaud to Brussels is something a piano lover can hardly let pass by, especially when Yannick Nézet-Séguin is also involved. He conducted The Philadelphia Orchestra, the orchestra of which he is music director. Grimaud was soloist in the first piano concerto by Johannes Brahms, one of her favorite composers. About her love for Johannes Brahms she once said in an interview: Brahms is noble, he achieves the finest distinction of feelings you can imagine. At the same time his love is boundless, he is wild and powerful. You won't find such a purifying balance between intellect and heart a second time. Her interpretation perfectly illustrated this description. In the fierce first movement she let herself go and played with unbridled force the themes that Brahms had already prepared as an introduction in the orchestra. Yet it remained always controlled and she did not let the passion run away with her. The adagio she gave appropriate intimacy and she revealed her refined side. The final section confirmed Grimaud's natural approach to effortlessly varying the mostly cheerful themes and playing the demanding pianistic part as a matter of course.
Incident
After about a quarter of an hour it looked for a moment as if we might not be able to experience a complete concert at BOZAR. Suddenly two women stood up from the front row, held up a banner and began chanting slogans for a free Palestinian state. This concert, which was part of an extensive tour of the orchestra through Europe with three concluding concerts in Israel, was framed in a celebration of 70 years of Israel. Apparently a number of activists saw this as an occasion to make a fuss. For a moment the orchestra and soloist continued playing undisturbed, but as the shouting continued, the conductor decisively stopped and left the stage with all the musicians. Of course there was booing and jeering from the audience that had come for the music. Once the troublemakers had been removed, it took about twenty minutes to learn from the organizers what would happen next…. And indeed, the concert was resumed and continued, to the great delight and enthusiastic cheering of the audience. Brahms' concerto was resumed after the long orchestral introduction, from the soloist's entry. It was as if they played with extra dedication, because they had not given in.
Contemporary united with Romanticism
After the intermission there was first a contemporary work on the program by Wayne Oquin, Resilience for organ and orchestra. It was a Belgian premiere with American organist Paul Jacobs. In the work the organ engages in a continuous dialogue with the orchestra and it usually emerges as the most triumphant instrument. Personally I found the conversation with the marimba the most beautiful. It was of course also an opportunity to do justice to the beautifully restored organ of BOZAR once more. The organist's "resilience" was certainly put to the test, but he delivered virtuously. The work is dedicated to Paul Jacobs, by the way. The outburst of the orchestra – especially in the finale – is very reminiscent of film music.
The last work on the program was the beautiful fourth symphony by Robert Schumann. Although the third is certainly more popular, the fourth may be more refined and certainly more complex. Johannes Brahms was indeed a great admirer of it and of course the work fits perfectly in this program – it is moreover in the same key as Brahms' piano concerto. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is an excellent conductor to tackle this symphony with his sharp analytical vision, through which he lets the motivic themes sound very clearly defined in the instruments, without fragmenting the architecture of the work. The movements follow each other without real interruption, moreover. Already at the entrance The Philadelphia Orchestra lets the strings sing wonderfully lyrically and the delicately dancing theme in the oboes in the second movement, "Romanze," can be interpreted as a pure declaration of love to Clara. Also in the intensity of the scherzo and the heroic finale does Yannick Nézet-Séguin reveal himself as a conductor with especially a feeling for refinement. He has his orchestra perfectly in hand and nowhere does Romanticism run away into pathos. A beautiful performance.
In conclusion, the conductor addressed the audience briefly and concisely. He is not a man of politics, but of music and he regretted that the concert was misused for slogans. The audience too comes for the music, he stated, and therefore he decided with the orchestra to continue the program. Because music is peace. The audience thanked him with a standing ovation.
- WHO: The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Hélène Grimaud, piano - Paul Jacobs, organ
- WHAT: Johannes Brahms, Wayne Oquin, Robert Schumann
- WHERE: BOZAR
- WHEN: May 24, 2018
- Photo: m.t.