Orchestras on tour often take some of their home
repertoire with them. In the case of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra under the
direction of Andris Poga in Alicante last night, this took the form on the
published program of a contemporary interpretation of some famous nineteenth
century pieces. The Norwegian composer Ørjan Matre has reworked some of Edvard
Grieg’s Lyric Pieces for orchestra. I hesitate to say simply “orchestrated”,
because the contemporary composer’s contribution is specific and significantly
more than transcription. It’s tantamount to reinterpretation.
Alicante’s ADDA audience heard four of the pieces,
beginning with the Arietta from book one. Almost as if to remind the audience
of the piece’s origin, the composer starts with solo piano, and the orchestra
almost apologizes for its presence as the piece proceeds. The textures and
combinations employed are designed to communicate the context of the
inspiration. The titles of the pieces, Arietta, Spring dance, Solitary traveller,
and Butterfly give clues as to what Grieg might have been thinking and Matre
creates beautiful illustrations by his wholly original and refreshingly light
use of orchestral sound.
After the interval, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
gave a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Now this a work the
Alicante audience knows well, so it was with interest and anticipation that it
was received. We were not disappointed. This was a strong, forceful reading of
the score. The triumphalism of the finale certainly asserted itself, but this
happened perhaps at the cost of a detail or two in the preceding narrative that
became lost in the force of the orchestral sound. Such matters are a conductor’s
choice and clearly Andris Poga wanted to stress the growth to confidence above
the experience of insecurities that led up to the endpoint.
Set between the reinterpreted Grieg and Tchaikovsky’s
triumphal finale was a real gem. It’s not
often that a pianist takes on the Second Piano Concerto of Prokofiev, but here Behzod
Abduraimov did just that. And what a perfectly splendid job he made of it.
The start was slower than expected, with Prokofiev’s
opening theme, meandering even when faster, almost breaking apart. But then the
slower tempo allowed the music’s vast array of colours to shine through. By the
time, Behzod Abduraimov had reached the massive first movement credenza, the
complexity on the ear had become strangely simplified, and the pyrotechnics of
the piano part seemed almost inevitable, merely a given in the overall argument.
The essential shape of the music was thus preserved, and the audience was
treated to truly communicative playing, and not mere virtuosity.
There are times when this music from 1913 sounds
almost industrial. I am sure this was Prokofiev’s intention. The work, after
all, was revised ten years later, so it is hard in the concert hall to imagine
what the composer might have changed. Suffice to say that the joins do not
show.
Behzod Abduraimov was magnificent. His playing was
strong where it needed to be, occasionally explosive and often lyrical at the
same time. His faultless solo part was accompanied by wonderful orchestral
playing that really brought out every nuance of detail in the score. This is
abstract music, but there are many passages that seem to refer to popular
forms, albeit seen in a distorting mirror. And if you think even the opening
theme might be simple, just try singing it to yourself. Good luck. It’s a
perfect example of Prokofiev’s lyrical genius, where he concocted a singularly
beautiful tune that sticks in the memory, but an idea that remains elusive and
almost impossible to reproduce.
