PPO VI: James Judd and the Italian Symphony

Conductor James Judd

Featuring:

Vesa-Matti Leppänen, violin

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

James Judd, conductor

Programme:

Leonard Bernstein Overture from Candide

Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 Italian

The latest concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was a very unique one indeed. First of all, because of the Mamma Mia run happening over at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), the season concert of the PPO had to find an alternate venue and they ended up performing at the Philam Life Auditorium. While this venue only has less than a third of the seating capacity of the CCP Main Theater, the hall has superior acoustics favored by most music aficionados. In keeping with this theme of something different for the PPO, this concert featured a guest conductor who was British James Judd. The other guest artist for this concert was Finnish violinist Vesa-Matti Leppänen. This was the second time for this season that a violin concerto was performed under a guest conductor. PPO principal conductor and music director Olivier Ochanine said that it was purely coincidental and that he loves violin concertos like any other, so no need to raise eyebrows on this one.

With all that was different during this concert, I was glad that the programme for this evening was a very familiar one. One of the pieces was in fact performed at the same venue a few months before but with a different orchestra and performer. This meant that my familiarity with the music would enable me to take note of how different the orchestra would sound in this venue. And it was a good thing that they opened with the very lively and spirited Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein. Right from the start, the hall’s acoustics brought out the vibrancy with such clarity that the PPO sounded as if it was a different orchestra altogether.

The next piece that the orchestra performed was the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven. I’ve already said this before, but this is one violin concerto that doesn’t really excite me since I find it lacking in drama and tension compared to other concertos from the Romantic era that I prefer more. But to my surprise, the orchestra during the exposition exhibited a very robust and bold sound and dared to tread the line in this concerto. I’ve always found this concerto too noble and polite that I wish that it packed a lot more punch. Thanfully Leppänen delivered much needed punch in this concerto especially during the cadenza by Kreisler. There were times when I felt that he was bordering on the offensive (which is a good thing for me) but not too much that it strayed from the character of the piece. It was a pleasing performance but it wasn’t enough for me to include this concerto among my favorite violin pieces.

Violinist Vesa-Matti Leppänen

The final piece that the orchestra played was Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, also popularly known as the Italian. The first movement has a soaring and playful melody. While it is the most recognizable and most accessible movement in the whole symphony, it was the fourth that appealed to me the most. The frantic pace was reminiscent of a similar traditional Italian music which is the tarantella. My younger self was attracted to the very exuberant first movement, but I eventually gravitated towards the last movement and also the minor modes in recent years. For me, the whole performance of this piece was the chance for me to really focus on how the orchestra sounded in this hall. Judd’s conducting along with the acoustics of the venue really brought the PPO to another level. The only bad thing that I can say with this concert was that there weren't any encores from either Leppänen or the orchestra.

After the performance, people were talking about how wonderful the orchestra sounded in Philam. The place may not have the prestige or the historic and cultural significance of the CCP but the acoustics is very ideal. And come the next concert of the PPO, they will be back in their usual performance space. It may have been a very unusual evening with the traffic a lot more horrible than its usual horribleness and the sight of the CCP Ushers at Philam but I could never complain about a nice evening of good music.