To celebrate the conclusion of the "Czech Music Centennial Year," held every decade in years ending with 4, Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic came to Carnegie Hall. We listened to the American maestro Gil Shaham perform Dvořák's Violin Concerto. The performance was so beautiful and thrilling that I was almost bewildered by my own happiness. Shaham seemed to be playing soccer with friends who had gathered for the concert. In his solo passages, his playing was brilliant; when the flow passed to the orchestra in the tutti, he would step toward the center, pass the musical line, and then, as he received it again, run in all directions, executing masterful techniques. By the end of the opening cadenza, the sound had soared to the dome of Carnegie Hall, leaving my mind completely blank. The encore, a Gavotte, filled every corner of the hall with a warm, expansive sonic layer.
The last time I heard conductor Bychkov was during performances of NDR and Daphne by Strauss. This time, it was Mahler’s Fifth. Although he had undergone back surgery in September and still seemed to be in pain, his conducting was extraordinary. The fascination of Mahler lies in the way his musical context is constantly shifting, continuously deconstructed within itself. Bychkov ’s heartfelt conducting drew out the orchestra’s rich, warm sound and seamlessly connected the music. Bernstein called Mahler a mirror of great music for contemporary life, and indeed, the consciousness and breathing of the Czech Philharmonic musicians conveyed the ever-changing flow of Mahler in ways that reflected Prague and Moravia today—places I had never experienced before.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to hear six different orchestras, but listening to the Czech Philharmonic allowed me to reconsider my own standards and perspectives.
12.4.2024
Czech Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall
Semyon Bychkov, Chief Conductor and Music Director
Gil Shaham, Violin
DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto
G. MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Encore:
J. S. BACH Gavotte en Rondeau from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 (Gil Shaham)
10年ごとに4で終わる年に開催される「チェコ音楽100周年記念年」の終了を祝って、ビシュコフとチェコフィルがカーネギーホールにやってきた。そして、アメリカの巨匠ギルシャハムのドボルジャークのバイオリン協奏曲を聴いた。こんなに幸せでいいのか戸惑うほどうまかったし面白かった。シャハムは公演に集まった友達とサッカーをしているようだった。ソロエピソードでは見事な演奏、トゥッティで流れがオケに移ると、中央に近寄ってパスを渡し、そしてまた受け取るとあらゆる方向に駆け抜け見事に技をきめる。はじめのカデンツの終わりにカーネギーのドームの天井まで音色が駆け上がって行って頭が真っ白に、そして、アンコールのガボットではゆったりとした音の膜が隅々まで満たされた。指揮者のビシュコフを最後に聴いたのは、北ドイツとダフネをやった時だった。今回はマーラー5番。９月に腰の手術を受けまだ痛みが続いているようだが素晴らしい指揮だった。マーラーの面白さはその文脈が変化し続けそれ自体が継続的に解体されていく。ビシュコフは心のこもった指揮ぶりは彼らから温かな音の豊かさを引き出し音楽を繋いでいく。バーンスタインはマーラーを現代生活の偉大な音楽の鏡といったが、チェコフィルの楽員たちの意識や呼吸は、マーラーの変わり続ける流れの中で訪れたことがないプラハやモラビアの今を伝えていた。この数週間に6つの異なるオーケストラを聴く機会に恵まれたが、チェコフィルを聴けたことは自分の物差しをもう一度考え直す機会を与えてくれたようだった。
ステージにはチェコの国旗も
by classicasobi