There are two ways to acquire a foretaste of the music that the
Berlin Philharmonic will be performing, under the baton of Sir Simon
Rattle, at Davies Symphony Hall on the evenings of November 20 and 21.
Because each evening will feature a symphony by Johannes Brahms (the
first on November 20 and the second on the following evening), one may
draw upon the resources of the new recording of Brahms’ complete symphonies
performed by this ensemble and conductor and released on October 6 on
EMI. In addition, much of the material for both evenings is part of the
subscription series in Berlin, which means that archives of the
performances are available through the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall.
In this article I would like to concentrate on the material that
entered the archive after this past weekend's performances, the second
symphony of Johannes Brahms and the Opus 9b version of Arnold
Schoenberg's first chamber symphony, the arrangement for full orchestra
of the original Opus 9 composition for fifteen solo instruments. Both
of these works will be performed in November 21.
Somewhat in the spirit of the first sentence of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina,
each of Brahms' four symphonies is interesting "in its own way." While
much of the interest in the first symphony involves the way in which he
uses extended introductions to the first and fourth movements to lay
out, gradually and deliberately, the materials of the ensuing Allegro
sections, the second symphony is almost an experience of prolonged
waiting. Each of the first three movements has "its own way" of shying
away from, if not deliberately avoiding, the sense of a solid downbeat.
That sense does not really arrive until the first measure of the final
movement, which then launches forward with certainty and determination,
building up to a finale blazing in glory that is radically out of
contrast with the spirit of the preceding movements. The essence of the
symphony thus resides in this particularly striking mood swing, and
delivering that mood swing without succumbing to it is the conductor's
primary challenge.
One can turn to either the EMI recording or the
Digital Concert Hall archive to appreciate Rattle's approach to meeting
this challenge. It brings a uniqueness to the performance of this
symphony that stands out among the many other interpretations one may
have experienced. That very sense of differentiation is enough to
justify getting a recorded foretaste before experiencing the performance
as a "live" experience. Those who think they are familiar with this
symphony are likely to be surprised by what Rattle has done; and, if
they are going to hear him at Davies, it would be better for the
surprise to be a pleasant one.
The Schoenberg chamber symphony is a
complex piece of work (with all the connotations of the idiomatic
"piece of work"). It is also a composition that Rattle has internalized
with such mastery that in the Digital Concert Hall performance, he
conducts it without a score. He recorded the fifteen-instrument version
with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group back when he was Music
Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; and I am happy
to say that this recording
is still available. If anyone can tease a journey out of the harmonic
ambiguities, melody lines that interleave so closely that the melodies
themselves are likewise ambiguous, and rhythmic patterns that almost
deliberately try to obscure the foreground with the background, Rattle
is most likely the best man for the job. I can personally identify one
individual with a strong reputation in both composition and conducting
(whom I would prefer not to name), whom I have seen eaten alive by an
attempt to conduct this music. Under the guidance of Rattle's
Birmingham recording, I have begun to get a handle on how this music
works; but I am still awe-struck by Rattle's command of it. Those who
have never heard the work at all would do well to visit the Digital
Concert Hall, even if just for the twenty-minute duration of this one
composition. The camera work for this performance does an excellent job
in guiding the attention of the listening ear. Even if large portions
of the work remain opaque, there are moments that dazzle with a
brilliance that will make the overall trip worth the effort.
Saturday's program will begin with the opening prelude of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
This work does not appear to have been performed yet this season in
Berlin. A search on Amazon.com for Rattle's experience with Wagner
turned up only a DVD of a 2007 performance of Die Walküre with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Personally, I am looking forward to hearing this prelude. If Rattle
can tame all the complexities of Schoenberg, then dealing with Wagner's
rich fabric of counterpoint should be a walk in the park!
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