Review: THE LONDON SYMPHONY and PIANIST YUNCHAN LIM at San Diego Jacobs Music Center

I don’t remember why the first classical recording I bought was Rachmaninov 2nd piano concerto with Leonard Pennario and the St. Louis Symphony. Maybe it was the album cover’s romantic photo of a dark night sky with a full moon amid billowing clouds. Unlike some, though that was more than 60 years ago, I’ve never tired of hearing the concerto, and never heard a performance I didn’t enjoy. Through no fault of his, Yunchan Lim’s with the London Symphony Orchestra led by Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano came close to one.

The first movement began promisingly with Lim’s perfectly paced solo crescendo into the first theme with full orchestra, and the LSO lived up to its reputation as one of the finest in the world with lush heart-warming strings and bold brass. Pappano, perhaps unfamiliar with the new hall’s perfect acoustics and carried away by the theme’s power and beauty, turned the piece into something that would have fit well amidst Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances rather than the concerto.

Lim smashed fingers into the keys as if wanting to break them and, seated not far from the piano, for long stretches I couldn’t hear a note he played. He might have been miming, whether for angry chords meant to stand out or his no doubt spectacular runs up and down the keyboard. Though often not meant to be dominant, they should at least be audible accompaniment.

The quieter second movement fared better, though with a quickly aborted single-note early entry and a well-played clarinet that seemed to forget it was accompanying rather than soloing for a bit.

The third movement was the most effective, the piano more of a partner than an unheard member of the orchestra in the loudest passages. And the tempos and buildups to the beautiful recurring main melody (think “Full Moon and Empty Arms,” a hit for Sinatra) were well-judged for the pleasure and excitement of both ear and heart.

The audience’s enthusiastic response demanded an encore. Lim chose a change of pace, Liszt’s "Sonnet 104" to demonstrate a beautiful touch and the technique and musicality that made him, at 18, the youngest winner ever of the Van Cliburn Competition a couple of years ago. He has often used it as an encore, and performed it at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2024 where he won for best piano recording with a collection of Chopin etudes.

The intermission was followed by Mahler’s first symphony, the “Titan.”

Despite my comments thus far, I never doubted that the frequently awarded Pappano and the LSO would nail the “Titan,” a tremendous piece for demonstrating a conductor’s skill and the quality of every orchestra section. Pappano’s sometimes over-done exuberant passion in the concerto’s first movement was a perfect fit for the romantic beauty and excitement of Mahler’s “Titan,” and I’ve never heard a better performance.

Tempos and dynamics were ideal, with rubato that treasured warm melodies in quieter moments and increased the power of resounding full-orchestra climaxes in the distortion-free acoustics of the hall. Mahler’s call for a very large orchestra included eight French horns, and a glorious sounding brass section was at the fore as cymbals crashed and timpani roared to cap the evening in triumph.

The LSO was last heard in San Diego in 2015 as part of the La Jolla Music Society’s appropriately named Celebrity Orchestra Series. That Series was discontinued while the Society was busy with the construction of its new home in The Conrad and its subsequent concentration on the best in classical and world music for smaller ensembles.

I have missed the series and hope this concert heralds a return to San Diego with a repeat of performances by such as the LSO, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Dresden Staatskapelle (founded in 1548).

In the meantime, the phenomenal 20-year-old Yunchan Lim appears again in San Diego at the Conrad on February 28. The program features Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a favorite of Glenn Gould, among other great pianists.

That concert is sold out, but here’s a link to information on the many other La Jolla Music Society concerts scheduled for this season. And who knows, maybe you can snag tickets returned by a purchaser unable to attend for Lim.

Photos Ken Jacques

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