BY WENDY ZHANG
Tchaikovsky Cello Favourites
Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Vladimir Ashkenazy (conductor) and Gautier Capucon (cello)
Sydney Opera House, 28 September
I recently had the pleasure to listen to the Russian-born pianist/conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, French cellist Gautier Capucon, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra playing the Tchaikovsky Cello Favourites at Sydney Opera House. It was a magnificent concert with an all-Romantic program, played to a concert hall full of an enthusiastic audience (it seemed to be at 99 per cent capacity, which I’ve never before witnessed).
Gautier opened the program with the Andante cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D major. The movement is such a well-known and widely performed piece of its own, but Gautier’s interpretation was exceptional – I closed my eyes as I heard this beautiful, familiar opening melody from the cello. Gautier took his time to interpret this slow movement, and played every note expressively and with great emotion. I was immersed in his mesmerising interpretation, and temporarily lost in the world of Russian Romantic music. Ashkenazy, on the other hand, conducted with a clear direction, precise timing but with very subtle hand and body movements.
The second piece of the evening was Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. As discussed in a pre-concert talk with Zoltan Szabo, Tchaikovsky wrote this piece for the German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen. However, Fitzenhagen changed it considerably without Tchaikovsky’s consent, even cutting out the last variation from the whole piece. This was the version we heard.
Gautier opened the Introduction movement freely. The sounds of the high-pitched flute in contrast with the deep and melancholy cello was pleasing to the ear. In the Andante section, the cello’s line was extremely slow in tempo, as if making a soliloquy or a confession. The plucking of the strings provided steady rhythm for the cello. It picked up in tempo in the next variation – fast and lively, with the cello and flute leading. Gautier showed off his technical skills in this brilliant variation, and ended powerfully. The audience erupted into an ongoing applause.
Ashkenazy showed his humorous side by putting his conducting stick in his mouth as he clapped for Gautier, clearly not wanting to take any credits for the clapping. He then put Gautier on the spot and gestured for him to play an encore piece, to which Gautier told us he was left no choice. Joined by other cellos, Gautier played the Song of the Birds – a traditional Catalan Christmas song and lullaby about the birth of Christ. Gautier played at a contemplative pace – ending the first part of the concert on a thoughtful note.
After the interval, Ashkenazy returned back to the stage to conduct Strauss’ much-celebrated Symphonia domestica. As the name suggested and as Martin Buzacott highlighted in his program note, the piece was about domestic bliss and provided a musical representation of a day in the life of Strauss and his family – mother, father, and son. And according to the pre-concert talk, Strauss had 15 rehearsals of this piece before premiering it in the Carnegie Hall, for which the audience went wild. The orchestra became much bigger with the noticeable addition of two harps, eight horns, and four trumpets. The orchestra opened with the father’s easy-going theme. It then led to an explosion of sound by brass and strings, before it got back to the main theme. The occasional playing of the flute was particularly beautiful and added colour to the movement.
In the Finale, there were different themes playing and clashing together, which sounded dissonant and disruptive. I immediately felt this was a reflection of the nature of domestic life – not always pleasant and harmonious as there would always be arguments, conflicts and disagreements. The drums and trumpets pushed the music to the climax, before returning to the main theme again. In this piece, the two harps played a beautiful and dream-like tunes. The bell sound was also noticeable at times and it symbolised domestic bliss as if the bell of dinner call by Mama.
It was a real pleasure to watch Ashkenazy conducting this piece. His movements were brief and concise, sometimes imitating the movement of playing the violin, but also powerful. His whole body movement was succinct and with flow. He became the symbol of music himself, at that moment in time – as every gesture and moment of eye contact was about making and expressing the music; nothing more and nothing less.
The audience adored this piece and couldn’t stop clapping and cheering after the piece ended. After several rounds of bowing, leaving, and coming back to the stage, Ashkenazy had enough and took his conducting score, gesturing to the audience that he was leaving and then he left. The audience all laughed hysterically at this scene – what an interesting character and what a sense of humour. It certainly made this already amazing concert one to remember for a long time.
Image supplied. Credit: Gregory Batardon.
