 |
| 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.
