Pianism of the first degree is always
on display when Yefim Bronfman comes to town. This concert was no
exception as this titan of the piano tackled one of the most complex
concerti in all of piano literature, the Bartok Concerto # 2. Michael
Stern led the Kansas City Symphony in this work as well as the world
premiere of Daniel Kellogg's “Water Music” and the Mozart
Symphony # 41.
Written in 1930-1931, the second
explores Bartok's fascination with the piano as percussion instrument
while celebrating the folk music of his native Hungary. While some
may think the first movement (where the piano is mostly accompanied
by winds and percussion) is simply a raucous, pounding romp, Stern
and Bronfman made sure we heard not just the rhythms of a wild folk
dance but also the occasional lyrical Hungarian folk voices hidden
beneath all the violent action. The all important orchestral brass
and winds were at their best, only a couple of times getting close to
overwhelming the piano with their accumulated power.
Bronfman and all were perfectly in sync
and quite affecting in the haunted, oriental tinged slow movement,
bringing out the lyrical and melodic interplay in this somewhat
rhapsodic movement. Lesser focused performances let the music wander,
but Stern and Bronfman kept this movement flowing yet in control.
The last movement is another driving,
surging folk dance. As in the similarly percussive first movement,
Bronfman never slipped into relentless pounding but dazzled with his
almost effortless command of this jagged, cluster filled dance. The
main reason this performance worked so well overall was due to the
pianist and the symphony emphasizing, but not dawdling over, the more
lyrical and relaxed passages in the outer movements, giving the work
an ebb and flow that many lack.
The concert began with the world
premiere performances of Daniel Kellogg's “Water Music” the
second of three works commissioned by the Symphony to celebrate the
opening of the Kauffman Center and the fountains of Kansas City.
Kellogg took his inspiration from three
of our fountains and crafted a colorful three movement work for large
orchestra.; The JC Nichols Fountain is portrayed in “Battling
Torrents”, the downtown “Muse of the Missouri” inspired the
quieter, slow central movement and the finale “Cascades” captures
the Henry Bloch fountain at Union Station. For the uninitiated,
Kansas City supposedly has more fountains than anywhere else but
Rome.
The audience seemed to enjoy the work,
as did my concert compatriot Gerry, who usually hates anything
written past 1900. I tended to a different view. Although colorfully
orchestrated, “Water Music” was thin on melodic ideas and
structure, relying on the color to hold it all together. The sea
creatures, bears and horses in “Battling Torrents” romp and play
for sure, but in a generic 20-21st century accessible
music form that could have depicted any action.
“The Muse of the Missouri” is
described by the composer as “a contemplation of the passage of
water through the passage of time”. I guess the slow, undulating
music did just that. But as that activity can be a bit tedious, so
went this slightly over long movement.
“Cascades” was frankly similar to
the first movement, but best captured its fountain in music. The
vibrant movement danced and played almost stopping (as the fountain
does) and then erupting in watery dance.
The orchestra did a fine job with this
likely difficult and unfamiliar music; the lavish percussion and
augmented winds were outstanding as usual. But Respighi did it all so
much better and memorably (with a different set of fountains of
course) as did Chen Yi in her “Fountains of KC” that began the
season.
The early Classical era orchestra of
the Mozart “Jupiter” looked almost forlorn and overwhelmed by the
stage after the big orchestras of the Kellogg and Bartok. But genius
as he was, Mozart used these more limited forces to create one of the
truly great icons of music. Stern and the small orchestra presented
an elegant yet never fussy reading of this grand symphony. This was
“old school” Mozart, symphonic and powerful when needed yet
sweetly refined when called for. A perfect foil for the more
clangorous music that comprised the first half.
