The Philharmonia’s visit to Cardiff brought music by arguably the two greatest orchestrators of the twentieth century, Ravel and Stravinsky. Orchestral colour and storytelling was the order of the day, beginning with Ravel’s ‘Mother Goose’ – the composer at his most charmingly suave. Conductor Esa- Pekka Salonen, hands shaping the delicate, sinuous lines of these orchestral versions of his piano pieces, in understated fashion.
The same composer’s Piano Concerto in G showed a different side of his personality, with the jazz age at its heart in the outer movements and a central movement that takes Mozart as its model. Pierre- Laurent Aimard was in many ways its ideal interpreter with his easy virtuosity and gallic sophistication. In the outpouring of melody that opens the adagio, he showed a great sense of line though it lacked the inward quality that one might have liked here. The return of the same theme , on cor anglais accompanied by filigree piano, later in the movement was exquisite.
After the interval things moved to an even higher level. The vast forces of this fine orchestra, totally at one with their conductor throughout, gave a nuanced account of Stravinsky’s showpiece, ‘The Firebird’ (1910). Brittle, spiky textures alternated with lushness as Salonen guided his forces seamlessly through the dazzling range of scenes and moods. The quadruple woodwind , in particular, fizzed throughout and the it all culminated in a glorious blaze of sound.
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