Maazel and Bronfman Light It Up

Many years ago, my colleague Fred Kirshnit said that a concert had started with the “obligatory opening modern piece.” I immediately shortened this to “OOMP.” Well, Friday afternoon’s concert by the New York Philharmonic had an OOMP — and it was a better-than-average one.It was “Rhapsodies” for Orchestra by Steven Stucky, an American who teaches at Cornell. His piece was jointly commissioned by the Philharmonic and the BBC Proms.It begins with percussion, which is no great surprise: Almost all modern pieces are heavy on the percussion. It is an outright phenomenon. Years from now, historians of music may describe our era as “the Percussion Period.” Mr. Stucky also touches other modern bases: the bird-in-the-jungle sounds; the sci-fi-ish effects. We know all these moves by heart.But Mr. Stucky has made a good and worthwhile piece. He applies a wash of sound, and you might think you are receiving an aural bath. That sound is also layered interestingly. And the piece has an intelligent, natural arc.Despite those modern touches that I have poked a little fun at, “Rhapsodies” harks back to the American Neo-Romanticism of the mid-20th century: to Piston, Schuman, Persichetti, Dello Joio, Harris, and all the others who were shoved aside by Elliott Carter and that lot.Lorin Maazel, on the podium, handled Mr. Stucky’s piece with fluidity and commitment. And the orchestra played well, in particular the horns, which were mellifluous and beautiful.A patron was heard to comment, “It was a fine piece and all, but would it have killed the guy to write a melody — a tune?” Excellent point. But tunes are actually a tall order. They don’t exactly fall from trees. Although, if you’re a Mozart or Schubert, they rain on you cats and dogs.Next on the program was the Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor by Rachmaninoff. Soloist: Yefim Bronfman. In a season preview published in this newspaper, I said that Mr. Bronfman was the best player of this concerto in the world. In truth, he is the best player in the world of many concertos. And, on Friday afternoon, he was true to his standard in “Rach 3.”Begin at the beginning: He played his opening measures in perfect unison — which is much harder than it looks or sounds. I once knew a woman who recalled how Rachmaninoff himself played these measures: She would get a faraway, wondering look in her eye when she talked about it.I will provide just a few details of Mr. Bronfman’s performance. The first-movement cadenza was an extraordinary combination of composure and fire. And the rippling notes that follow the cadenza were exquisitely even — Hofmannesque.The man not only plays with his hands (and head, and heart), he plays with his feet: He is an exceptionally good pedaler. And that is as valuable in this concerto as in any piano work.Turning to Mr. Maazel, he was completely involved in this performance, contributing to it mightily. Often, the conductor and orchestra are bystanders in this big piano vehicle — not this time. For instance, the orchestral opening of the second movement was judicious and beautiful. In much of the concerto, the orchestra played ravishingly.Mr. Bronfman likes to play a Scarlatti sonata after one of these barn-burning concertos — a Rachmaninoff, a Prokofiev — but he did not on this occasion. There was no encore, and that was a pity. Mr. Bronfman is a rare pianist in that he is complete. He is both a miniaturist — a poet — and a thundering virtuoso. He has within him both Haskil and Horowitz.Of course, those two pianists were plenty versatile, too.Mr. Maazel began the second half of the concert with Ravel’s “Mother Goose” Suite — which he conducted in a neat, refined way. Mr. Maazel can be counted on for urbanity, but never more so than in French music. “Child-like” is probably the last word you would use to describe Mr. Maazel. But he summoned up some of that quality for this suite, which was advantageous.The movement about the Empress of the Pagodas had a sure Orientalism. And the C-major stateliness with which the suite ended was perfect.In the preview I mentioned, I said that Mr. Maazel was going to conduct Bartók’s “Miraculous Mandarin” Suite — and wouldn’t that be impressive? It was indeed. Bartók might have written this music just for Mr. Maazel to conduct — because it is complicated, stylish, jazzy, daring, and exotic. Mr. Maazel gave it his full treatment, and the New York Philharmonic was at its most virtuosic.In the course of this concert, I got to wondering who might get Mr. Maazel next season, after he leaves the Philharmonic. He is 78 years old, and I doubt that, in his 70 years of conducting (he started very young), he has ever conducted better. Surely he is not ready for retirement.The Philharmonic will have Maestro Alan Gilbert, and the critics will probably be raving about the exciting modern programs he is conducting. At the same time, other listeners will have Mr. Maazel, and I don’t think they’ll consider themselves shortchanged.

Maazel and Bronfman Light It Up

Maazel and Bronfman Light It Up

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