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concert review: San Francisco Symphony
Feb. 25th, 2010 09:37 amIt's been 15 years since Herbert Blomstedt retired from the music directorship here, and he's now well over 80 years old, but he still returns every year as guest conductor for two weeks, during which he leads the heavy Germanic classics that are his specialty (and incidentally relieving MTT of part of the burden of that obligatory repertoire).
And I always go, because I love this kind of music. This week, Mozart's Linz Symphony and Bruckner's Sixth.
Over the years, Blomstedt has found a way to lift Mozart out of an exaggerated emotionalism. This was a crisp and lean Wolfgang, quite brisk but intense and detail-focused. Mozart's inherent lyricism emerged on its own merits, and was supply managed. I'm not sure how much of an overall shape the performance conveyed, but the energy never flagged, and moment-by-moment it was about as good a Mozart as you're likely to hear.
Unfortunately, what works for Mozart is not necessarily good for Bruckner. His music needs space to breathe, and driving through the first movement at turbo-powered pace doesn't let it do that. The sound was strong enough, but it lacked the powerful build-up. The middle movements were much better, but the finale was exceedingly peculiar. Blomstedt seemed to be husbanding energy, letting it out in bursts, speeding up and slowing down in a most odd and exaggerated fashion that didn't seem to correspond with the shape of the music. It was as if he was reading the f and p marks in the score as tempo indications.
The tone quality from the orchestra was brilliant as always, but in the Bruckner the balances seemed off: too many bones showing, not enough blending. Oboeist William Bennett seemed more attuned to Bruckner's idiom than was flutist Tim Day.
And I always go, because I love this kind of music. This week, Mozart's Linz Symphony and Bruckner's Sixth.
Over the years, Blomstedt has found a way to lift Mozart out of an exaggerated emotionalism. This was a crisp and lean Wolfgang, quite brisk but intense and detail-focused. Mozart's inherent lyricism emerged on its own merits, and was supply managed. I'm not sure how much of an overall shape the performance conveyed, but the energy never flagged, and moment-by-moment it was about as good a Mozart as you're likely to hear.
Unfortunately, what works for Mozart is not necessarily good for Bruckner. His music needs space to breathe, and driving through the first movement at turbo-powered pace doesn't let it do that. The sound was strong enough, but it lacked the powerful build-up. The middle movements were much better, but the finale was exceedingly peculiar. Blomstedt seemed to be husbanding energy, letting it out in bursts, speeding up and slowing down in a most odd and exaggerated fashion that didn't seem to correspond with the shape of the music. It was as if he was reading the f and p marks in the score as tempo indications.
The tone quality from the orchestra was brilliant as always, but in the Bruckner the balances seemed off: too many bones showing, not enough blending. Oboeist William Bennett seemed more attuned to Bruckner's idiom than was flutist Tim Day.
