★★★★☆ Pianist Alexei Volodin gives Brahms’ Second a commanding performance.

Adelaide Town Hall
September 10, 2016

In the spring of 1878 Johannes Brahms, by this stage a mature composer of considerable reputation, travelled to Italy. There he began the first sketches for his Second Piano Concerto. Several have been tempted to attribute the Second’s warmer disposition to the sunny climate in which it originated.

Whatever the source of its fervency, the passion and complexity of Brahms at the height of his fame is a challenge not easily met. The expansive form of his Piano Concerto No 2 in B Flat; its expressive blend of fire and romance, speaks to a love that is unrequited but never extinguished. Alexei Volodin met this challenge with the capability of a seasoned professional. His own artistic maturity, coupled with his incredible strength and technical capability, make him a worthy adversary for this monstrous task.

It is often said of this work that it is a Brahms symphony with a principal piano. This is certainly true when considering the technical requirements of the orchestral score. However it is the genius of mature Brahms that it is not just a complex piece for piano and orchestra. At times it is chamber music, whilst at other times it has a lyrical, choral quality. Through each of these manifestations the roles of the pianist and orchestra change, each taking turns in the fore and background.

The most successful performances of this work come when a balance is struck between these two roles: when the orchestra knows when to step up and take the lead from the pianist, who becomes an accompanist in his own solo. For the most part, this balance was well struck by the ASO, although at times they struggled to bring the same strength to their performance that is so central to Volodin’s style.

This said, there were moments of exceptional reverence. Sarah Barrett opened the first movement with a beautifully evocative horn solo that set the tone of the concerto to follow. Likewise, the second movement was a joy; principal cellist Simon Cobcroft gave a commanding solo, demonstrating why he is as well known for his chamber performances as he is for his orchestral position.

Opening the concert was a recent composition by James Ledger. Hollow Kings was premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra earlier this year and commemorates the 400th ‘deathiversary’ of the bard, with four short reflections on flawed Shakespearean kings. An exploration of timbre drove this work: Ledger paired the rich sonorities of the electric guitar with orchestra, effectively exploring the range of both mediums. His choice not to make a soloist out of the guitarist, but rather to blend it into the sound world of the orchestra, was a compositional masterstroke.

Pairing new with very well known, the programme also included Mozart’s Symphony No 40. Carter led a bright and dramatic rendition of the popular symphony with youthful enthusiasm. Against the Ledger and the Brahms it was perhaps oddly paired, although did offer a moment of welcome reprieve from an otherwise heavy programme.