I was immediately
struck by the dynamic shading the conductor was extracting from
the orchestra, each phrase sharply chiselled. But you can have
too much of a good thing and I thought the prissy preening of
the second subject (first concerto, first movement) horribly
narcissistic. Second subjects seem dangerous territory for Kangas,
and that in the equivalent place in the second concerto is equally
obnoxious.
Does this herald
similar treatment from the soloist? Yes and no, for her basic
approach seems along the same lines, yet with more music to
it. And at times they are ill-matched. Hear the four repeated
notes with which the theme of the finale of the first concerto
starts. Kangas gives us authentic-brigade treatment with a vengeance
(the orchestra actually plays modern instruments but “authentic”
influence is strongly felt), applying a heavy ONE-two-three-ONE-two-three regardless of the actual shape of the
phrase, whereas Bezaly makes the first three notes sound like
an upbeat leading to the fourth, which sounds the natural and
musical thing to do. One day one of these authenticists will
have to explain why they think a composer so sublimely musical
when he composed should have become mechanically unimaginative
when he played, or have tolerated such playing from others.
In the two shorter
pieces the orchestra has less to do, and it was these that I
enjoyed most.
Is all lost, then?
Well, though it will be clear that this Dresden china is far
too fragile for me, I suppose there must be people who like
Mozart done this way, so if you think it might be you, the performances
are certainly expertly realized from their given point of view.
And then, if you’re
a fan of Kalevi Aho … In theory it’s all wrong to write cadenzas
in a style of your own which is not that of the composer, but
there’s the exception to every rule and I can only agree with
Bezaly when she writes that “Aho expands on Mozart’s musical
language so that the cadenzas seem to grow out of the concertos
themselves, yet he goes a step further by using the whole spectrum
of the modern flute and all the possibilities the instrument
offers today”. Yes, they really do seem to rise out of the concertos
and, by virtue of Bezaly’s coolly glinting tone, to transport
us effortlessly to snowy northern wastes without sacrilege to
the spirit of Mozart himself. A remarkable and fascinating achievement.
Christopher
Howell
Sharon Bezaly (flute),
Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra/Juha Kangas
[56:04]
