BY WENDY ZHANG
Thibaudet plays the Egyptian Concerto
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Opera House, 19 October
Having had the opportunity to study music in Nice back in 2017, French music has always fascinated me. When I saw the concert program, I couldn’t contain my excitement: it featured works by French composers Debussy and Saint-Saëns, performed by Grammy-nominated French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. It proved to be one of the most outstanding concerts I’ve attended, from the difficulty of the program choice, the performance of the soloist, to the knowledge and passion of conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
The concert opened with Debussy’s famous Prélude à l’aprés-midi d’un faune. The orchestra had the noticeable addition of two golden harps and a gong (crotales). It started with the flute tentatively playing the well-known opening melody, which, according to the program note by Gordon Kalton Williams, “ushered in a new world of structure, rhythm, harmonic relations and colour[…] reoriented the development of music in the succeeding century”, suggesting impressionism. The sound of the flute and harps was particularly interesting, as if entering a dialogue of questions and answers. It then grew louder as strings started leading the main theme. The harps continued playing descending scales, which made it sound even more evocative, dreamy, and mysterious. The conclusion was in sync, with few notes played in intervals by various instruments. I was happy to finally hear this piece performed live, and impressed by this interpretation.
After a short break, Thibaudet entered the stage with Saraste to play Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 (Egyptian). Thibaudet opened the Allegro animato movement with a simple and elegant piano passage. I immediately felt his piano sound was very distinctive – almost like liquid, as it was free-flowing and clean without too much force and accent. I was stunned by Thibaudet’s complete control of the instrument, like it was his little toy to play with. The sound from the higher register of the piano was particularly beautiful, like water flowing from a waterfall. Throughout this movement, I couldn’t stop thinking about how difficult Saint-Saëns made the piano section (Saint-Saëns was himself a virtuosic pianist), but Thibaudet played it so effortlessly and brilliantly, without any gesture to hint that it was indeed a very challenging piece.
In the Andante movement, Thibaudet played a fast-running passage: descending scales followed by ascending scales. In the middle of this movement, Thibaudet played some pentatonic scales, accompanied by the gong, which was clearly a Chinese theme and very enchanting. He then presented some three-note chords in descending scales, which sounded unusual, as though there was an additional percussion instrument present.
In the final Molto allegro movement, there was a sense of happiness and exuberance through the piano’s fast-running passage. Thibaudet then played octaves in succession, and his hands were like machines or claws that approached the extremely difficult section with a sense of ease and style. It was simply amazing to watch him, and I loved every minute of it.
After the interval, Saraste went back on stage to conduct the final piece – Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. This was a fitting choice, as Saraste is himself a Finnish conductor and a Sibelius Medalist. Sibelius, being a celebrated national figure of Finland, wrote this piece at a time when Finland was in a political crisis caused by Russian claims on the country’s independence, according to the program notes by Phillip Sametz. The Allegretto movement opened with the strings playing an 11-note theme accompanied by drum rolls. Then, the music shifted between pleasant and harmonious to turbulent and agitated, with the 11-note theme still noticeable at times. It was evident from the beginning that Saraste had a deep knowledge and passion for this piece, from his eye contact with the musicians to his whole body movements.
In the Andante movement, there were drum rolls, followed by the plucking of strings by the double basses then cellos and violins. The bassoons opened the theme with strings still plucking at the background. The music was dark and gloomy, like a storm was approaching. The brass section was noticably loud and surpassed all other instruments. Then, the brass instruments and drums started playing together; a dark storm was finally arriving.
The Vivassimo movement opened with a fast-running passage by violins, then cellos and double basses. The flute played a peaceful and tranquil melody; a pleasant break after the storm. This peace was broken by the brass section, which became powerful through a six-note successive theme, ending the piece on a triumphant note.
I thoroughly enjoyed this concert and was mesmerised by Thibaudet’s playing. What a delightful evening of French and Finnish music, and a powerful performance indeed by Thibaudet, Saraste and the SSO.
Image supplied. Credit: Daniela Testa.
