Brahms and Tetzlaff

Last night I attended the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert, which had a varied program of Kagel, Etude No. 3; Brahms, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra; and Berlioz, Orchestral Music from Romeo et Juliette. The Kagel was interesting, though probably too interesting for most of the attendees. The composer was successful with presenting numerous soundscapes with the orchestra, and the percussion was particularly interesting. Overall, I enjoyed the work, though I would not be clammering to hear it again anytime soon.

The Brahms deserves some special attention. Don't get me wrong, I like the work, but it has its faults. The exposition is too long, and the dramatic modulations in the first movement come across as modulations for modulation sake, or drama for drama sake. Paavo Jarvi, who did not apeear to be drunk at this performance, was able to insert some individual interpretation in the work, but not much. The same cannot be said for the soloist, Christian Tetzlaff. As far as technique and execution are concerned, Tetzlaff gave a wonderful performance. But artistically, as far as bringing his own interpretation to the work, he fell flat. But I do not place the blame squarely on Tetzlaff, but rather Brahms. Brahms composed a flashy and highly technical work that it is difficult for the soloist to bring much originality and individuality to the performance. As I sat and listened to the performance, it sounded like any recording of the work I have heard before. It sounded as if Tetzlaff arrived the night before the first performance and he and Jarvi said to the orchestra, "Okay, let's run through it." The only place where Tetzlaff was able to assert his own artistic license was the cadenza in the first movement. Though I have this beef with the Brahms, it does not take away the masterful lyricism of the second movement. Tetzlaff did perform an encore, the Andante movement from J. S. Bach's Sonata for Solo Violin, BWV 1003. This is when Tetzlaff as an independent artist truly shined.

As for the Berlioz, this is not my favorite selection from his oeuvre. It really is not a good representation of him as a composer to a concert audience, and the orchestral selections are better understood in the original context of the Dramatic Symphony. The work was performed well by the orchestra, and Maestro Jarvi's interpretation was spot on. I beleieve this is not a suitable work to conclude a concert, since much of the inner movements and the finale is at a piano level. Despite these criticisms of the works, and of Brahms, the concert as a whole was interesting, the orchestra performed well, Jarvi was sober, and Tetzlaff was masterful.