The Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki conducted the LA Phil in three works on Saturday night, including the Academic Festival Overture Op. 80 and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Brahms with Daniil Trifonov at the keyboard. Also on the program was the U.S. premiere of German composer Enno Poppe’s Fett.
Mälkki opened the concert with Brahms’ nod to academics, his Academic Festival Overture, one of two companion overtures Brahms wrote (The other was his Tragic Overture, Op. 81). Brahms composed the overture in 1879 as a thank you to the University of Breslau for conferring upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The overture is uplifting and boisterous at times and includes excerpts of various student songs popular in Germany at the time.
Mälkki took this already expansive overture and made it seem even more so by not rushing sections that others might have taken quickly. The result was an almost regal sounding interpretation. It was just the kind of antidote to stress the audience might’ve needed, even if for only 10 minutes, after navigating terrible traffic on the way to Walt Disney Concert Hall and in an otherwise unsettling world.
That mood changed quickly with the U.S. premiere of Fett by Poppe. The piece was an LA Phil commission. As Mälkki stated when she came out on stage to talk about the composition, fett in German literally means fat. The title doesn’t refer to individuals who are overweight, but rather, as Mälkki said, to the layering of music to create a hefty sound. She also stated that this is music the likes of which the audience had never heard before. That peaked this reviewer’s interest as the LA Phil frequently performs bold contemporary works. The program book stated that the composition consists “entirely of microtonal chords.” Poppe layered them, moving from a very thin sound at the beginning played by the principal string players to the large orchestra with very heavy sounds from the expanded brass section. Interestingly, unlike many contemporary pieces heavy with percussion, Fett has no percussion instruments.
Toward the end of the piece, one of the string players on the right-hand side of the stage—I couldn’t tell whether it was a second violinist or a violist—got up and walked off stage. First, I thought that it was part of the piece and that the string player would play off stage. But then it became clear that it must’ve been some personal reason. Having said that, he might have reflected what at least some of the audience felt about the piece. Like a lot of other contemporary pieces, Fett was interesting to listen to live, but as the person sitting next to me said, “I would never voluntarily choose to listen to this piece.”
After intermission Trifonov joined Mälkki and the Phil for a performance of the Brahms second piano concerto. Trifonov has been lauded as one of the great young pianists of our time. And this reviewer has seen performances by him that certainly support those accolades. On Saturday night, however, his playing, at least at the beginning of the concerto, seemed too urgent. He made a few mistakes, which is always forgivable in great soloists. And even though it was a commanding performance with glimpses of greatness, there was still something missing for this reviewer. It was almost as if Trifonov was phoning it in, but not quite. Also, he and Mälkki were at times not quite in sync. Having said all that, it was still an enjoyable performance by both soloist and orchestra alike, which brought the audience to their feet at the conclusion.
Nevertheless, the audience broke out in cheers and a standing ovation at the conclusion of the Concerto, and Trifonov rewarded them with a beautiful rendition of his own arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 as an encore.
In both Brahms’ works, the LA Phil played beautifully as always. In the Andante of the piano concerto, Principal Cellist Robert DeMaine shone with his solos, and Principal Horn Andrew Bain and Third Horn Amy Jo Rhine were stellar with their solo parts, especially in the first movement.
—Henry Schlinger, Culture Spot LA
For information about upcoming concerts, visit www.laphil.com.
Photos of Susanna Mälkki and Daniil Trifonov courtesy of LA Phil