Personally I quite like being proved wrong, especially when the result is beneficial. When that is accompanied by a realisation that assumed values always need to be questioned, the result can be refreshing, even cathartic. A dispassionate assessment of a concert programme that offered two of Johannes Brahms’s best known and most often played orchestral works would under normal circumstances probably have not got me in the car to make the drive, not prompted me to be early so as not to find the parking full, or certainly not to arrive home so late. Having a subscription, however, prompted this Yorkshireman to guard his wallet and so I did not miss the concert.
The resident orchestra, ADDA Simfonica, for this particular concert was under the direction of a guest conductor, Rumon Gamba, who was making his first visit to this particular podium. After this performance, it will surely not be his last. Equally, Nelson Goerner’s return to the ADDA auditorium will surely also be soon. He is a pianist who eschews visual pyrotechnics, so it was behind closed eyes that the real musical fireworks coming from his hands were revealed. The touch, precision and interpretive skill were simply perfect. The ADDA orchestra, as ever, played beautifully and noticeably they seemed actively to enjoy this particular experience.
So what was surprising about familiar music played by a resident orchestra with a soloist and conductor whose work I have heard many times? The answer, surprisingly, is Johannes Brahms, whose music I thought I knew.
Personally I have always associated the second piano concerto of Brahms with a rather stodgy texture applied to long winded musical arguments that approach prolixity, albeit usually in a moderately enjoyable mix. These Brahms orchestral works have my respect, but over the years they have rarely made me stand up and take notice. But in the ADDA auditorium under the baton of Rumon Gamba and the hands of Nelson Goerner, there was throughout a delicacy, a refreshing humility, clear unambiguous expression and above all communication. And the overall effect was so surprising it was breath-taking. The gestures were light, the playing faultless and lyrical, with every phrase crafted to communicate. The concerto’s fifty plus minutes seemed to pass in a moment and we were already listening to a Brahms Intermezzo as a substantial encore.
If the Second Piano Concerto was a surprising experience, it was nothing compared to the Second Symphony. Of course this is a lyrical work, but it is not always interpreted as thoughtfully and convincingly as this. The music made perfect sense and again the stress was on delicacy and the ADDA orchestra was visibly enjoying the experience as much as the audience.
The beauty of being a subscriber and attending all the
concerts guarantees that occasionally one is taken out of one’s
comfort zone. With a Brahms double bill, I might just have stayed at home. To
have foregone that complete surprise would have been a cardinal error.
