Above: pianist Igor Levit, photo by Peter Meisel
Author: Ben Weaver
Friday May 6th, 2022 - Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-minor, completed in 1858 and premiered a year later with the composer at the piano, was not a success upon its debut, but over time this highly emotional and Romantic concerto - arguably the grandest in the repertoire - has become one of the most beloved on the concert stage. Brahms took many decades to complete his 1st Symphony because he was afraid to tread in Beethoven’s steps. But with his 1st Piano Concerto - another genre Beethoven dominated - Brahms definitely took Beethoven’s Emperor and elevated the form to new heights. The scale and difficulty of this work also make it something of a rarity in the concert hall.
Though Russian-born pianist Igor Levit has played at Carnegie Hall many times, he was making his NY Philharmonic debut on May 6, 2022 with Brahms’ towering masterwork, led by NY Philharmonic’s music director Jaap van Zweden. An intense and probing pianist, Levit also has the power and the stamina to make an impact in this heavily orchestrated piece. To maestro Zweden’s credit he understands the orchestration can work against the solo instrument and managed to keep the orchestra from swamping Mr. Levit. But perhaps Zweden silenced the orchestra a bit too much. The grand, heaven-storming opening of the concerto was energetic, but under-powered. Fortunately the balance between the orchestra and Levit improved as the piece progressed. The power in Levit’s hands - and his judicious use of the pedal - kept the Steinway always audible. Mr. Levit is not an emotionally overwrought performer, he keeps emotions in check, but that does not detract from his soulful playing. I often think of Maurizio Pollini when I hear him play. The gentleness of the Adagio movement was gorgeously articulated, and also crystal clear. Perhaps he lost the shape of the final moments of the movement with a ponderous tempo, but the galvanizing energy of the Rondo was dazzling. The audience greeted Mr. Levit very warmly with a standing ovation. As an encore he performed what I believe was one of Ferruccio Busoni’s arrangements of Bach: a somber and beautiful piece, which was performed with a moving thoughtfulness and weight.
Whatever seemed to be missing from Maestro Zweden and the orchestra during the Brahms concerto was not an issue in Béla Bartók’s beloved Concerto for Orchestra, composed for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Serge Koussevitsky in 1943. This is a piece that the NY Philharmonic can really sink its collective teeth into, and nobody disappointed. Bartók’s great work gives every section of the orchestra a chance to shine, starting with the growling double basses (an instrument that generally deserves more solo attention, I think.) Bouncing from the various string sections (led by concertmaster Frank Huang) to winds to brass to percussion to harps, Bartók - already in very poor health when he composed the work - provides a dazzling palette of melodies and sounds, sometimes paying homages to other composers (in the Intermezzo he parodies Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, but there’s also something of the Mahlerian switch from earnestness to mocking cacophony), and occasionally even to himself: the Elegia could have been lifted directly from his own Blubeard’s Castle. Here was an all around thrilling performance of a magnificent work.
~ Ben Weaver