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Music Review: Gustavo Dudamel And Gil Shaham Play Mozart

Jason Issokson |
July 20, 2011 | 8:12 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

 

In 1947, Virgil Thomsom wrote, “The civically supported symphony orchestra is the most conservative institution in the Western world...Churches, even banks, are more open to experimentation.”   

Gustavo Dudamel, Courtesy of Mathew Imaging
Gustavo Dudamel, Courtesy of Mathew Imaging

Over the years, classical music critics have made something of a ritual out of denouncing the unadventurous state of concert programming in our nation’s orchestras and operas.  Every few months or so, a major critic will publically scold our classical music presenters for lacking the courage to challenge audiences with new music, complex repertoire, or underperformed compositions. 

And they are right to do so. It almost goes without saying that new music – or at the very least, recent music – should play a bigger part in our orchestral programming. Here in Los Angeles, even our usually audacious Philharmonic seems willing to program only the most celebrated works in the classical canon once they’ve made the move from Walt Disney Concert Hall to the Hollywood Bowl for the summer. In fact, it will be August 4th – the eighth program of the summer – before the Philharmonic plays a work written in the last ninety years. 

So it would seem that this is the perfect moment to fulfill my critic’s duty by penning one of those lamentations on the loss of bold programming.

Only, I’m not going to write that article. Instead, on the heels of yesterday evening’s decidedly not-audacious all-Mozart concert, let’s talk about the reasons why these sorts of programs – filled with composers and masterpieces we’ve encountered time and time again – are still of great benefit to audiences, performers, and critics alike.  

First, let’s dismiss outright the notion that programs like yesterday’s are unchallenging for performers just because the repertoire is already so familiar to them. Yes, the Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”) is one of the most often performed of Mozart’s orchestral works. And the Violin Concerto No. 5 (“Turkish”) is, no doubt, the most beloved and most frequently programmed piece in the classical-era violin repertoire. 

But, if anything, it is more difficult for an artist to make their mark on a work that has been recorded dozens of times before. And because listeners have developed a set of musical expectations from years of exposure to popular repertoire, musicians must approach these works with an excess of conviction – otherwise, we’re prone to wonder why the performer doesn’t “just play it like (fill in the blank with your favorite musician).” 

I’m sure for some in attendance on Tuesday evening, that’s precisely the way it felt. At times, it certainly did for me. 

See, Gustavo Dudamel – best known for his tremendous energy and ringleted coiffeur – has also developed a bit of a reputation for taking stretched-out tempos in slow movements. Yesterday was no exception, and it had this critic wishing the young conductor would just bump up the metronome a couple of notches and play the “Jupiter’s” slow movement – you know – the way I’m used to. 

That’s unfair. But when an artist confounds your expectations, it’s an almost inevitable reaction. In all truth, Dudamel’s tempo choices were entirely reasonable. And the orchestra sounded nothing short of splendid (though I would be remiss for failing to mention that the Hollywood Bowl’s amplification system needs some very serious adjustments). 

This wasn’t a “Jupiter” for the faint of heart. Lush, with a big ensemble and no paucity of vibrato, Dudamel gave us a full-throated Mozart roar. In the Finale, Dudamel allowed his band to straight-up belt it, and one wouldn’t be surprised if Mozart’s polyphonic monument of a movement could be heard all the way to Burbank. Even though a more polite approach to Mozart is the industry standard these days, this was a “Jupiter” we could believe in – or at the very least, a “Jupiter” we could be made to believe in – bold, confident, unapologetic. And entirely convincing.

But the task of performing these sorts of ultra-popular works is made especially difficult for soloists, who endlessly practice well-worn repertoire, so as not to lose their chops. With perhaps dozens of performances of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 under his belt, one would be right to assume that Gil Shaham’s performance could suffer from the repetition of it all (I can say from experience, having myself practiced just the opening lines of this very concerto perhaps over a thousand times). 

Shaham’s Mozart was a hurried, at times abrasive, affair. With his signature smile noticeably missing, he rushed through much of the concerto with little care. In the Adagio, we were at least given a chance to catch our breath as Shaham explored all the corners of Mozart’s melodies and lingered in the sweetness of it. But with the Rondo finale, it seemed he was simply powering through just for the sake of reaching the finish line. 

Too bad. This is glorious music that deserves the curiosity and enthusiasm of the first performance, every time. (The same can’t be said for the “Turkish music not by Mozart” Shaham performed as an encore – a messy, pandering piece of nonsense that would have been right at home as an act on America’s Got Talent.)

One of the great joys of the live-music experience is that an artist or ensemble can challenge our preconceived notions about how a familiar piece of music should sound. Not every performance will do it. But artists deserve to be given a chance to change our minds. And audiences deserve an engaging performance, even when the performer is sick of it. 

So, at your next “Eroica” Symphony or Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, take a listen with a fresh set of ears. Because on the right night, even the most over-programmed music can be made to sound new again. 

As for the Phil’s markedly conservative summer, we’ll let it slide – but only because the bold and inventive programs Angelenos have come to love are returning in full force this fall. 

 

Reach music critic Jason Issokson here. Follow Jason on Twitter @Philharmaniac.



 

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