The Conertgebouworkest with Paavo Järvi and Lisa Batiashvili

 Klassik

Oliver Bernhardt

19.02.23

Photo: Markus Aubrecht

The Conertgebouworkest with Paavo Järvi and Lisa Batiashvili

Maximum intensity

The Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, to give it its full Dutch name, is one of the longest-established large orchestras in the world, and it regularly ranks among the top international orchestras. Well-known conductors such as Willem Mengelberg or, more recently, Bernard Haitink and Mariss Jansons have presided over him, and since the resignation of Daniele Gatti there has been no acting chief conductor. Shooting star Klaus Mäkelä will take up the post from the 2027/2028 season.

Made-to-measure debut

Since his debut in 2004, Paavo Järvi has also been on the podium regularly, including on Sunday evenings in the Wiener Konzerthaus. The soloist in Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, is Lisa Batiashvili in the fourth concert of a series that started in Amsterdam and then went to Germany and France. Both sides are already attuned to each other in an audible manner, there is a balanced tonal relationship between solo part and orchestra, Järvi leaves Batiashvili and the noble timbred sound of her 1739 Guarneri in all registers the necessary individual scope for development. Her playing is dynamically finely shaded, right down to the long-drawn-out trills, and she handles passages with technical ease. The orchestral writing, too, has precisely defined proportions and ideas of the role it intends to play in the dialogue, supported by a smooth, warmly rounded string image. The "Larghetto" is of high cantabile sensitivity, the expressive power lies in the calm, sensitive pianissimo creates maximum intensity up to the solo/pizzicato interactions. Batiashvili's tone also has radiant clarity in the "Rondo", despite all the playful ease and slender flow of the dancing gesture, the emotions do not fall by the wayside. In the outer movements she uses Alfred Schnittke's cadenzas with virtuosic, captivating sovereignty. As an encore, she thanks the enthusiastic audience with the airy transcription for violin and orchestra of Bach's "Air" from the D major suite BWV 1068, which she dedicates to commemorating the victims of the earthquake catastrophe in Syria and Turkey. A made-to-measure debut for Batiashvili in the first of three appearances as a Konzerthaus portrait artist this season.

Rhythmic profile

Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100, is one of the grateful pieces for presenting an orchestra's visiting card in the entire spectrum of all instrument groups , lyrical tenderness skilfully alternates radically with biting sharpness, the musical power of suggestion is immense. The strings leave nothing to be desired, from voluminous depth to a warm "dolce espressivo" timbre. Where it says crescendo, Järvi also has crescendo in it. Rich brass colors with chromatically sharpened exits transition into catchy articulated staccato, Järvi's conducting reveals all the details of the score. The "Allegro marcato" has an angular, rhythmic profile and agogically resolute snare drive. Melodically introverted sections are unmistakably reminiscent of the ballet music for "Cinderella", which was composed around the same time. Järvi consistently works out “Pìu animato”, “Diminuendo”, “Meno mosso” or “Poco a poco accelerando” contrasts that follow each other in rapid succession. Accurately intonated trumpets, first controlled and then undamped, and an excellent solo timpani are just two examples of brilliant instrumental performances. Järvi also brings out the style of the initially meandering vocally, then martially erupting “Adagio”, interspersed with elegantly curved legato slurs. Only at the end does the tension let up for a moment. With a stylistically confident instinct for increases, he drives the musical events in the final movement to an abrupt standstill and, at the end, throws on the uncompromisingly igniting turbo of the percussion machinery. Sibelius' "Valse triste" as a noble, easy-drinking encore in a rarely so convincing tone between waltz flair and melancholic soundscape rounds off an evening that shows: The Concertgebouw's reputation as a world-class orchestra is completely justified.

Review by Oliver Bernhard

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