BWW Reviews: Brahms and Tchaikovski Make a Fine Pair

Tchaikovsky's Pathétique and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2

NY Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert conducting

Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder

Sat. Feb 16th Avery Fisher Hall

Brahms two piano concertos, written some twenty years apart (as their opus numbers 15 and 83 display) were not referred to as concertos at all at the time of their premiers but rather as "symphonies with piano obligato," and it's easy to see why. They both feature some ravishing string parts that practically almost suggest concertos of their own and require almost super-human virtuosity and above all stamina (the 2nd in particular) on the part of the soloist.

The magnificent Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder was up to the task in almost every way. If there was any room for improvement it was in the area of support from the conductor. While certainly serviceable in every way, Alan Gilbert, now in his fourth season as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, brought little fire to the performance. He handled all of the famous concerto's many disparate moods with workmanlike efficiency and brought lovely nuance and texture to the well-worn masterpiece. At just under 50 minutes in length, the pace felt a bit more ponderous than the clock dictated that it actually was.

There are over 100 commercial recordings of the B flat concerto and equally as many interesting interpretations, but this performance seemed to sail right down the middle, taking few risks and no grand interpretive dynamics. The 2nd movement was played very fast and lost a bit of the inherent gravitas and drama that movement contains. The third movement by contrast was simply transcendent with its solo cello part touching on other-worldly beauty. Perhaps the ubiquitousness of the piece both in recordings and in the concert hall has brought an increased level of scrutiny of even the tiniest aspects of the piece, but nonetheless great masterpieces deserve equally great performances.

The Tchaikowsky's "Pathétique" Symphony is also one of the most performed staples of the standard repertory and the Philharmonic did it justice. All of its mystery and majesty was on full display as Maestro Gilbert led the orchestra through a thoughtful and expansive reading of the symphony's first three movements. The famous Allegro Molto Vivace 3rd Movement felt a bit more frenzied than powerful, robbing the piece of just a little bit of its magnificence. The final movement was an exercise in luxuriousness, with the string section and the woodwinds exhibiting all the languid richness of the pained lament.

It's seems almost incomprehensible today, but the composer was despondent over the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the musicians of the St. Petersburg Symphony who apparently did not regard the work very highly. Still, he did lead them in the premier performance of the symphony but sadly, died only nine days later.

The audience at Avery Fisher was polite in its applause but not overly ecstatic. In fact, it almost seemed as if most were unaware when the piece was over. In the program notes, Mr. Gilbert stated that he thought the two works were especially good companion pieces for one another. Perhaps their companionship was a bit too good and the audience got just a little too comfortable and forgot to applaud.

Photo: Rudolph Buchbinder

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