Above: pianist Nelson Friere
~ Author: Ben Weaver
Wednesday October 31st & Thursday November 1st, 2018 - Christmas season officially arrived to NYC on Halloween when the Mariinsky Orchestra, under direction of Valery Gergiev, performed Tchaikovsky’s perennial holiday favorite The Nutcracker ballet at Carnegie Hall. Tchaikovsky never intended the work to be a holiday occasion. It was premiered on a double bill with the opera Iolanta. It is a strange pairing of two completely unrelated - dramatically and musically - works and it is never performed that way today. Indeed, The Nutcracker on a double bill with anything would be unthinkable.
Tchaikovsky’s parade of greatest hits in The Nutcracker (the last of his 3 great ballets) is filled with endless invention of melody and orchestration. The delicate Overture (scored for violins and violas only) quickly introduces the audience to the magical story to come. (Interestingly, the strings only overture of The Nutcracker is a nice contrast to the winds-only introduction to its former sibling, Iolanta.) Maestro Gergiev and his Mariinsky forces played this lovely piece to perfection. The Mariinsky Theater premiered the ballet in 1892, so this music is part of their heritage and they play it with obvious love and affection.
Act 1 of the ballet is set at a Christmas party as kids and adults exchange gifts and decorate the tree. Tchaikovsky’s music remains light and delicate, though each number possesses a unique character and sound. The famous March for the children brings in horns and trumpets. Minuets and polkas, waltzes and lullabies, and a quote from Michael Haydn’s Toy Symphony, give way to a dark and sinister snowy night as Clara and her Nutcracker-cum-Prince, alone at night, must now battle the Mouse King. The charming, elegant music of the party, which dominated the score until now, changes completely. The darker score - including a gun shot - is filled with wailing flutes, a marching drum and bugles calling everyone to arms. When the Battle ends, comes a calming Waltz of the Snowflakes (which includes an off-stage children’s chorus, not featured in this live performance).
The Enchanted Palace Confiturembourg, where Act 2 is set, is filled with some of the most famous melodies Tchaikovsky ever composed: when the composer pulled a concert suite out of the ballet, he used almost the entire Divertissement. Spanish Dance, Arabian Dance and Chinese Dance introduce some whimsy and exoticism to the proceedings, the galloping Russian Dance provides a dizzying whirl. (It is now fashionable for people to apologize for the musical stereotyping of these movements. Occasionally political correctness really does become a silly tyrant.) There are gently piping miniature flutes of the Mirlitons and the celesta (an instrument Tchaikovsky was taken in by in Paris and was eager to introduce to the Russian public before another composer scooped him) of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Waltz of the Flowers begins with a magnificent introduction from the harp (played beautifully by Sofia Kiprskaya) and then gives way to what is surely one of the most beautiful and famous melodies ever composed by anyone. The Pas de deux may not be as famous with the outside world, but every time I hear it I am convinced that more ravishing music has never been composed.
Maestro Gergiev (above) and his Mariinsky forces played all this to perfection. With his odd finger waving, which his orchestra understands without a problem, Gergiev shepherded a lively, perfectly paced and articulated performance. Tchaikovsky provides endless opportunities for every player in the orchestra to distinguish themselves. And this night they certainly did.
On the second night of the Mariinsky' Carnegie Hall visit, the orchestra presented two German works: Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto (with soloist Nelson Freire) and Richard Strauss’ symphonic poem Ein Heldenleben.
Brahms’ two piano concertos are both highly symphonic in nature and length: each running close to an hour, they are like Mount Everests of the piano repertoire: some pianists choose not to climb. The great Brazillian pianist Nelson Freire is not one of them. The 74-year-old Friere has been wowing the public with his artistry for many decades. A Brahms Piano Concerto (either one) is a fiendishly difficult work to play: demanding great stamina and the ability to compete with the sound of a massive orchestra, Brahms can defeat anyone. Freire, however, still possesses everything needed to triumph over Brahms’ obstacles. He never wavered. Maestro Gergiev was a great partner in this; he pulled the orchestra back, allowing the piano to dominate, but unleashing torrents of beautiful sounds during the strictly orchestral passages. Freire’s scales were clean, each note clearly etched out. Magnificent solos from the horn (in the first movement) and cello (third movement) were gorgeously dispatched by members of the orchestra.
The audience’s warm response and a standing ovation convinced Freire to perform an encore: Gluck’s Mélodie from Orfeo ed Euridice, transcribed for piano. This may have been Freire’s most profound playing of the night: just him and the piano with Gluck’s searing melodies, the audience seemed to be holding its breath.
Richard Strauss’ massive, retrospective tone symphony Ein Heldenleben was completed in 1898. Strauss told the writer Romain Rolland that he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t compose a symphony about himself. “I find myself quite as interesting as Napoleon or Alexander.” The “symphony” contains more than 30 musical quotes from Strauss’ previous works, including from Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote and Till Eulenspiegel. It is made up of 6 parts, each describes a part of the hero’s life. It is written for a massive orchestra - the stage of Carnegie Hall was filled - including 5 trumpets, 8 horns and an array of percussion. Massive orchestral passages alternate with chamber-light ones, including an extended violin solo beloved by all concertmasters. This evening guest concert-master Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici dazzled with his virtuosity and passion. Gergiev’s high voltage conducting was perfect for Strauss and the orchestra met every demand. From the bombastic cacophonies of 'The Battle' to the stillness of 'Hero’s Works of Peace'. And the big romantic sweep of the 'Love Theme' has given life to many film scores.
As an encore, the orchestra played Stravinsky’s majestic Berceuse and Finale from The Firebird. An exotic, thrilling way to end the two-night extravaganza.
I should note the presence of some protestors outside of the concert hall on both evenings. A handful of people peacefully held signs criticizing maestro Gergiev’s long-standing support of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
~ Ben Weaver